Trust me when I say this DC comics What we have planned for this fall might just be the best thing to happen to our favorite heroes in a long time, long time. Between dramatic upheavals and a whole new universe, there will be something for everyone.
It's only been a few short weeks since the publisher unveiled its exciting new DC All In initiative, but fans got a good look at what DC Comics has in store at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. I had the privilege of covering the convention this year, and let me tell you: I'm in awe of DC All In, and I guarantee you will be, too.
DC All In? Absolute Universe? What's going on?
Like many DC Comics fans, I've heard rumors of something called the Absolute Universe for the better part of a year. But it wasn't until DC Comics announced an official video that we finally got concrete details about the Absolute Universe and DC All In, the publisher's big initiative for the fall. DC All In is hosted by Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder, who appear in the video. introduced fans to the latest chapter of the DC Universe.
Williamson announced that this new initiative came out of DC's summer event Absolute Power and it officially begins DC All Special #1. While Williamson revealed that Darkside plays a key role in the upcoming storyline, she remained mum on the details. Snyder said that the confrontation between the Justice League and Darkseid “shape the DC universe for a while“. But this was the biggest and most fascinating part of the announcement Confirmation of DC's new Absolute Universe.
DC All Special #1
Available October 2nd from DC Comics!
Snyder played coy when discussing the Absolute Universe, but noted that it would be “a grounded world.”Darkseid energyIt is based on the “Similarly Prime Universe”.Superman energy“. The Absolute Universe is a world that fans of DC heroes know and love, but they don't have many of the creature comforts that their mainstream counterparts have. Superman has no family Batman, on the other hand, lacks the wealth and privilege he usually has. It was an interesting idea and I couldn't wait to learn more about it when I went to San Diego for Comic-Con.
DC Comics Creators Made It All Hotter
Nothing made my Comic-Con experience better than attending DC Absolute Power Panel. Between listening to some of my favorite writers and artists speak and looking at books like new Justice League Unlimited series, I was ready to learn everything I could from my first in-person interviews. Green lantern writer Jeremy Adams was my first interviewee, and while he's not going anywhere in the near future, he did have something to say about the future of Green Lantern in terms of upcoming events. Civilian Corps special.
Jeremy Adams: …one shot is what the finale of the Green Lantern story I'm talking about is based on. That doesn't mean I'm off the books, at least I know. But that means the status quo will change for Green Lantern at the end of it. We will be at a new crossroads in certain ways.
It's always great to hear from Jeremy and it was equally great to hear from Mark Waid. Unfortunately, I asked him too many questions (considering he's currently writing more than a handful of books for DC). But I was able to get some valuable insight into the upcoming Justice League Unlimited series. It happened around this interview I began to question what the DC All In initiative meant for each individual creator.
Mark Waid: It means there's just an excitement here. I know that sounds like a Hollywood answer, but I mean it. I was very lucky. I've been able to carve out a corner of the DC Universe over the last few years where I can have fun and not feel like everything is dictated by editorial or everything is grim and dark. they worked pretty well. I thought we should have more fun with these books. We don't get to experience the joy of being a Green Lantern, the Flash, whatever. The characters need to shine and we need to get back to the essence of who these characters are.
Of course, I had to do my duty as a comics journalist and find something about the Absolute Universe. Thankfully, I spoke with Jason Aaron, the writer who reinvented the Man of Steel for the upcoming film. Definitely Superman. Jason was nice to talk to, not just because he's definitely a sweetheart, but also for he had indeed clarified the details of the Absolute Universe and described the painstaking care that he and other creators put into these titles.
Jason Aaron: It's hard for me to talk about it because I'm so excited to talk about it and I don't want to give away all the secrets. But everything fits together. Like I talked about at the panel when we showed Superman and his costume. The costume is very different in many ways, parts of it shine. His hair is long and his shirt looks very, very different. All these are not just cosmetic options. There's a reason the title looks like that. I'll give you some news: Look at the pie. It has a gradient texture. He literally wears the dust of Krypton.
Definitely Superman #1
Available November 6th from DC Comics!
Reflecting on DC All In, Post San Diego Comic-Con
My five days at San Diego Comic-Con were the most exhausting days of my life. But when the experience was over, I was still excited to hear from some of DC Comics' brightest stars. Whether they were reviving a character for the Ultimate Universe or simply taking a hero from the Prime Universe in a new direction, they were all very confident and excited about DC All In. This new direction for the DC Universe has everyone excitedincluding New Gods Ram V.
Ram V: I think what excites me most about All In in general is the idea that it's no longer just characters that exist in the past, you know, 5-10 years. If you look at the JSA announcement, if you look at the Green Lantern story, if you look at the Absolute Universe, it feels like every DC character, big or small, is all coming to this event. And I find that very exciting.
I've been reading comics for the better part of my life. As someone who was deeply disappointed by the radical changes of the New 52 and its many, many inconsistencies, I'm always ambivalent about the giant initiatives. But The more I hear from these DC Comics creators, the more I realize this is not a marketing stunt. or attempt to harass new readers. It was a never-before-seen passion project, and no one sold the idea better than Joshua Williamson.
Joshua Williamson: So the idea was, “If we're going to do this, it can't feel like they're separate. It's a story.” right? And then we all started talking about, “We're all in this together.” as And we started saying it all the time. We all say it, and that's what top-down means. It was not an initiative. It wasn't a reboot. It wasn't a reboot. It was a moment where we could say, “We're all doing the same thing together.”
I'm not going to lie, I was very excited to talk to these creators in person, and most of my excitement probably came from the energy of San Diego Comic-Con (it was my first time there, after all). But more than a month later, I still feel that excitement. I was doing my best to be cautiously optimistic about DC All In, but now that I know how much passion and planning went into this event, I really think DC Comics will give their fans something special.
I can't wait to see what else DC Comics has planned
If I walked away from San Diego Comic-Con learning anything this year, it's that the creators behind DC All In have big plans. We only saw a small fraction of what went down the pipeline. But after seeing everything DC has put out and talking to these amazing creators, I'm more excited than I've been for DC in a while. I think anyone who has the chance DC comics over the next few months, these comic creators will be pleasantly surprised as they “go all in” on this exciting new endeavor.