DC Rebirth: Meshing the New with the Old

Written by Joshua Winchester

DC Comics is without a doubt, one of the oldest, most well established and well-known comic book publishers, not just in North America, but in the world also. Some of their biggest characters are household names thanks to the various films, cartoons and video games that are out in mainstream media.

But what about some of the lesser known names, or names that were forgotten almost altogether?

Starting in 2011, DC Comics did a massive overhaul of their fictional universe, canceling all the current titles and releasing 52 new issue #1's, under the branding "The New 52". What has followed since was six years of brand new stories, taking the familiar characters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the DC Universe, and altering aspects of them to make them grittier, more real, or even just go through a major redesign altogether. That brought about a lot of good, but also a lot of bad as well. Characters that were well-known and loved by readers were suddenly dropped in favor of the new look DC wanted to give its readers (mainly the new ones), heroes that felt more fresh and up to date with the 21st century world.

Now however, DC is bringing back some of the old, and wedding it to the new. The end result: DC Rebirth, which kick-started with an 80-page one-shot that brought readers up to speed on what was going to be happening in the old/new world their heroes would be inhabiting. Each new series will have its issues released on a twice-a-month basis, in addition to the various #1 one-shots being published to help bring everyone up to speed on what will be happening to specific characters and teams.

 It has already provided the return of one much-loved member of the DC hero community including Wally West (formerly sidekick Kid Flash, now returning as The Flash alongside his uncle Barry Allen (who will also be the Flash). Other heroes/teams that will be making a comeback are Ted Kord (the second Blue Beetle), and the Justice Society of America, a team of "mystery-men and women" who fought crime during the 1940's and are considered by many to the first super-team in comics.

In the end, it is my hope that DC Rebirth will restore some of the glory to the many characters that inhabit its universe, and bring both new and old readers into the fold as well as providing new stories that will make these timeless heroes (and villains too) all the more enjoyable for generations to come.