DC Rebirth

DC Rebirth
Promotional image
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	May 25, 2016 – present
Main character(s)	DC Universe
Creative team
Written by	Various
Artist(s)	Various

DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth is intended to restore the DC Universe to a form much like that prior to the "Flashpoint" storyline while still incorporating numerous elements of The New 52, including its continuity. It will also see many of its titles move to a twice-monthly release schedule, with all titles being released at US$2.99.

Publication history

In January 2016, DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio and Jim Lee tweeted an image of a blue curtain with the word "Rebirth" on it, teasing the event. The following month, DC announced its Rebirth initiative, a line-wide relaunch of its titles, to begin in June 2016. Beginning with an 80-page one-shot which was released on May 25, 2016, Rebirth also sees Action Comics and Detective Comics return to their previous numbering (#957 and #934, respectively), all books being released at US$2.99, multiple books being shifted to a twice-monthly release schedule, a number of existing titles being relaunched with new #1s, and the release of several new titles.

Wrap-around cover for DC Universe: Rebirth Special #1 by Gary Frank

Geoff Johns described the 80-page one-shot as "re-laying the groundwork for DC's future while celebrating the past and present. It's not about throwing anything away. It's quite the opposite." On the initiative, which was described as a rebirth of the DC Universe, Johns call Rebirth more "in the same vein as Green Lantern: Rebirth and The Flash: Rebirth. Some things alter and change, but it's more character-driven, and it's also more about revealing secrets and mysteries within the DC Universe about "Flashpoint" and The New 52 that are part of a bigger tapestry." The Rebirth initiative will reintroduce concepts from pre-Flashpoint continuity, such as legacy, that were lost with The New 52 and build "on everything that's been published since Action Comics #1 up thru The New 52." Lee said that Johns "came up with this brilliant story [for the DC Universe: Rebirth Special] that basically allows us to seat the New 52 within the continuity that preceded it. So it really synchronizes and harmonizes pre-52 with New 52 continuity".

Creative teams for the Rebirth titles, along with some art and storylines, were revealed at WonderCon 2016. Johns worked with each writing team and the editors for the titles to help refocus "on these characters, deconstructing them down to their core DNA and building out story arcs based on that DNA". Additionally, two titles part of the initial announcement in February, Gotham Academy: Second Semester and Earth 2, were revealed to no longer be considered Rebirth titles, instead acting as continuations of their New 52 titles, Gotham Academy and Earth 2: Society, respectively. Regarding the decision to focus on fewer titles, with some shipping twice-monthly, DiDio said, "What we did was eliminate some of the lower ranked titles, and we're trying to incorporate those ideas into the main books themselves, because we feel that makes the main books stronger" adding, "we look at things like... Gotham by Midnight. And I loved Gotham by Midnight, but it never got the sampling that a Batman book would. But if we did that Gotham by Midnight story and integrated it into the Batman series that was shipping twice monthly, there was a better chance for people to see those characters, get excited by those characters, and more importantly, if we ever decided to thin them out, maybe we'd have a stronger audience and a better chance for series like that to succeed." DiDio also revealed that DC had breaks in the schedule "where we'll decide whether or not a double-ship is working" and potentially change it to monthly status. "We're going to be examining that on a regular basis," he added. "We're not going to keep book double-shipping if we don't think the demand is there."

Regarding the release of variant covers for titles, Lee said, "we're only using specialty variants with comic book shops and variant covers in judicious ways. We're not going to have a gazillion SKUs across the entire line. We find that, at that point, why publish a story inside at all, if you're just going to build a business based on variant covers. We're still using variant covers, but we're actually using one variant cover artist for each book. They sort of get tenure, as it were. And they're going to be responsible for being the alternate cover artist on that book. And we're only doing it on our top-selling books."

On May 27, 2016, DC announced that DC Universe: Rebirth Special #1 would receive a second printing. The rerelease, being sold at US$5.99, featured an update to Gary Frank's cover, better revealing the outstretched hand of Doctor Manhattan in the top right corner, as well as a square bound format. Less than a week later, DC revealed the title would receive a third printing, again being released at US$5.99 with a square bound format, and a new cover from Frank. Additionally, the first wave of Rebirth one-shots – Batman: Rebirth, Green Lanterns: Rebirth, Superman: Rebirth and Green Arrow: Rebirth – also received second printings, with a recolored Rebirth banner to differentiate it from the original printing.

