Wow, I had no idea what comic news/thoughts I was going to write about today until I saw this: DC to relaunch 52 titles with new #1s. More on that after the new comics I’ll be getting that are out today:

• Adventure Comics #527
• Fear Itself #3
• Flashpoint #2
• Flashpoint: Batman #1
• Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1
• Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #1
• Moon Knight #2
• Secret Six #34
• SHIELD #1–I’m tired of typing in the periods, so all caps it is.
• Wonder Woman #611

We’ve all known for a while now that DC was up to something big for this Fall, especially since they announced that Flashpoint #5 would be the only title they’d publish at the end of August. September would give us we knew not what exactly, but Tuesday’s announcements did give us some more news. First up was that Geoff Johns and Jim Lee would be relaunching the Justice League franchise with a new number one, simply titled Justice League (no “of America”) which would be the only other book being sold with Flashpoint #5. Next was confirmation that 52 titles would be launching as new number ones (52? Really? How can that not be planned, given the whole 52 universes thing that came out of the weekly series 52?). This may include the high-numbered and venerated Action Comics and Detective Comics, which would be ballsy, I think (but DC can always renumber the titles anytime they want).

Part of the relaunch is a redesign of characters, done by Jim Lee, and can be seen in part above. For the most part, these are not major changes, with Wonder Woman probably being the most different from the norm (though, not really, since it’s very similar to the design Lee came up with last year). I think some people will be surprised, however, that Diana isn’t returning to her more traditional garb. And take a look at the characters’s neck lines. This is where Lee’s redesign really bugs me–did they all go to the same costume designer? It makes no sense to me. These diverse people are all going to think, “Hey, my costume needs to have a collar!” Even WW has a collar, so to speak. Finally, does WW need to have the double W motif on her in at least four different areas? Ridiculous.

I can’t wait to see what those other 50ish titles are that are starting anew in September. Of course, I’m behind the Grant Morrison stewardship of Superman. I think it’s silly to restart Birds of Prey, (again!) and do we really need a new Hawkman series?

The real question, however, is how much will I spend on these new titles? How successful will this relaunch really be (remember Marvel’s Heroes Reborn?)? Regardless of any nits, this is still exciting news, especially if you’re a DC fan. Will this hurt the DCU we all know and love? Or launch it to newer creative and financial heights?