After Marvel achieved some level of success with its "Ultimate" line, a new series of comics that launched a whole new continuity that allowed readers to jump in with a fresh slate, DC tried to replicate that formula. Their first effort was the "All Star" line that consisted of two titles: Superman and Batman; one was great and the other was terrible. Quality aside, the line hit a snag as both were intended to be limited series.
Years later, DC made another attempt with a new line called "Earth One". Like Marvel's "Ultimate" line, this would give new readers a chance to jump into new stories without having to worry about decades of convoluted continuity. Unlike "All Star", this would be an ongoing series that had no set endpoint. To add to the differentiation, DC decided to try and release this series directly to trade paperback. This would cater to buyers who waited for trade as well as potentially catch the eye of someone browsing in their local bookstore.
Like it's predecessor, DC decided to launch this line with its two biggest characters: Superman and Batman. So far, only three trades have been released (two volumes for Superman and one for Batman), but other titles are said to be forthcoming. It just makes you wonder what sort of titles we could see later on down the line.
According to the rumor mill, there's a whole laundry list of titles said to be in the works. Batman will be getting a second volume and Superman will get a third volume. "Wonder Woman: Earth One" is also slated to be in the works, which would round out the company's big three. "Teen Titans: Earth One" is another title that has been added. The first volume of that is set to come out in November of 2014.
There is also talk of giving Nightwing and Green Lantern titles under the banner. The addition of Nightwing is a tad perplexing. He's a popular character, no doubt, but it seems a bit early considering the evolution that Dick Grayson goes through to get to that point. Then again, they could have it play out differently. There is also mention of a "Justice League" title, which, again, seems premature.
Now, a lot of this should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, we saw a similar thing go down with the aforementioned "All Star" line. There was talk of an "All Star" book for characters like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Batgirl. None of these ever came to light. I could have sworn there was also talk of "All Star Aquaman", but that was a long time ago.
Still, one hopes that these do get made. If there is one complaint to be made about the line so far, it is that content is coming out far too slowly. Having more series released would help alleviate that problem to a certain extent.
In addition to the possible titles mentioned above, one can't help but wonder what other titles DC could release.
They would want to try to start with their more iconic characters, so you have to figure that Flash would be in there. While an "Aquaman" title could be really good if handled properly, he still struggles with his "Superfriends" image, which might make for a tough sell on mainstream consumers.
For more female representation, Zatanna could be a possible candidate for a title. Batwoman and Batgirl could also work, though I wouldn't mind seeing DC try to push non-Batman related characters a bit more.
If they wanted to expedite the process of introducing characters, they could go for more ensemble books like "Justice Society" or maybe even "Green Lantern Corps".
With all of the characters at their disposal, DC certainly has options. While this could be a great chance to give lesser known characters a chance to shine, they don't want to go too obscure as people won't buy a book about a character they've never heard of. Hopefully the line continues to sell well as it provides a great opportunity for readers who are daunted by continuity and a great opportunity for writers to take familiar characters in different directions.
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