DC Rebirth

Superman is the best. The. Best. In every possible way you can take that statement. It’s not up for debate. He’s the first superhero. He’s the greatest superhero. If there can be but one superhero, he’s the only superhero you need or that matters. If you asked a thousand people to draw or describe what a superhero is supposed to look like, the consensus design would undoubtedly most closely resemble Superman. The idea of Superman is so iconic, that even as his look and costume continue to change and evolve over time and be interpreted and re-imagined by countless artists the world over, he somehow still manages to be instantly recognizable as Superman. The amazing and eclectic collection of art I’ve put together here only serves to illustrate my point!

John Constantine's transition back into the DC Universe has been a bit of a rocky road over the past six years, but recently a balance has been struck and the cheeky and charming conjurer now feels at home once again among the likes of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. This month Constantine returns in a brand new ongoing series The Hellblazer by Simon Oliver and Moritat, launching with The Hellblazer: Rebirth #1. The new series sees John return to Great Britain and come face to face with literal demons from his past. ComicsAlliance chatted with the creative team about their plans for Constantine's return home, and Oliver's enduring hatred of the man the character is based on.

When DC Comics announced the Rebirth initiative, it came with a lot of language about going back to what worked and re-examining familiar characters, but in practice the initiative has actually offered some bold ideas that may help push the publisher forward. One of the most exciting titles to come out of Rebirth was Gene Luen Yang, Victor Bogdanovic, Richard Friend and Hi-Fi’s New Super-Man, which sees a brash teenager from Shanghai gifted with all the powers of The Man of Steel. Ahead of its release in two weeks' time, DC has provided a first look at the new title and an introduction to Kenan Kong.

Dick Grayson has done it all. He was in the circus. He was the first Robin. He’s the reason almost every superhero had to have a kid sidekick. He started his own super-team with his friends. He broke away from Batman and became his own hero, and took over for his mentor and became Batman.More than once. He’s been a good cop in a bad city. He’s died and come back as a super-spy. And now, with DC Rebirth in full swing, he’s set to slip back into the black and blue and become Nightwing once again! Oh, and if you haven’t been on the internet, he also has the unquestioned, best butt in comics. So, yeah, as you might have guessed there’s a lot of fan art of him floating (or flipping, spinning, and swinging) around out there on the internet.

Is it Watchmen's fault that Captain America is a Nazi? That's the strange question I found myself asking after the last month's developments in superhero comics. Thirty years after Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen made its debut, the characters are being integrated into the DC Universe as part of the current DC Rebirth publishing initiative, seemingly as totems of the sort of superhero grimnness that Rebirth hopes to move away from. Meanwhile, at Marvel, the publisher's most principled hero has been retconned as a secret agent of a far-right hate group, at a time when a vocal segment of the audience wants to see a lot more love than hate in the character's life. Both developments are indicative of a tension at the heart of superhero comics. Thirty years after Watchmen, is it time to stop pointing out that heroes can have flaws, and time instead to acknowledge that heroes can have value?

If you're keeping up with the events of Rebirth, there are a couple of things that you already know. First, the Superman of the New 52 era is apparently dead, and at the very least is no longer Superman. Second, Lex Luthor is using a suit of Apokoliptian armor that he got during the events of Justice League's "Darkseid War" storyline to act as the new Superman for Metropolis. Third, the Superman of the pre-New 52 universe has returned, and is extremely angry about this --- mainly because Lex is wearing the old (new) Superman's cape. If it sounds complicated, it is, but it's also set up some pretty interesting relationships for the cast. And now, we're getting a little extra explanation in the pages of Justice League, from longtime Superman creators Dan Jurgens and Tom Grummett. Check out a preview!

The last time the DC Universe was rebooted, all the way back in 2011, Aquaman kicked things off by insisting that he does not talk to fish. Now, with Rebirth upon us and a new clean slate offered up so that we can once again redefine the King of the Seven Seas, it raises the question of just what Aquaman's going to tell us he doesn't do this time. When Aquamman: Rebirth #1 hits shelves next week from Dan Abnett and Oscar Jimenez, is he going to tell us that he doesn't wear an orange shirt, or that he didn't have a pirate hook for a hand for a little bit back in the '90s? Or is he, perhaps, going to tell us that he prefers swimming pools to the ocean? Okay, okay, I kid. It actually turns out that Aquaman's going to be kicking off his new era by punching out a bunch of Aquaterrorists who ride around on giant sea-serpents with alligator mouths, so already, things are looking up. Check out a preview!

This week sees the first wave of DC's new Rebirth line of books, and one of the most eagerly anticipated is the brand new Green Lanterns series, which follows the rookie GLs Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz as they try to get along and work together to protect the Earth. Ahead of the first issue, ComicsAlliance chatted to series writer Sam Humphries about his DC debut, working alongside Green Lantern veterans Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, and the buddy cop aspects of the new book. Also, DC provided us with a look inside Green Lanterns #1, out this week!

This week saw us say goodbye to a hero who fought for truth, justice and the American way. Who fought for the downtrodden and the common man. Who fought against injustice while wearing a t-shirt and jeans. This week saw us say goodbye to The New 52 Superman. Spoilers for the current Superman status quo follow.

DC Comics kicked off the start of its next new era and its next pseudo reboot with DC Universe: Rebirth #1 by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Gary Frank and Ivan Reis this week. The issue contains a lot of shocking revelations that will have far-reaching consequences for all DC Universe titles in the coming months, but was it a good comic, and does it fill its readers with the hope and optimism that writer Geoff Johns had promised? ComicsAlliance convened a roundtable of critics Elle Collins, Katie Schenkel, Kieran Shiach, and Andrew Wheeler to break it all down and give their unvarnished opinions of DC's new direction. Spoilers follow.