SO, IT'S OFFICIAL...EVERY SINGLE BOOK THAT DC PUBLISHES IS RESTARTING AT #1.  EVEN ACTION COMICS...EVEN DETECTIVE COMICS...SUPERMAN, BATMAN, WONDER WOMAN...FIVE BOOKS THAT, JUST BY THE ISSUE NUMBER, ALLUDE TO THE HISTORY OF THOSE CHARACTERS AND THE WHOLE DCU.  THERE'S A REASON ACTION COMICS #1 HAS SOLD AT AUCTION FOR MORE THAT A MILLION DOLLARS. CUZ THERE'S ONLY BEEN ONE! AND THEY ONLY PRINTED 200,000 OF THOSE.  AND ONLY ABOUT A THOUSAND ARE BELIVED TO HAVE MADE IT THRU THE LAST SEVENTY-THREE YEARS.  BUT...THAT DOESN'T MATTER. ALLOWING JIM LEE TO COVER OUR FAVORITE HEROES WITH COLLARS AND CRACKERJACK* IS MORE IMPORTANT.  ALLOWING GEOFF JOHNS, A WRITER I, AS A DEVOTED COMICS FAN FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS, HAVE HAD TONS OF RESPECT FOR, ALLOWING JOHNS TO TOSS ANY HISTORY THESE CHARACTERS...THE ENTIRE DCU IN FACT, HAVE HAD, IN FAVOR OF APPEALING TO FOLKS AT LEAST YOUNG ENOUGH TO REMEMBER GILMORE GIRLS, FELICITY AND DAWSON'S CREEK, THAT'S WHAT MATTERS...CUZ THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GETTING...SUPERMAN AND LOIS' MARRIAGE IS DONE, REPLACED BY THE "DRAMA" OF SUPERMAN HOOKING UP WITH WONDER WOMAN...PROOF THAT THIS ISN'T REALLY AN ATTEMPT BY DC TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO READ THE BOOKS...IT'S AN EFFORT BY GEOFF JOHNS TO DO ALL THE STUFF THAT HE'S ALWAYS WANTED TO DO...I MEAN, REALLY...WHO HASN'T THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT IT'D BE LIKE FOR SUPERMAN AND WONDER WOMAN TO JOIN THE MILE HIGH CLUB...WITHOUT THE INVISIBLE JET...I'M SURE THERE'S A WHOLE WING OF THE INNERWEBS DEVOTED TO THAT VERY IDEA. BUT WE DON'TNEED THE FAN-FIC TO CROSS OVER INTO THE "REAL THING".

OK...LET'S GO "BACK IN TIME"...LET'S SEE THE YOUNGER HEROES...EARLY IN THEIR CAREERS, MORE FRESH, WITHOUT A LOT OF BAGGAGE...NOT A BAD IDEA.  BEEN DONE BEFORE, IN FACT...YOU NEED TO REINVENT YOURSELF EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE...I'M NOT AGAINST THE IDEA...BUT IF THE INTENT, AS THE PRESS RELEASES SO FAR HAVE INDICATED, IS TO RETURN THESE ICONIC CHARACTERS TO THE WHAT MADE THEM ICONIC, THEN DO THAT. DON'T TAKE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO "DO WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO" WITH THEM.