Changes to the DC Universe

With the release of DC Universe: Rebirth Special, characters not seen during The New 52, including Wally West, Jackson Hyde / Aqualad, Ryan Choi and Doctor Fate, returned to continuity, while other characters, such as Ted Kord and Ray Palmer / Atom returned to their characterization from prior to Flashpoint. Additionally, Wally West explains the in-universe cause of the reboot following Flashpoint was not due to Barry Allen attempting to fix the timelines; rather, for unknown reasons Doctor Manhattan of Watchmen interfered and removed approximately 10 years from each character, which resulted in the younger age of heroes in The New 52, and the loss of legacy and previous relationships.

Titles

Ongoing series

At WonderCon 2016, DC revealed the titles under four different "families", grouping similar characters or titles together.

"Batman"

These titles feature Batman and the "Batman Family" of characters.

Title	Publication dates / Issues	Initial creative team[note1]	Notes / References
Batman	June 2016 – present (1– )	Writer Tom King Artists David Finch Mikel Janin	The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Detective Comics	June 2016 – present (934– )	Writer James Tynion IV Artists Eddy Barrows Alvaro Martinez	Featuring a team consisting of Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain and Clayface, led by Batman and Batwoman. The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Batgirl	July 2016	Writer Hope Larson Artist Rafael Albuquerque	Focusing on Barbara Gordon. The title initially shipped monthly.
Nightwing	July 2016	Writer Tim Seeley Artists Javi Fernandez Marcus To	Focusing on Dick Grayson. The title initially shipped twice monthly.
All-Star Batman	August 2016	Writer Scott Snyder Artists Multiple	Artists for the series include John Romita, Jr., Jock, Sean Murphy, Paul Pope, Tula Lotay, Afua Richardson, Francesco Francavilla, and more. The title initially shipped monthly.
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey	August 2016	Writer Julie Benson Shawna Benson Artist Claire Roe	Focusing on the team consisting of Barbara Gordon, Black Canary and Huntress. The title initially shipped monthly.

"Superman/Wonder Woman"

These titles feature Superman, the "Superman Family" of characters and Wonder Woman.

Title	Publication dates / Issues	Initial creative team[note1]	Notes / References
Action Comics	June 2016 – present (957– )	Writer Dan Jurgens Artists Patrick Zircher Tyler Kirkham Stephen Segovia	Featuring the pre-Flashpoint Superman existing alongside Clark Kent, as well as Lex Luthor in his Superman armor. The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Superman	June 2016 – present (1– )	Writers Peter J. Tomasi Patrick Gleason Artists Patrick Gleason Doug Mahnke	The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Wonder Woman	June 2016 – present (1– )	Writer Greg Rucka Artists Liam Sharp Nicola Scott	For the first 12 issues, the odd numbered issues told a story, "Wonder Woman: The Lies", in the present, with Sharp as the artist. For the even numbered issues, Rucka told the story "Wonder Woman: Year One", set in the past, with Scott as the artist. The title initially shipped twice monthly.
New Super-Man	July 2016	Writer Gene Luen Yang Artist Viktor Bodganovich	Focusing on a Chinese teenager named Kenan Kong who gains a portion of Superman's power. The title was previously announced as The Super-Man but was changed once Yang came onboard and pointed out that there is no Chinese word for "the". The title initially shipped monthly.
Superwoman	August 2016	Writer Phil Jimenez Artists Phil Jimenez Emmanuela Lupacchino	Focusing on Lois Lane. The title initially shipped monthly.
Supergirl	September 2016	Writer Steve Orlando Artist Brian Ching	Focusing on Kara Zor-El The title initially shipped monthly.
Trinity	September 2016	Writer Francis Manapul Artists Francis Manapul Clay Mann	Focusing on Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. The title initially shipped monthly.

"Justice League"

These titles feature characters related to the Justice League, as well as the Green Lantern Corps and the Teen Titans.

Title	Publication dates / Issues	Initial creative team[note1]	Notes / References
Aquaman	June 2016 – present (1– )	Writer Dan Abnett Artists Brad Walker Jesus Merino Phil Briones	The title initially shipped twice monthly.
The Flash	June 2016 – present (1– )	Writer Josh Williamson Artists Carmine Di Giandomenico Neil Googe	The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Green Lanterns	June 2016 – present (1– )	Writer Sam Humphries Artists Robson Rocha Ardian Syaf	Focusing on the Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps	July 2016	Writer Rob Venditti Artists Ethan Van Sciver Rafa Sandoval	Focusing on Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner and the other members of the Green Lantern Corps. The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Justice League	July 2016	Writer Bryan Hitch Artists Tony Daniel Fernando Pasarin	Featuring on a team consisting of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Cyborg and the Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Titans	July 2016	Writer Dan Abnett Artist Brett Booth	Focusing on a team consisting of Wally West, Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, Arsenal, Garth, Lilith Clay, Bumblebee, Gnarrk, Hawk and Dove, and Herald, among others. The title initially shipped monthly.
Cyborg	September 2016	Writer John Semper Artists Will Conrad Paul Pelletier	The title initially shipped monthly.
Teen Titans	October 2016	Writer Ben Percy Artist Jonboy Meyers	Focusing on a team consisting of Damian Wayne as Robin, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Wally West II as Kid Flash. The title initially shipped monthly.
Justice League of America	TBA 2016	Writer TBA Artist TBA	The title initially shipped twice monthly.

