DC Rebirth: Is An Interconnected DC Universe A Good Thing?

According to reports, DC Rebirth will mark the beginning of one massive story told throughout the entire DC comics line, but s that something to get excited about?

It would seem that DC Comics and writer Geoff Johns are taking a page out of the Crossgen Comics handbook when it comes to the direction the DC Universe will be going in for the next two years.

For those that may not remember, Crossgen Comics was a comic book publisher that launched in 1998 and unfortunately folded in 2004. While the company and their titles are remembered fondly by most fans, they were most notable for the way their comics and stories were all interconnected.

Each title could be read and enjoyed individually, but if you went all in and read the entire Crossgen line, you were treated to one massive unfolding storyline that was just beginning to be resolved when the company went under. It was a unique way to make their universe stand out and while it had its detractors, many felt it worked well and made for a more unified, cohesive universe.

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Now it seems DC Comics is going to give it a try.

As reported by Bleeding Cool, debuting with DC Rebirth this May will be a continuous storyline that will unfold across the entire DC publishing line and will conclude in the summer of 2018. Apparently the degree that each title will participate will vary greatly, but every book will be involved at one time or another. Creative teams have been working with Johns to make sure everything aligns properly, even to the extent that some writers have had their plans for their books changed from what was originally proposed.

The last time DC tried something like this was in 2005 when they published Countdown to Infinite Crisis which began a storyline that ran for a number of years and included two weekly titles and a vast number of limited series.

The last time DC tried a continuous storyline, it all started with Countdown to Infinite Crisis

Considering how reaction to Infinite Crisis and the storylines that spun out of it were decidedly mixed, you have to wonder if doing it again is such a great idea.

Geoff Johns is easily one of the best writers working in comics today and Rebirth is pretty much his concept to run with. While the New 52 was essentially a re-branding of the entire DC Universe, DC Rebirth is more of a story-driven event that is looking to bring elements back to DC that were eliminated in the New 52.

But do readers really want to be told that they need to read that many more titles to follow some uber-story, especially with so many of the books going to a twice-a-month publishing schedule? Is this really the way to win back readers who left with the New 52 or Marvel fans who were thinking about giving DC Rebirth a try?

I’m not really sure.

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It feels to me like DC may be going to far the other way from what the stated purpose of the New 52 and later DC You was supposed to be: a relaxing of continuity and making the comics more story than event driven. Instead, now we know two years ahead of time that the summer of 2018 will be bringing with it a major DC event, probably with the name “Crisis” in it somewhere.

Oh well. At least they gave Marvel more than enough time to come up with something to try and steal DC’s thunder.

DC Rebirth hits comic shops on May 25, 2016.

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