Will The DC Relaunch Stick?

[StarBrand]

Will the DC Comics Relaunch stick, or will they go back to original numbering within a few years like is being suggested by some?
What would going back to original numbering look like? Would they scrap all the new concepts and character designs, and pretend this relaunch never happened? DC is in this way deep already. Then again, New Coke didn't last and was completely scuttled.

[xodacia81]

I've said from the start that I expect this to be a two or three year deal. I've likened it to Heroes Reborn and I think that is apt.

[StarBrand]

I've said from the start that I expect this to be a two or three year deal. I've likened it to Heroes Reborn and I think that is apt.

DC has really risked much with this relaunch, and I'm going out on a limb and betting on it working due to that factor. Whether it works or not, I admire DC for trying this. They're doing everything possible in an attempt to reverse the downward trend they see in new comic sales. I really believe this is the biggest thing I've ever seen in new comics.

[StarBrand]

I've said from the start that I expect this to be a two or three year deal. I've likened it to Heroes Reborn and I think that is apt.

The concepts from Heroes Reborn stuck, didn't they? I mean, the stories are part of Marvel continuity now, at least as far as I know. What I don't get, is if DC does go back to old numbering, will the new character concepts, designs and stories remain in continuity, or will they pretend this never happened? Also, if they pretend this never happened and they go back to old characters, designs, and continuity, that greatly separates it from Heroes Reborn, doesn't it? DC has walked off a far greater cliff of risk on this relaunch than either of the Big Two ever has before, I think.

[Cyberstrike]

I've said from the start that I expect this to be a two or three year deal. I've likened it to Heroes Reborn and I think that is apt.

The concepts from Heroes Reborn stuck, didn't they? I mean, the stories are part of Marvel continuity now, at least as far as I know. What I don't get, is if DC does go back to old numbering, will the new character concepts, designs and stories remain in continuity, or will they pretend this never happened? Also, if they pretend this never happened and they go back to old characters, designs, and continuity, that greatly separates it from Heroes Reborn, doesn't it? DC has walked off a far greater cliff of risk on this relaunch than either of the Big Two ever has before, I think.

The only parts of Heroes Reborn that stuck in the Marvel Continuity were:

The Fantastic Four, The Avengers (Thor, Hulk, The Wasp, and Ant-Man), Captain America, and Iron Man "vanished" for a year after defeating Onslaught.

Iron Man got out of his fate to become evil and betray the Avengers at some future point and was restored as an adult not a teen plucked from the past.

A group of supervillains decided to trick the world into thinking that they were a new group of superheroes called The Thunderbolts and they debuted in the absence of the missing heroes and some of them liked being heroes and rebelled against their leader.

Sue Storm became pregnant again during Heroes Reborn, Now I don't know if her daughter is the same child that was conceived in that universe or if that came after.

Other than that. Most of, if not all of the stories in the 4 Heroes Reborn titles have been swept under the rug as an "alternate universe" stories (or forgotten) and they have little or no bearing on the current state of the Marvel Universe other than events I mentioned above.

If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will point out my mistakes.

[StarBrand]

I've said from the start that I expect this to be a two or three year deal. I've likened it to Heroes Reborn and I think that is apt.

The concepts from Heroes Reborn stuck, didn't they? I mean, the stories are part of Marvel continuity now, at least as far as I know. What I don't get, is if DC does go back to old numbering, will the new character concepts, designs and stories remain in continuity, or will they pretend this never happened? Also, if they pretend this never happened and they go back to old characters, designs, and continuity, that greatly separates it from Heroes Reborn, doesn't it? DC has walked off a far greater cliff of risk on this relaunch than either of the Big Two ever has before, I think.

The only parts of Heroes Reborn that stuck in the Marvel Continuity were:

The Fantastic Four, The Avengers (Thor, Hulk, The Wasp, and Ant-Man), Captain America, and Iron Man "vanished" for a year after defeating Onslaught.

Iron Man got out of his fate to become evil and betray the Avengers at some future point and was restored as an adult not a teen plucked from the past.

A group of supervillains decided to trick the world into thinking that they were a new group of superheroes called The Thunderbolts and they debuted in the absence of the missing heroes and some of them liked being heroes and rebelled against their leader.

Sue Storm became pregnant again during Heroes Reborn, Now I don't know if her daughter is the same child that was conceived in that universe or if that came after.

Other than that. Most of, if not all of the stories in the 4 Heroes Reborn titles have been swept under the rug as an "alternate universe" stories (or forgotten) and they have little or no bearing on the current state of the Marvel Universe other than events I mentioned above.

If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will point out my mistakes.

Thanks for that info, Cyberstrike.

[400yrs]

It will stick for a few years..... probably 5-6. When Action gets to issue 1000, you can be sure it won't be #115 or whatever.

I still think having Jim Lee on the flagship is a bad idea.

[superman-prime]

renumbering never sticks when action closes in on 1k they will swich it back

[Toefur]

It really has to do with how well sales go. If the sales drop to pre-flashpoint levels or lower I think we'll see the changes reverted sooner than later and this will be written off as an alternate universe or some kind of event.

On the other hand if sales take off or do better than previous levels I can see the changes sticking, but eventually the numbering, at least on Action, Detective, Batman, Superman, and maybe Wonder Woman, will revert back. The rest will probably stick with their new numbers as they're not as significant. Unless, of course, DC wants to do a Mavel and add up all the different series to get a 500th issue milestone for books like Flash and Green Lantern.

[leonmallett]

I think the only 2 books on the radar for number reversion would be Action and Detective, with maybe Batman (Superman's numbering has already been messy hasn't it?).

Action and Detective have the strongest legacies and so it may be that we still see some shadow numbering of them or something.

[Cyberstrike]

I think the only 2 books on the radar for number reversion would be Action and Detective, with maybe Batman (Superman's numbering has already been messy hasn't it?).

Action and Detective have the strongest legacies and so it may be that we still see some shadow numbering of them or something.

Shortly after Crisis on Infinte Earths the longest and simply named Superman comic was renamed The Adventures of Superman and later a new comic was launched as Superman (that is the series with the (in)famous #75 "The Death of Superman" issue).

When DC canceled Supeman around #225 they changed the title of The Adventures of Superman back to Superman the numbering on that book never changed until now.

[BruceReville]

I think the only 2 books on the radar for number reversion would be Action and Detective, with maybe Batman (Superman's numbering has already been messy hasn't it?).

Action and Detective have the strongest legacies and so it may be that we still see some shadow numbering of them or something.

Shortly after Crisis on Infinte Earths the longest and simply named Superman comic was renamed The Adventures of Superman and later a new comic was launched as Superman (that is the series with the (in)famous #75 "The Death of Superman" issue).

When DC canceled Supeman around #225 they changed the title of The Adventures of Superman back to Superman the numbering on that book never changed until now.

When DC had its big implosion in the 70s Detective Comics was one of the titles targeted for cancellation. Instead of cancelling it they merged it with Batman Family and kept it going.

[Johnseye]

It's a marketing scheme.
At some point each company is going to need to say they've been in the business for X number of years based on X number of titles which are reflected in the issue count.

Only if they can come up with a way of doing that simultaneously will the numbering not eventually change back.

[Cyberstrike]

I think the only 2 books on the radar for number reversion would be Action and Detective, with maybe Batman (Superman's numbering has already been messy hasn't it?).

Action and Detective have the strongest legacies and so it may be that we still see some shadow numbering of them or something.

Shortly after Crisis on Infinte Earths the longest and simply named Superman comic was renamed The Adventures of Superman and later a new comic was launched as Superman (that is the series with the (in)famous #75 "The Death of Superman" issue).

When DC canceled Supeman around #225 they changed the title of The Adventures of Superman back to Superman the numbering on that book never changed until now.

When DC had its big implosion in the 70s Detective Comics was one of the titles targeted for cancellation. Instead of cancelling it they merged it with Batman Family and kept it going.

Yeah but this only a few years ago and too my knowledge they didn't merge The Adventures of Superman and Superman.

[Draco]

Maybe the questions needed to be a bit broader.

I think the relaunch will be a success as is Flashpoint, but when it makes sense to change the numbers back they should and will.

Remember this is an exercise in getting new readers on board, not an attempt to see how long they can keep to a new numbering system, that's just a part of the new launch that makes most sense to bring in new blood, who might not take a dip due to the daunting numbers of past.

Whilst i can understand a need to compare to past events etc, i think this stands out as unique in a few ways and should be treated as such. Comparisons for me dont work, these are different times, with different customers who have different needs.

[OmenSpirits.com]

Will the DC Comics Relaunch stick, or will they go back to original numbering within a few years like is being suggested by some?
What would going back to original numbering look like? Would they scrap all the new concepts and character designs, and pretend this relaunch never happened? DC is in this way deep already. Then again, New Coke didn't last and was completely scuttled.

Two words.

Heroes. Reborn.

[Chiclo]

Will the DC Comics Relaunch stick, or will they go back to original numbering within a few years like is being suggested by some?
What would going back to original numbering look like? Would they scrap all the new concepts and character designs, and pretend this relaunch never happened? DC is in this way deep already. Then again, New Coke didn't last and was completely scuttled.

Two words.

Heroes. Reborn.

Black. September.

[dhudson1]

DC has published several different Justice League and Green Lantern books, but has never, that I can recall, done the retro numbering that Marvel has.

Disclaimer: past performance does not guarantee future results.

I am actually looking forward to some of the new stuff.

[Draco]

DC has published several different Justice League and Green Lantern books, but has never, that I can recall, done the retro numbering that Marvel has.

Disclaimer: past performance does not guarantee future results.

I am actually looking forward to some of the new stuff.

[Jersen]

I have to say that I'm on board for this endeavor. I think DC is very brave to try this, when the potential to fail is very great, but I really feel like they're doing this in the best way possible by making a good jumping on point for new readers that seems to (from what little we know) be still acknowledging what came before for the major things that have been happening for current readers.

What seems clear to me is that they are trying to remain relevant to the largest part of the current readership by basically continuing what's been going on with the biggest-selling stories. There's no point in kowtowing to people who haven't been actively reading DC since the late '90s or even within the past few years. Their method seems to be to cut off most of the baggage of the admittedly cluttered/convoluted past and only bring along what has been appealing in maintaining readership and/or attracting new readers.

I would say that DC easily has the densest (most dense?) mythology simply because Marvel was basically founded on the concept of continuity where DC had to adopt that idea into their method of operation. I'm hoping that they have more or less (nothing is perfect) devised a way to pull new readers in while not dismissing the best of what has come before. I genuinely feel that DC has the overall strongest set of characters because they seem to--on the whole--beckon to those ancient archetypes where Marvel has always been more concerned with the here-and-now. I would argue that DC's past stories hold up better over time than Marvel's simply for that reason. Marvel appeals to current trends where DC appeals to a more timeless sensibility.

[Draco]

I have to say that I'm on board for this endeavor. I think DC is very brave to try this, when the potential to fail is very great, but I really feel like they're doing this in the best way possible by making a good jumping on point for new readers that seems to (from what little we know) be still acknowledging what came before for the major things that have been happening for current readers.

What seems clear to me is that they are trying to remain relevant to the largest part of the current readership by basically continuing what's been going on with the biggest-selling stories. There's no point in kowtowing to people who haven't been actively reading DC since the late '90s or even within the past few years. Their method seems to be to cut off most of the baggage of the admittedly cluttered/convoluted past and only bring along what has been appealing in maintaining readership and/or attracting new readers.

I would say that DC easily has the densest (most dense?) mythology simply because Marvel was basically founded on the concept of continuity where DC had to adopt that idea into their method of operation. I'm hoping that they have more or less (nothing is perfect) devised a way to pull new readers in while not dismissing the best of what has come before. I genuinely feel that DC has the overall strongest set of characters because they seem to--on the whole--beckon to those ancient archetypes where Marvel has always been more concerned with the here-and-now. I would argue that DC's past stories hold up better over time than Marvel's simply for that reason. Marvel appeals to current trends where DC appeals to a more timeless sensibility.

The single best post on this subject i have read to date, awesome.

[StarBrand]

I have to say that I'm on board for this endeavor. I think DC is very brave to try this, when the potential to fail is very great, but I really feel like they're doing this in the best way possible by making a good jumping on point for new readers that seems to (from what little we know) be still acknowledging what came before for the major things that have been happening for current readers.

What seems clear to me is that they are trying to remain relevant to the largest part of the current readership by basically continuing what's been going on with the biggest-selling stories. There's no point in kowtowing to people who haven't been actively reading DC since the late '90s or even within the past few years. Their method seems to be to cut off most of the baggage of the admittedly cluttered/convoluted past and only bring along what has been appealing in maintaining readership and/or attracting new readers.

I would say that DC easily has the densest (most dense?) mythology simply because Marvel was basically founded on the concept of continuity where DC had to adopt that idea into their method of operation. I'm hoping that they have more or less (nothing is perfect) devised a way to pull new readers in while not dismissing the best of what has come before. I genuinely feel that DC has the overall strongest set of characters because they seem to--on the whole--beckon to those ancient archetypes where Marvel has always been more concerned with the here-and-now. I would argue that DC's past stories hold up better over time than Marvel's simply for that reason. Marvel appeals to current trends where DC appeals to a more timeless sensibility.

The single best post on this subject i have read to date, awesome.

Good stuff, for sure.

[Lightning Strike]

I've said from the start that I expect this to be a two or three year deal. I've likened it to Heroes Reborn and I think that is apt.

Agreed. When they figure out it was a mistake, they will just claim it was an alternate DCU and go back to the old one.

[superman-prime]

reborn crisis

[StarBrand]

I've said from the start that I expect this to be a two or three year deal. I've likened it to Heroes Reborn and I think that is apt.

Agreed. When they figure out it was a mistake, they will just go back to the old one.

Like New Coke?