NOW, I'M NOT A CURMUDGEON...I CAN ACCEPT CHANGE. AS SOMEONE WHO, UP TIL RECENTLY, READ COMICS FOR 25 YEARS, I'M USED TO SEEING THE ODD TWEAK OR WHOLESALE REBOOT OF A WHOLE BUNCH OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS. SOME HAVE WORKED, OTHERS...NOT SO MUCH. SUPERMAN'S REBOOT BY JOHN BYRNE AT THE BEGINNING OF MY COMIC COLLECTING CAREER, I FEEL, WAS ONE THAT WORKED...FOR AWHILE.  IT WIPED THE SLATE SUPER-CLEAN AND STARTED SUPER-FRESH, USING, AS THE FOUNDATION, THE CORE IDEAS ESTABLISHED OVER THE PREVIOUS FIVE DECADES AND INSERTED OTHER CAREFULLY SELECTED SUPER-ELEMENTS FROM MANY DIFFERENT SUPER-SOURCES AND CREATED A NEW, COHESIVE WHOLE.  MR. BYRNE MOVED ON, SO OTHERS MOVED IN TO CONTINUE THE WORK...ADDING BACK MANY OTHER NOSTALGIC SUPER-ELELMENTS BUT ALSO ADDING NEW SUPER-IDEAS TO THE MIX...AGAIN, SOME SUPER-WORKED, OTHERS SUPER-DIDN'T AND IT BECAME SUPER-APPARENT THAT IT WAS TIME TO SUPER-REJIGGER THINGS AGAIN...WHICH WE'VE SEEN ORCHESTRATED BY THE AFOREMENTIONED GEOFF JOHNS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS IN WAYS THAT I HONESTLY ENJOYED. AND THAT'S HAPPENED WITH JUST ABOUT EVERY CHARACTER OVER THE TIME I'VE BEEN READING: FROM BATMAN TO WONDER WOMAN TO FLASH, GREEN LANTERN, EVEN THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER AND AQUAMAN...THE INTENT ALWAYS TO MAKE THEM BETTER SO MORE PEOPLE WOULD READ THE BOOKS. BASED ON WHAT I'M HEARING DC HAS PLANNED, THINGS AREN'T GOING QUITE THE WAY THEY WOULD LIKE...SO IT'S TIME TO DO IT AGAIN...BUT THIS TIME, IT WON'T BE DONE WITH TARGETED STRIKES...NOPE...THIS IS SHOCK AND AWE WITH ALL THE GBU-28 BUNKER BUSTERS YOU CAN FIND.  RESTARTING EVERYTHING...NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN...AGAIN.  SO, WHAT ARE WE IN FOR?  WELL, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, SUPERMAN WON'T BE MARRIED TO LOIS IT APPEARS...BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? CLARK KENT SHOULD STILL PINE FOR HER. THAT'S CENTRAL TO HIS STORY. TO HIS LEGEND.  AND SUPERMAN SHOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT USE THE JUSTICE LEAGUE AS A SUPER-SINGLES CLUB.  BEYOND SUPERMAN, DC SAYS THEY PLAN ON "INTRODUCING READERS TO STORIES THAT ARE GROUNDED IN EACH CHARACTER'S SPECIFIC LEGEN BUT ALSO REFLECT TODAY'S REAL WORLD THEMES AND EVENTS." OK, THAT'S FINE...I CAN DIG THAT...AS LONG AS BRUCE WAYNE IS BATMAN, BARRY ALLEN IS FLASH, HAL JORDAN IS GREEN LANTERN AND AQUAMAN IS STILL FROM ATLANTIS. OH, AND AS LONG AS THE STORIES ARE GOOD, TOO.

WHAT SHOULD DC DO? FROM THIS READER'S PERSPECTIVE THERE ARE CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS, AND THE HUNDREDS OF OTHERS THAT SURELY WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS MOVE, THAT ARE ROCK SOLID AND SHOULD NEVER BE CHANGED, NO MATTER HOW COOL GEOFF JOHNS OR GRANT MORRISON MIGHT THINK IT WOULD BE IF AQUAMAN COULD ACTUALLY CONTROL WATER...I MEAN, HE IS AQUAMAN, RIGHT?  HERE'S AN IDEA: LET'S FREEZE THESE CHARACTERS IN TIME AND KEEP THE CONTINUITY TO A MINIMUM.  JUST TELL GOOD STORIES.  LET'S NOT HAVE THE BI-MONTHLY "THIS STORY CHANGES THINGS...FOREVER" STORIES.  FLASH HAS TO DEAL WITH A MEMBER OF HIS ROGUES GALLERY AND DOES SO IN A RATHER INTERESTING WAY, THEN HAS TO DEAL WITH THE FACT THAT HE'S LATE FOR HIS DATE WITH IRIS...AGAIN. IT CAN BE DONE...HECK, IT WAS DONE FOR 50 YEARS BEFORE SOMEONE GOT THE LAME IDEA THAT THAT WAS LAME.

SO, ON THE ONE HAND, I'M SAD, AND ON THE OTHER, I'M NERVOUS.  SAD THAT I WON'T BE ABLE TO READ WHAT'S GOING TO COME. I AM MORE THAN CURIOUS.  IT IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE TO EITHER JUMP ON OR STAY ON FOR THE RIDE. THERE'S NO DENYING THAT. UNFORTUNATELY, COST, WHICH KNOCKED ME OUT OF THE GAME AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, WILL KEEP ME FROM BEING ABLE TO JOIN IN ON ALL THE RE-BOOTY FUNNESS. MAYBE I'LL PICK UP A FEW TRADES HERE AND THERE. BUT IF YOU CAN, GET OUT THERE AND BUY SOME COMICS!   AS TO WHY I'M NERVOUS?   WELL, TO BE HONEST, I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE THE ULTIMATE FAN-BOY-TURNED- WRITER EXHIBITTION.  AND I'M AFRAID THAT'S WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE.  JOHNS AND MORRISON AND DIDIO AND ALL THE REST NEED TO REMEMBER WHO INVITED THEM TO THE PARTY WHILE THEY WORK ON ATTRACTING MORE FOLKS TO HIT THE DANCE FLOOR.  BUT, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, I WANT THIS TO WORK.  I WANT THIS TO BE A SHOT IN THE ARM FOR DC IN PARTICULAR BUT FOR COMICS IN GENERAL.  I HOPE MARVEL BENEFITS FROM THIS, TOO.  I REALLY DO.  COMICS ARE FUN AND MORE PEOPLE SHOULD READ THEM. I WANT NEW STORIES TO BE TOLD FOR A REALLY LONG TIME. IF THIS GONZO RE-BOOT FOR THE DC UNIVERSE HELPS WITH THAT, THEN...BRING IT ON.