Basement X

On the DCU blog today, they announced the first of many projects to come for 2010.

It's called DC: Earth One and it's basicaly the Ultimate DC except the format is going to be a new one: a series of bi-annual graphic novels instead of a monthly.

The first two titles will be Batman by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank and Superman by JMS and Shane Davis.

The creators will starting from scratch with the heroes. So yes it means that we'll get yet again another retelling of Superman's origin. Becsause we all know the world needs a new one, considering the latest... isn't even fucking done!

I see pros and cons for this :

Pros : trying the graphic novel format. Davis and Frank clearly can't hold a monthly deadline so this will give them time to give their best.
A continuity-free start for both DC icons might get new people interested in the books. Will it help the free-falling sales of the DCU Bat and Sups titles though?

Cons : as stated above, those will have to start with origin stories that have been done to death.
It's a Ultimate line rip-off, except it's kind of 10 years late.

Still, I might want to get this, but I'll wait till we get more stuff about it.

Here is the link which in turns links to an interview :
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/12/07 ... earth-one/


PS: The Source is apparently going to reveal one new project a day this week.

Batman: By Geoff Johns & Gary Frank. I am f'ing getting that!!! Not sure about the other one(s) yet. I am thrilled about the one time graphic novel format. It makes everything so much easier for me.

I do agree that its a ripoff of the Ultimate line but everyone rips off each other so much and so often its not really a big deal.

So does this mean then that the the All-Star line is going ka-put? All Star Batman & Robin is all but dead but what about All Star Superman? Will it wrap up in the coming months?

Lots of things up in the air but I'm going to give this a shot.

All Star Superman wrapped up with issue 12...

As for this being a 'rip of the Ultimate line', that's what I always saw the All-Star line as being to be honest, and it was a failed one at that. This could be considered so, but I see it more as DC playing up their new multiverse the way Marvel rarely does with their own, save for the multi ill-fated Exiles title.

HOWEVER:

Earth-One... awesome, I'm glad to see new earths, new imaginings, and things like that. Superman's origin could be DRASTICALLY different from the one we know and recognize today because it's EARTH ONE and not NEW EARTH which the DCU takes place in. But at the same time.. this much attention and detail to what we consider 'non-cannonical' work? Really? Why can't we get original Superman and Batman stories set in the "real" DCU? Why do we have to explore alternates? Going back to the Elseworlds format is one thing, but OGN's to alternate earths? I would much rather Johns and JMS be doing New Earth DC stories than Earth One.

But.. that's just my initial reaction.

Not mention that anything that JMS has touched so far at DC has been a commercial failure.