Updated on December 10, 2021
DC’s finally released what’s coming out in June, after waiting for WonderCon. Here’s my look at what’s coming out, as well as the “Rebirth” revamp in general. A full list of solicitations is available here.
Comics
- Action Comics #957, $3
- Action Comics #958, $3
- Wonder Woman Rebirth #1, $3
- Wonder Woman #1, $3
- Superman: The Coming of the Supermen #5 (of 6), $4
- DC Bombshells #14, $4 (digital first)
- The Legend of Wonder Woman #7 (of 9), $4 (digital first)
- Scooby Apocalypse #2, $4
- Future Quest #2, $4
- Wacky Raceland #1, $4
- Looney Tunes #231, $3
- Astro City #36, $4
Trade paperbacks/graphic novels
- DC Super Hero Girls: Finals Crisis, $10
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold — The Bronze Age Omnibus (HC), $100
- The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl, vol. 1, $20
- Superman: The Death of Superman (New Edition), $18
- Superman: Funeral For a Friend, $20
- Superman: Reign of the Supermen, $25
- Superman: The Return of Superman, $30
- DC Comics Bombshells, vol. 2: Allies, $17
- Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka, vol. 1, $30
- Astro City: Honor Guard (HC), $30
Comments
DC finally announced at WonderCon just who the creative staff for most of their “Rebirth” revamp books will be, plus some other information. “Rebirth” is meant to address DC’s slide in sales and the less-than-stellar current reception to the New 52 by rolling back some of its changes, changing creative staff, and even bringing back some older concepts.
The pros of the “Rebirth” plans:
- Somewhat less ugly costumes, especially for Superman, who’s lost that dumb mock-turtleneck collar.
- The pre-New 52 (post-Crisis) Superman is returning in “Action Comics.”
- Wonder Woman’s gaining a new writer. Hopefully she’ll also lose her New 52 “backstory” that feels like it was written by a mix of Fox News staffers, 4chan, and Rush Limbaugh.
- A price drop to $2.99 on multiple books.
- Some of the titles sound interesting, including the “Super-Sons” book. As I suspected, the “Super-Sons” will be Damian Wayne (Batman’s son) and Jonathan White (the son of the post-Crisis Lois Lane and Clark Kent).
- “Action” and “Detective” are regaining their traditional numbering. As I predicted, DC wouldn’t be able to resist their top two characters having 1,000th issues. At least “Looney Tunes” won’t be DC’s highest-cover-numbered comic anymore.
- DC’s planning to hold a workshop to improve its diversity efforts among its staff.
The cons of the “Rebirth” plans:
- There’s a price drop, but double-shipping means readers of, say, “Batman,” will be paying $6 a month to follow their favorite character instead of $4. It also puts more pressure on the creative teams to turn out twice the usual monthly material.
- While they’ve hired some new staff, it’s still mostly the same creators and editors/management running things. Thus, it’ll remain to be seen if it’s just another “rearranging of the deck chairs.”
- As promised, there’s a heavier focus on characters related to their upcoming media productions. That means lots of stuff with Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the JLA, but not as much beyond those characters/teams.
- Will we get a new Legion of Super-Heroes title back?
Will Jonathan White in “Super-Sons” be called “Superboy,” seeing as there’s no sign of any Boy of Steel in DC’s line otherwise?(Update: Yes, Lois and Clark’s son will be the new Superboy!) - Despite the above-mentioned workshop, some have expressed concerns about a continued lack of diversity in DC’s staffing.
- The changes promising to bring back old elements is nice for old fans, but doesn’t seem very new-reader-friendly. For that matter, they seem confusing even to old fans. Is the pre-New 52 Superman in “Action” the same one that’ll be used in the other Super-books or JLA? Or are we stuck with Mr. “Super Flare” as the “main” Superman outside of “Action”? If so, why can’t we just have the pre-New 52 Supes in his own universe?
Overall, I expect to see a boost in the short term for DC’s sales. However, it’s not certain how long-term the changes or tone will be, or if things will wind up being mostly the same.
(Updated 5/31/16)
