The most convincing argument about DC’s reboot


I’ve been kind of back and forth on DC’s announced reboot of its entire universe in August. I can see the pros and cons, and I still haven’t been sure whether I think it’ll be the final straw that gets me to bail on comics (or at least DC comics) once and for all. But at the very least, it’s led to some interesting commentary in comicsblogland. Take this column from Michael Breakfield of Lone Star comics, for example, where he comes out in full support of the move (emphasis mine):

I think it’s a great idea.

First, I’m excited about the prospect of reading a Justice League comic written by master scribe Geoff Johns, one of the best comic artists of the last twenty years. That is All Star talent for an All Star book.
[…]
Another reason this is a great idea is that it’s been done before, and it worked. In the mid-90s, Marvel did this very thing–perhaps on a smaller scale, but nonetheless successfully. In the wake of Onslaught, the world thought that its greatest heroes sacrificed themselves to save the world. They were in fact saved by Franklin Richard’s mostly untapped cosmic powers and the universe of Heroes Reborn was created. For the first time in Marvel’s publishing history Captain America, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and the Avengers existed outside of the 616 and their comics restarted from issue #1. And like DC is doing now, Marvel turned the reigns of their flagship characters over to the best the business had to offer. Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Jim Valentino, Jeph Loeb, Walt Simonson, Chuck Dixon, Brett Booth, Ron Lim, and Whilce Portacio–this was the All Star creative team behind this endeavor. The Marvel Universe was re-imagined by a new generation of superstars for a new generation of readers. Heroes Reborn paved the way for Heroes Return, which brought Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Marvel’s First Family back to the fold of the Marvel Universe proper for a renaissance.

Get that? This is apparently a great idea because it’s like the frequently delayed and inconsistent Heroes Reborn and the subsequent Heroes Return — where Marvel undid Heroes Reborn and brought everyone back to the regular Marvel Universe. Good grief. That’s an endorsement?

So yeah, consider me convinced. This is a terrible idea.