DC Comics: Back At One

Cover to upcoming Detective Comics issue

As featured in a USA Today story, DC Comics will renumber it's entire current line of comics back to issue number one. We examine what some of the motives are for such a change.

Wonder Woman cover

We can only surmise that the reasons for such a move is not just to bring fresh and new perspectives on it's variety of storied characters such as Superman, Batman and Green Lantern, for today's younger generation, but a great marketing ploy for collectors who crave coveted first issues of any comic book. Our viewers will recall that Jim Lee (co-publisher at DC Comics) was the artist for the hot selling X-Men number one comic book revamp with it's multiple covers. We'd like to believe that a high issue numbered comic reflects it's longevity and sales success as one of DC's flagship comics, Action Comics, just passed issue 900.

Action Comics cover

It's also fair to say that most of the older issues did not contain or reflect diverse and politically correct story lines or characters as it relates to modern times. Would DC Comics rather not reprint those classic issues for today's international audience? Is this reboot part of an aggressive move to grab that same international crowd? That same audience that has propelled movies such as "Dark Knight" to billions of profits for DC Comic's parent company Time Warner? We would likely answer with a resounding "yes" to all.

Sales of it's traditional paper comics are declining as it is for the industry and as the world latches on to digital technology, it's no doubt DC Comics will try to capture that savy market that can view digital comics with ease of a button. Users of Apple's iPad and iPhone devices can download comics directly from the DC Comics App. We're not exactly pleased or dismayed for the move, but simply bringing new creative teams would have done the job to pump new story lines and adventures for today's generation to experience. At least we didn't need to have another crisis to change the DC universe.


Images copyright DC Comics