R.I.P. To The “New 52” In June
In April and May, DC Comics will be halting their regularly-scheduled publishing line. The cause of this is they are moving their offices from New York to Burbank, CA. Since editors and staff will be busy transitioning to their new home, there will be a two-month long event called Convergence that will run to keep readers occupied.
There has been speculation on what would happen after Convergence is over. Would some of the realities re-introduced during it exist along with the New 52? Would DC reboot again? Friday we learned some of those answers as we say goodbye to the name “New 52”. It looks to be a new day at DC. Less focus on continuity and more emphasis on diversity among its comics line and creators behind the scenes.
“This heralds in a new era for the DC Universe which will allow us to publish something for everyone, be more expansive and modern in our approach and tell stories that better reflect the society around us,” said DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Dan DiDio. “Whether you’ve been a DC fan your whole life, or whether you are new to comics – there will be a book for you beginning in June.”
A first look at upcoming storylines will be the focus of DC Entertainment’s Free Comic Book Day issue – DC COMICS: DIVERGENCE – available Saturday, May 2, featuring three 8-page previews for the June releases of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s BATMAN, as well as Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s launch of the Darkseid War within JUSTICE LEAGUE featuring the biggest villains in the DCU – Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, and Gene Luen Yang’s DC Comics debut with celebrated artist John Romita, Jr on SUPERMAN. More than half-a million free issues of the DC Entertainment sampler will be given away at comic book retailers globally.
The post-Convergence DC universe will debut 24 new/rebranded titles and 24 returning comics.
First let’s take a look at the 24 new/rebranded titles, courtesy of CBR.
Batman Beyond — W: Dan Jurgens, A: Bernard Chang
Bat-Mite — W: Dan Jurgens, A: Corin Howell
Bizarro — W: Heath Corson, A: Gustavo Duarte
Black Canary — W: Brenden Fletcher, A: Annie Wu
Constantine: The Hellblazer — W: Ming Doyle & James Tynion IV, A: Riley Rossmo
Cyborg — W: David Walker, A: Ivan Reis
Dark Universe — W: James Tynion IV, A: Ming Doyle
Green Lantern: Lost Army — W: Cullen Bunn, A: Jesus Saiz & Javi Pina
Doomed — W: Scott Lobdell, A: Javier Fernandez
Earth 2: Society — W: Daniel Wilson, A: Jorge Jimenez
Dr. Fate — W: Paul Levitz, A: Sonny Liew
Harley Quinn/Power Girl — W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner, A: Stephane Roux
Justice League of America — W: Bryan Hitch, A: Bryan Hitch
Justice League 3001 — W: Keith Giffen, A: Howard Porter
Martian Manhunter — W: Rob Williams, A: Ben Oliver
Midnighter — W: Steve Orlando, A: ACO
Mystic U — W: Alisa Kwitney, A: Stay tuned for artist info!
Omega Men — W: Tom King, A: Alec Morgan
Prez — W: Mark Russell, A: Ben Caldwell
Red Hood/Arsenal — W: Scott Lobdell, A: Denis Medri
Robin, Son of Batman — W: Patrick Gleason, A: Patrick Gleason
Section Eight (limited series) — W: Garth Ennis, A: John McCrea
Starfire — W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner, A: Emanuela Lupacchino
We Are Robin — W: Lee Bermejo, A: Khary Randolph
And here we have the comics that will be resuming after Divergence. Some stay the same, while others see changes made to their creative teams.
Action Comics — W: Greg Pak, A: Aaron Kuder
Aquaman — W: Cullen Bunn, A: Trevor McCarthy
Batgirl — W: Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher, A: Babs Tarr
Batman — W: Scott Snyder, A: Greg Capullo
Detective Comics — W; Brian Buccelato & Francis Manapul, A: Francis Manapul
Batman/Superman — W: Greg Pak, A: Ardian Syaf
Catwoman — W: Genevieve Valentine, A: David Messina
Deathstroke — W: Tony S. Daniel, A: Tony S. Daniel
The Flash — W: Robert Venditti & Van Jensen, A: Brett Booth
Gotham Academy — W: Becky Cloonan & Brenden Fletcher, A: Karl Kerschl
Gotham By Midnight — W: Ray Fawkes, A: Juan Ferreyra
Grayson — W: Tom King & Tim Seeley, A: Mikel Janin
Green Arrow — W: Ben Percy, A: Patrick Zircher
Green Lantern — W: Robert Venditti, A: Billy Tan
Harley Quinn — W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner, A: Chad Hardin
Justice League — W: Geoff Johns, A: Jason Fabok
Justice League United — W:Stay tuned for creative team info!, A:
Lobo — W: Cullen Bunn, A: Cliff Richards
Secret Six — W: Gail Simone, A: Dale Eaglesham
Sinestro — W: Cullen Bunn, A: Bradley Walker
New Suicide Squad — W: Sean Ryan, A: Carlos D’Anda
Superman — W: Gene Luen Yang, A: John Romita, Jr.
Superman/Wonder Woman — W: Peter J. Tomasi, A: Doug Mahnke
Teen Titans — W: Will Pfeifer, A: Kenneth Rocafort
Wonder Woman — W: Meredith Finch, A: David Finch
This is a lot of information to digest. After giving the lists a look-over, let us know your immediate thoughts/reactions in the Comments section below. In a follow-up post, I will take a closer look at the new and old comics to pick out which ones I’m looking forward to the most.
Timdogg
#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE
