User blog:Hatebunny/Back to Zero, huh? Boo!

So, let me preface this by saying that I am the kind of person who is extremely resistant to change. I'm not resistant to progress, but, I'd hardly call it progress to STOP the progression of comic book continuity, and then start over. I've already seen a couple of blog posts and comments about it today, but for those not in the know, check these articles out:

DC Comics unleashes a new universe of superhero titles DC plans to reboot their numbering system, and revamp all of 52 titles for the "modern age."

DC Comics ready for a risky yet relevant publishing change Geoff Johns and Jim Lee confirm the changes, are apparently very excited about it.

Now that you've read those, here's what I have to say about it. Like I said, I don't like change. Part of what I love about comics is the extensive and enduring continuity that links one issue to another. Part of why I love comic books is that it's not just a bunch of origin stories over and over again. That is one of the main things I hate about comic book movies, too. Always origin stories, to appeal to the hip younger generation, who can't stand it when a story is complicated, and a character's history extends backward for more than ten minutes.

So, there are probably a few ways this could play out. They may continue all the current story lines as they are (but with different numbering), but somehow update the settings and characters, and explaining it all with one-shot secret origins issues. They may simply cut all of the stories short, wrap them up as best they can, and start over at 1. The first method would be clumsy, but it wouldn't piss me off overmuch. The second method would also be clumsy, AND it would be extremely upsetting to those of us who have read comics for years.

There have been reboots like this in the past, but in the context of continuity, they all worked. Crisis on Infinite Earths brought an end to an era, yes, but there was significant(ish) leadup to the Crisis that prepared everyone for the fact that things were rebooting, and it made sense to have things start over, given what transpired. Infinite Crisis had even more buildup, and everybody knew things were going to change. It didn't start everyone over, but it ended a chapter in comic book continuity, and began another.

And now here we are, with no significant lead-in to anything (granted, I haven't read Flashpoint or any of the big stories that are supposed to be upcoming) - and yet, they want to start it all over. Why no crisis? I can understand the desire to set the clock back. Batman and Superman are getting dangerously close to 50 years old in canon, Oliver Queen would be in his mid 50s if he hadn't died that one time... And, here's a bit of a contentious point: I feel like many of the main books have jumped the shark recently.

Batman Inc seems like maybe the sort of thing Batman would do, sometime in the future, but now that it's happened, the main question on my mind is "Who the hell is Bruce Wayne now? Should I give a crap about him now, after giving a crap about him for years?" For me, there was always only one Batman. Anybody who took his place was temporary, and was meant to show, inevitably, that there is only one Batman. And that Batman is Bruce Wayne.

World of New Krypton happened. Superman stops being the last son of krypton. He's got a pile of people flying around under his banner...

Basically: What can happen now, other than stagnation? So, sure, they can revamp. But I will silently will that much of DC's staff receive punches in the face should it prove to be 52 issues of character derailment. I will silently will a number of kicks in the balls/box should it prove to be a rehashing of years of origin stories that I've already read.

Honestly, I really don't know what they could do to revamp the comics for a modern age. They're already set in the present day. They're already making references to current pop-culture. My hope is that they don't know either.

At this point, all we can do is wait and see, and hope that nothing too drastic happens. But, if this turns out to be the New Coke of comic books, I told them so.