DENVER - Lately, the DC Comics superheroes have looked more like retirement home inhabitants than hip, relevant action heroes. You can't blame their creators, though; perhaps the stories have simply been going on a bit too long to grab younger audiences.
Cases in point: Superman? He's been around in Action Comics since 1938. Batman? May of 1939. Wonder Woman only has a few less wrinkles, debuting in late 1941.
As today's digital audiences demand new and relevant story angles for their generation, DC Comics is making a bold move it sees as critical to the company's long-term survival. The comic book company is rebooting all of its 52 major stories at issue number one, calling it "The New 52."
The project will re-craft classic origins, stories and character dynamics for stories such as Justice League of America, The Flash and Action Comics, the comic book that introduced and ultimately launched Superman. Stories will start from the beginning, allowing new fans to step into the DC universe without feeling isolated or, quite frankly, confused by the nearly 80 years of back history and plot built into the stories.
Additionally, DC Comics is reaching out to audiences who prefer to read the stories digitally, issuing new comic books on the same day as hard copies hit traditional comic book stores. The idea is to provide the medium for new readers while not leaving out the core audience that collects comic books and has kept the medium alive for nearly a century.
Amidst the buzz, DC Comics re-launched Justice League of America to remarkable sales, the likes of which the company has not seen in years. Hard copies of Justice League actually sold out, a rare thing these days for comic books. The "No. 1" issue exhausted its 200,000 allotment of copies in its first week, a trend DC hopes to see with some of the dozen-or-so titles it re-launches this week.
Still, the 200,000 copies sold are a far cry from sale numbers 20 years ago, when a hot title would sell nearly one million copies during its run. However, DC Comics hopes to bolster overall sales with digital sales, which are expected to grow gradually as the new stories are established throughout the next year.
Take a look at some of the new titles, costumes and artwork for "The New 52" by clicking here.
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)