Action Comics, Detective Comics Returning To Original Numbering
By Nick Tylwalk
Fans of comic book history, this one’s for you. As part of the DC Comics Rebirth, two of the most iconic comic book series of all time, Action Comics and Detective Comics, are going back to their original numbering.
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DC announced a bunch of its plans for Rebirth earlier today at the ComicsPRO Annual Membership Meeting in Portland, and as expected, most of its titles are relaunching with new #1 issues while others are ending and being replaced by new series. Action and Detective are the exceptions, as they will sport numbers in the 900s when they resume in June.
Both series will count the issues were published in the New 52 universe toward their totals, so while the last consecutively numbered issue of Action Comics was #904 in October 2011, it will resume with #957. In the same fashion, Detective Comics vol. 1 left off at #881 before its last relaunch, and will pick back up with #934.
That makes it very possible that Action Comics will be the first superhero comic to hit #1000 — and sooner than you’d expect, given that it will be one of the series that DC ships twice monthly as part of Rebirth. Detective Comics will do the same, as will most of the series starring the big guns of the DC Universe.
While many fans have decried the constant relaunching and renumbering of superhero comics that has been a staple of the Big Two’s publishing plans during the 21st Century, sales patterns suggest that it’s a good idea to start over at #1 as often as possible. DC will be bucking that trend with this move, but if any two comics deserve a return to high numbers to trumpet their places in history, it’s these two.
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Plus if DC manages to get top notch talent on both books, they’ll sell just fine. Popular Batman writer Scott Snyder is rumored to be returning to Detective Comics, where he first started making his mark on the Dark Knight in 2011, though the creative teams for the Rebirth initiative won’t be announced until a press conference at WonderCon on Saturday, March 26.
(via DCComics.com)