DC Rebirth

Today saw the release of DC Universe Rebirth #1, DC Comics' big attempt to right some perceived wrongs the company may have taken over the past five years, and set the stage for a new DC Universe and a new slate of comics due out next month. Towards the back of the issue there is a two-page spread by Ivan Reis featuring the heroes of this new universe totaling over sixty characters, and we've combed through the entire spread and put a name to every face.

DC Comics’ big summer event one-shot DC Universe: Rebirth #1 goes on sale this week, and the internet is abuzz with news, reveals and spoilers concerning one of the biggest comics of the year. The one-shot by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Gary Frank and Ivan Reis sees the return of familiar faces from inside and outside the DC Universe, and DC is already publicizing those revelations in the press, so we’ve rounded up the biggest developments from this blockbuster story from DC-approved sources like USA Today, IGN and CBR, for those readers who want the full rundown. If you don't want to be spoiled for any of the events of DC Universe: Rebirth #1 before the book comes out on Wednesday, go learn about some other comics you could be reading instead. Spoilers for the future of the DC Universe follow.

We've been keeping a close eye on the updated character designs and new looks for all the DC heroes that are coming as part of its summer DC Rebirth initiative, and we may have just been given a first look at one of the publisher's most iconic supervillains' new design. Last night, upcoming Batgirl artist Rafael Albuquerque posted his Fried Pie Comics exclusive variant of Tom King and David Finch's Batman #1 on Instagram, which featured The Dark Knight posing back-to-back with a new take on a familiar face.

With DC set to relaunch its universe with the big Rebirth event, it looks like it is once again time for the publisher to take a shot at updating its brand. To that end, when DC Universe: Rebirth Special #1 hits stands next week, it's going to feature the debut of a new logo for the comics line, courtesy of independent design firm Pentagram, replacing the "Page Turn" logo that's been on DC covers since 2012.

The Birds of Prey is a classic DC franchise that has been missing from the stands for the past couple of years, but that absence comes to an end soon thanks to the launch of Batgirl and The Birds of Prey as part of DC Rebirth. Written by Julie Benson and Shawna Benson of The CW's The 100, with art by We(l)come Back's Claire Roe, the series brings the classic team of Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress together again for the first time in order to track down an imposter posing as Barbara Gordon's former identity, Oracle. ComicsAlliance chatted to the Benson sisters about how they came to DC, their transition from television to comics, and the team dynamic of their Birds of Prey. Also, DC provided us with annotated design pages from Yanick Paquette and an exclusive look at character sketches by Claire Roe!

Greg Rucka's return to Wonder Woman was one of the standout announcements from DC's Wondercon panel in March, and with art by Liam Sharp and Nicola Scott it's easily one of the most anticipated books of the new relaunch. In honor of Sharp's birthday yesterday, DC Comics unveiled new preview pages from Wonder Woman: Rebirth #1.

A line-wide relaunch provides a great opportunity for a publisher to take a look at the visuals of their books, specifically costumes and decide what needs tweaking, changing and updating. We’ve already seen new looks for Batman, Deathstroke and Birds of Prey but today artist Tom Derenick posted on his Facebook page a detailed design sheet for the new look Superman post-Rebirth and in true ComicsAlliance tradition, we’re going to pick apart and analyze it see what works and what doesn’t.

With DC Rebirth on the horizon, the DC Universe is getting a makeover . We’ve already seen Yanick Paquette’s designs for Black Canary and Huntress, but yesterday outgoing Midnighter artist ACO posted several rejected and final designs for the upcoming Deathstroke series by Christopher Priest, Igor Vitorino and Felipe Watanabe.

With DC Rebirth comes a new take on the Birds of Prey, specifically Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, written by Julie and Shawna Benson with art by Claire Roe, and along with that comes some new costume designs. While Batgirl seems to be keeping the same basic costume she's worn since moving to Burnside (though it looks different when drawn by different artists), her new teammates, Huntress and Black Canary, have new looks designed by series cover artist Yanick Paquette. But what do these new looks tell us about the characters and the series, and how do they compare to the characters' previous looks?

The biggest news to come out of last weekend's WonderCon was unquestionably the announcement of DC's new "Rebirth" initiative, which featured an all-new lineup of DC titles that mix familiar faces with a few surprises --- in terms of both characters and creators. With a few months left before those titles actually hit stands, we're due for weeks of speculation, conjecture, and reaction to the new titles. And that starts with us. We convened a roundtable discussion for a quartet of ComicsAlliance staffers --- Elle Collins, Kieran Shiach, Chris Sims, and Andrew Wheeler --- to offer up their thoughts about the announcements, including what they're looking forward to, what they're skeptical about, and how they think the upcoming Rebirth titles compare to DC's last few new directions.