DC Rebirth

James Tynion IV, Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez's Detective Comics has been one of the absolute stand-out comics from the DC Rebirth initiative, melding X-Men style team dynamics with fan-favorite Batman characters and providing the highest of stakes for the heroes on Batwoman's team. Heading into this week's Detective Comics #940, things didn't look too good for Tim "Two Weeks From Retirement" Drake as he faced down a horde of killer drones, but the conclusion of "Rise of the Batmen" and the revelation of Tim's fate are more shocking than anyone could have predicted.

Thanks to the biweekly release schedule it shares with many of DC's other Rebirth titles, the current Aquaman is humming along briskly, telling a high-stakes story and offering a new level of development to its characters. Aquaman #6, out September 7, features an epic fight with Superman and a milestone in the life of Black Manta. ComicsAlliance talked to writer Dan Abnett and artist Brad Walker about how recent changes for Superman affect Aquaman, why Rebirth and the biweekly schedule benefits creators and readers, and what their plans are for Aquaman's greatest enemy.

Hope Larson has taken on a difficult task in writing Batgirl, and taking the book in a totally different direction from the wildly popular "Burnside" run by Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr that ended prior to DC Rebirth. Her first two issues, illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque, follow Barbara Gordon on a trip to Japan to meet an elderly female hero, and then to Singapore to study mixed martial arts. With last week's release of Batgirl #2, ComicsAlliance spoke to Larson about getting to grips with the character and the challenges of taking Barbara in a new direction.

With the pre-New 52 Wally West back and (literally) running around the DC Universe, it was only a matter of time before he and Linda Park found each other once again. Now, we're finally getting there in the pages of next week's Titans #2. Sort of. Mostly. I mean, look, they meet each other again, and that's a start, right? Check out an exclusive preview!

As far as Suicide Squad is concerned, DC's big Rebirth event couldn't have happened at a better time. Right as there's a big budget Hollywood movie out featuring Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Harley Quinn, the entire universe is giving readers the chance to hop back in on the ground floor with a brand new Suicide Squad #1 from Jim Lee, Jason Fabok and Rob Williams.

I think it's safe to say that Jaime Reyes had a pretty rough go of it in the New 52. Despite being in one of the launch titles of the new universe, Blue Beetle never seemed to click with readers or the viewers that knew him from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. That said, his predecessor, Ted Kord, might have had an even worse time in the previous universe, being unceremoniously shot in the head to kick off the events of Infinite Crisis. Now, though, both characters are getting another chance. In September, the all-new Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1 hits shelves from Keith Giffen and Scott Kolins, with Jaime and Ted teaming up as the two-man team of mentor and hero that readers got a glimpse of in the DC Rebirth special. Check out a preview!

DC's Rebirth initiative has been an opportunity to revitalize some of its core characters and get back to the roots of what made them icons in the first place. Deathstroke, AKA Slade Wilson, has been sliding more and more into antiheroism over the past few years, and was one of those characters desperately in need of a reset. Many fans were pleasantly surprised when they heard that Christopher Priest would be the writer to take the helm on that project. Ahead of Deathstroke: Rebirth #1, ComicsAlliance caught up with Priest and artist Carlo Pagulayan to chat about the core of Deathstroke's character, his dysfunctional family and his place in the DC Universe.

Next week the world goes Suicide Squad crazy with the release of the much promoted feature film starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto. DC Comics is capitalizing on the buzz by launching a number of new Suicide Squad titles to coincide with the film's release, including a brand new volume of the titular series, and we've got a preview of Suicide Squad Rebirth #1 by Rob Williams, Philip Tan and Jonathan Glapion.

At this afternoon's DC All-Access Panel at San Diego Comic Con, unlettered pages were revealed from both Supergirl: Rebirth #1, the one-shot that relaunches Supergirl as part of DC's Rebirth event, and Supergirl #1, the first issue of her new ongoing series. Both books are written by Steve Orlando, with Emmanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy, and Michael Atiyeh providing art for the Rebirth issue, while Brian Ching and Michael Atiyeh handle art for the ongoing. The art in the one-shot has more of a "DC House Style" look to it, while the ongoing's art is a little more stylized and "cute." But both feature an upbeat-looking Supergirl in basically her classic costume, which is something we haven't had in the DC Universe for years. And that's exciting.

San Diego Comic Con is without a doubt the biggest event on the industry’s calendar, and people will be flying from around the world to attend panels, watch trailers, meet creators, and make friends. This year’s event is bigger than ever, with so much going on every single day that it can be difficult to sift through all that information and decide how to spend your time. Yesterday we gave a rundown on what to expect on Thursday and Friday, but things heat up as the weekend kicks in and the major studios make their presence known. Expect big reveals from Marvel Studios, DC's TV offerings and more, plus great panels featuring your favorite creators in comics.