Jim Lee and Dan DiDio Talk What We Can Expect from DC Comics’ Rebirth

Comics publishers and social media companies like Facebook and Twitter have one thing in common: the burning desire to change stuff just for the sake of changing stuff, often ruining things that were working just fine in the first place. Still, sometimes in spite of everything, some of the changes actually work. We’ll see if that’s the case for the upcoming relaunch of DC titles called Rebirth.

At WonderCon this weekend, DC co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee talked about what we can expect from Rebirth. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, they highlighted the ways in which Rebirth will be different from their approach to the New 52.

Jim Lee on “Rebirth’s” focus on character:

This time around we’re really focusing on story and character and making sure that we’re still sticking with the New 52, but making sure that we haven’t jettisoned things from the past that we might have thrown out with the bathwater initially. Geoff Johns has put an enormous amount of time in with all the different writers of the books and all the editors to make sure they understand the characters and the premises. We actually have charted out six months to a year of each title, so in many ways there’s a more coherent vision of the universe going forward as we launch with Rebirth and go forward.

Dan DiDio on how Rebirth is kinda Infinite Crisis + New 52:

Both have a very distinct — one is about a real cohesive operating universe that really runs in lock step with each other that really builds a world. And with New 52 it was really a cold start, in some way some things worked from before, some things were new from before and it was really double paddles to the system and really jump starting the line.

What we’ve done with this is we’ve really taken both things out. We’ve taken what really worked with the continuity of that Infinite Crisis period and then taking the freshness and newness of the New 52 and pulling them together. Rebirth, for me, is an amalgam of — at least in my period of time — of everything we’ve been working on to this point.

DiDio on re-engaging with fans:

[T]his isn’t just about DC You where we’re pushing diversity and we’re pushing other things. We have this incredible wealth of product that we do. We’re doubling down on our super hero line, but Vertigo is still vibrant and important to us; the Hanna-Barbera material is important to us; the material derivative of the media products is important to us. We produce a lot of books. The DC Universe is just a portion of our line and we will continue to push out to new audiences and new people through the DCU and through every other product we have available. We want to make sure that our core fanbase, that Wednesday warrior, is reengaged. I think they’re at the heart of what makes comics great. They’re the ones driving the interest in the films and the television. They’re the ones that are actively participating in everything that our comics are. What we’ve gotta do is create comics they love.

For the full interview, check out Comic Book Resources. What do you hope for as DC goes through its “Rebirth?” Tell us in the comments below!

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