One of the sinful joys of being a longtime comic book fan during the advent of the culture becoming as omnipresent as ever is the knowledge that casual fans of the various films and tv shows have no idea just how aggressively strange things are going to get in the very near future. Historically, regardless of the publisher, comics have seemed to keep true to one consistent rhythm: A writer will come along and birth an inspired, streamlined run on a particular character or team of characters, (Chris Clermont’s Phoenix Saga , Scott Snyder's Court of Owls ). When said writer ends run, either effectively or...not so effectively (see the former, see the latter), the time in between discovering the next visionary is usually spent taking said character/characters to objectionably convoluted places no one asked for them to go. When in doubt, zebra Batman.
DC and Marvel have undoubtedly become aware of this trope, which is why they each have developed built in abort mechanisms in the instances where things get irreversibly weird. DC likes to troubleshoot itself by way of massive multi-dimensional crossover events, usually ending with some in continuity occurrence essentially undoing the undesired bits of established canon. Marvel is guilty of some of that too, but its style more consistently leans towards giving its roster of heroes a new status quo. It’s almost never possible to avoid being uncomfortably aware of the gears turning in either situation as both methods usually mean a pretty considerable spike in sales and ergo decidedly less interesting versions of your favorite heroes and the intimate stories that best suit them. For the first time in a long time, the two juggernaut publishers managed to both breath new life into their ongoing monthly titles, restore the favored state of affairs and tell genuinely engaging stories withal.
DC’s rebirth has been a welcomed return to form, retaining all the best stuff from the New 52 and merging it seamlessly with pre-52 continuity. A lot of the fan backlash towards canonical inconsistencies like the five year-Robins dilemma, Aquaman and Mira, and even some cosmetic alterations have been retconned by the Dr. Manhattan incident, a thread I won’t divulge as I highly recommend you pick up some rebirth titles yourself, which are now 2.99 a pop.
Meanwhile, Marvel Comics released a press statement last week , giving further insight into their highly anticipated Legacy Relaunch, which will see some titles reverting back to their original numbering as well as feature new threads from their newer characters. This includes the continuation of Jane Foster’s turn as Thor with a milestone story titled The Death of The Mighty Tho r (yay?), The Riri WIlliams centered Invincible Iron Man , Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel , titles and an obvious shot at FOX and The Fantastic Four with The Fantastic Three.
Marvel has been really smart about diversifying their lineup. They haven’t eradicated the original players or dismissed their long and lionized history, but instead opted to craft passing-of-the-torch story arcs. The legacy relaunch seems to hint at the return of some of the aforementioned players, which would be nice, but honestly I’ve been thoroughly enjoying what they’ve been doing with new faces of the Earth 1616 universe.
Now is the time to dive into the world of comics, saying nothing of the critically acclaimed indie titles like Southern Cross or Curb Stomp that are starting to make waves. All of the canon established during and following the Golden Age of the medium are back and coalescing with new inspired elements in a way that doesn’t feel gimmicky or dishonest. While you wait for the release of the Marvel Legacy #1 one-shot, I suggest you read DC Rebirth # 1 , you won’t regret it. Both publishers stand at the precipice of an exhilarating new age. Don’t take my word for it — go out and pick up some books.
Recommended readings: Captain Marvel Vol 7 #14 , Invincible Iron Man Vol 3 #3, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-man #1. DC Rebirth #1 Nightwing Rebirth #1 Batman I am Gotham. Flashpoint .