Other

These titles do not fall under the larger headings above, or were not announced with those titles.

Title	Publication dates / Issues	Initial creative team[note1]	Notes / References
Green Arrow	June 2016 – present (1– )	Writer Ben Percy Artists Otto Schmidt Juan Ferreya	The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Deathstroke	August 2016	Writer Christopher Priest Artists Carlo Pagulyan Igor Vitorino Felipe Watanabe	The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Harley Quinn	August 2016	Writers Jimmy Palmiotti Amanda Conner Artists Chad Hardin John Timms	The title initially shipped twice monthly.
The Hellblazer	August 2016	Writer Simon Oliver Artist TBA	The title initially shipped monthly.
Red Hood and the Outlaws	August 2016	Writer Scott Lobdell Artist Dexter Soy	Focusing on a team consisting of Jason Todd, Bizarro and Artemis. The title initially shipped monthly.
Suicide Squad	August 2016	Writer Rob Williams Artists Jim Lee Philip Tan	Focusing on a team consisting of Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Deadshot, Katana, Boomerang and a "couple others ones". The title initially shipped twice monthly.
Blue Beetle	September 2016	Writer Keith Giffen Artist Scott Kolins	Focusing on Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes. The title initially shipped monthly.
Batman Beyond	October 2016	Writer Dan Jurgens Artist Bernard Chang	Focusing on Terry McGinnis. The title initially shipped monthly.
Super Sons	TBA 2016	Writers Chris Burns Dennis Culver Artist Jorge Jimenez	Focusing on Damian Wayne and Jonathan Kent, the sons of Batman and Superman, respectively. The title initially shipped monthly.

One-shots

Title	Creative team	Notes / References
DC Universe: Rebirth Special #1 May 2016	Writer Geoff Johns Artists Ivan Reis Phil Jimenez Ethan Van Sciver Gary Frank
Aquaman Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writer Dan Abnett Artists Brad Walker Jesus Merino Phil Briones
Batman Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writers Tom King Scott Snyder Artist Mikel Janin
The Flash Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writer Josh Williamson Artists Carmine Di Giandomenico Neil Googe
Green Arrow Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writer Ben Percy Artists Otto Schmidt Juan Ferreya
Green Lanterns Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writers Geoff Johns Sam Humphries Artists Ethan Van Sciver Ed Benes
Superman Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writers Peter J. Tomasi Patrick Gleason Artist Doug Mahnke
Titans Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writer Dan Abnett Artist Brett Booth
Wonder Woman Rebirth #1 June 2016	Writer Greg Rucka Artist Phil Winslade
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Rebirth #1 July 2016	Writer Julie Benson Shawna Benson Artist Claire Roe
Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps Rebirth #1 July 2016	Writer Rob Venditti Artist Ethan Van Sciver
The Hellblazer Rebirth #1 July 2016	Writer Simon Oliver Artist Moritat
Justice League Rebirth #1 July 2016	Bryan Hitch
Nightwing Rebirth #1 July 2016	Writer Tim Seeley Artist Yanick Paquette
Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #1 July 2016	Writer Scott Lobdell Artist Dexter Soy
Blue Beetle Rebirth #1 August 2016	Writer Keith Giffen Artist Scott Kolins
Deathstroke Rebirth #1 August 2016	Writer Christopher Priest Artists Carlo Pagulyan Igor Vitorino Felipe Watanabe
Suicide Squad Rebirth #1 August 2016	Writer Rob Williams Artist Jim Lee
Supergirl Rebirth #1 August 2016	Writer Steve Orlando Artists Brian Ching Emmanuela Lupacchino
Batman Beyond Rebirth #1 September 2016	Writer Dan Jurgens Artist Bernard Chang Ryan Sook
Cyborg Rebirth #1 September 2016	Writer John Semper Artists Will Conrad Paul Pelletier
Teen Titans Rebirth #1 September 2016	Writer Ben Percy Artist Jonboy Meyers

Collected editions

All Rebirth one-shots plus DC Universe: Rebirth will be collected in the hardcover DC Rebirth Omnibus, scheduled to be released in December 2016.

Notes

1. ^{^} For additional creative team information, see each title's individual article.