DC Comics is a changin'!!

So my blog today is strickly for the geeks,then again it usually is, but I digress. As some or maybe most comic book fans now know as of september, DC Comics is starting all there titles back at #1. They are launching 52 titles,which only a small amount have been offically named yet. The first of these titles is hitting shelves in late August- Justice League Of America #1. The characters have been redesigned by legendary comic book artist Jim Lee. I like most of the designs he reinterpreted here. My only small gripe is putting Cyborg on the team. Martian Manhunter is no where to be seen this time around,however I'm sure Mr. J'Onzz will show up at some point in the near future.
All the books are evidently set in the characters early years. So Supes and Bats (aka Superman and Batman for the laymen) are now in there twenties. All this is going to go down at the end of the "Flashpoint" mini-series going on currently. DC Comics is pulling a Star Trek reboot essentially by having Flash baddie Professor Zoom going back in time and screwing with reality and the Flash stopping him and setting it right....or at least for the most part!
The real reason behind DC doing this is due to the fact that next year they are losing part of the rights to the Superman character. The Siegel and Shuster families will own the rights to the first two years of the character being published. What this means is that DC will have to "tweek" Superman's origin a bit to get around a potential lawsuit. However next year also means that the Siegel/Shuster families can sell their version of the character to any major competitor (ehem...Marvel anyone?)
Many fans are torn down the middle of DC Comics redoing their universe. Long time fans are upset because all the major crossovers of the past three to four years will in essence mean jack squat or at least that's what it looks like on the surface. New fans are excited because they don't have to worry about 75 years of continuity to wade through to understand the varying story lines.
I myself am a DC man. Always have been and probably always will be. I grew up just loving "Crisis On Infinite Earths" and I still regard it as the greatest comic book mini-series/crossover of all time. DC Comics changed a number of things after that crossover, such as only having one Earth and one continuity. Some of the other characters from the other universes (the Captain Marvel family,Charlton Comics characters, JSA) were woven into the new reality. In the late 90's DC tweeked a little more with the dreadful series "Zero Hour", which introduced a number of forgettable characters and a convoluted storyline.
I personally welcome the new universe and having a fresh start. However, I hope DC does it right this time. Make these books accessible for the person picking up a comic for the first time. A kid or adult should be able to pick up a comic,whether it be issue six or six hundred, and get a grasp of the characters and who they are and not half to have a 300 plus page continuity encyclopedia to understand what is going on in the storyline!
Here is a wish list of things I would like to see DC Comics implement with the reboot:

- Lower the number of Batman books. There should only be Detective Comics and Batman. That's all for the character.

- One Batman!! Bruce Wayne should be Batman. Not Dick Grayson or a number of international Batmen. It's ridiculous!

- Have the Justice Society Of America be a period book and keep them in World War 2. This could also open up for fun crossovers with the JLA/JSA! The Flashes could get on their cosmic treadmills and we could have a yearly event set up that would be fun for the fans the way it was back in the late 60's

- No more universe spanding crossovers for at least two years!! For the love of God let the books be fleshed out and established before doing a twelve issue mini series starring 500 characters!

- Keep the multiple lantern corps going on!

- If there are going to be multiple universes keep it small and in reason! I say 5 Earths instead of 52 are a good idea. We could have the Captain Marvel Earth,Crime Syndicate Earth, Charlton Comics Earth, Wildstorm characters Earth, the fifth could be up for grabs to whatever DC wants!

I would love to hear opinions from the other comic geeks out there. Send me those comments!

Cheers
Stephen