The New DC 52 (nU)

We’re just over a week away from DC either making one of the ballsiest moves or one of the dumbest movies in recent comic book history. As they wipe the slate clean (somewhat), and launch a new line of 52 comics all starting at number 1. Since the news first broke in late May, reactions and commentary among fans have been mixed. There are those who firmly believe this may spell the end of DC and have decided to abandon ship, those who feel DC is abandoning them, those who embrace the change and those who want to see how it all plays out.

I’m not here to tell you what is right and wrong. I’m not here to tell you what DC needs to do to really drive this home. I’m not even here to predict the future (for the most part), I’m simply here to tell you why I’m excited for the relaunch since we haven’t really discussed it much on the website. Though, I would recommend checking out the awesome bonus episode of The Comic Anvil which runs down all 52 books!

Since the announcement of this relaunch/reboot/whatever they want to call it this week, I’ve been extremely stoked about it. Was never really sure why, other than the fact that I really do enjoy brave new endeavors. One of the reasons, I was an early and avid supporter of the Wii console. Sometimes, an industry just needs to have a fire lit under its arse to get in gears.

Thinking about the comparison to the Wii really did help me finally realize why I’m excited for this relaunch. Much like the launch of a console, it opens up a brand new world. While I’m currently a DC reader, I don’t nor could I read their entire line, for the most part I play it safe with Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and the likes. In the analogy, these would be like getting a new console and sticking with the Marios, the Zeldas, the Halos, the Uncharted. The extremely popular and high quality stuff.

And going forward, I will continue to read those books, but this relaunch gives me the opportunity (and many others) a chance to really jump into the lesser known titles and characters. A few weeks ago, we ran a poll on the site about titles people were most excited about, and while stuff like Action Comics, Batman and JLA dominated the top 3, stuff like Swamp Thing, Resurrection Man, Voodoo and many others were actually crowding the top 5 and 10. These are the titles I’m most excited for, those that either had a small audience or a non-existing one before this.

Hell before our poll, I didn’t even know who Resurrection Man was, but his title has since become one of my most eagerly anticipated reads in September. I’m sure I’m not the only one in this boat. A problem that has always plagued comics is finding a good place to start. Whether it is a reliance on continuity, being an on-going story, or just being dense, people are frightened to just pick up comics and go. But this relaunch gives me the chance to sample it all, which is one of the reasons I am purchasing all 52 titles.

I am all but certain a good number of them will be stinkers, just the law of average, but I’d rather read 26 stinkers and find one gem than to miss out on that gem of a title altogether. So in just a week plus, who knows what title will really stick with me, but I’m excited to find out!