Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Conventions, Current News, DC Comics, Events, Pop Culture, san diego comic con | Tagged: absolute, al ewing, scott snyder, sdcc

DC Absolute Universe Ashcans With Scott Snyder at San Diego Comic-Con?

DC Comics is to launch Absolute Universe with Scott Snyder at San Diego Comic Con, as Comic Stores to get Ashcan Previews #absolute #sdcc

Here we go. Bleeding Cool gets the news that certain comic book retailers received a note from DC Comics via Diamond Comic Distributors that DC Comics is to provide an "SDCC 2024 Exclusive Absolute Universe Ashcan Special Edition" next month for San Diego Comic-Con. And that exhibiting comic book stores would be provided these promotional ashcans for the new line to share with their customers.

Or maybe not. We get the word that this is not "100% accurate", that DC are not "launching" an "Absolute Universe" and that comic book stores will not be getting free bundles of ashcans. I get the feeling that a lot of this is to do with the specific wording being used here, Tom Brevoort-style. But I can confirm that this is a sign that something is coming. And it looks like it is coming for San Diego Comic-Con.

In his newsletter, Scott Snyder said "Also, I've been gearing up, like I said on Twitter, for some big announcements next month. So I'm trying to kind of lay low a little bit this month, just enjoy the quiet, hang out with family, friends."

Last year Bleeding Cool began running gossip about an upcoming publishing project at DC Comics being spearheaded by Scott Snyder. One that has been compared to Marvel Comics' Ultimate line, that reimagined a number of main characters in a new continuity, recreating them from the ground up. Marvel has also revisited the concept this year with a new Ultimate Comics line that has topped the sales charts in comic book stores and gone to multiple printings. But what Scott Snyder has been working on, with a number of major comic book creators, has been in the works for longer. And we had a name for it, Absolute Comics. Or just Absolute. Or now, I guess, Absolute Universe.

Absolute Universe is intended to be more of a hands-off affair on Snyder's part, with the creators being given more of a carte blanche to achieve results closer to the All-Star line, with major A-list creators on board, though with its own shared continuity.

But Absolute Universe is only one prong of the changes that Scott Snyder is involved with at DC, which is referred to as DC All-In, a larger initiative that aims to spotlight DC's entire lineup. As Tini Howard notes, a lot of creators are finishing their runs in September or October, look for something big in October/November. There will not be a reboot or even a relaunch of the main line; that will remain intact, and continuity (along with some creative teams) will continue.

But Absolute Universe will be a line of radically reworked versions of well-known DC Comics characters, from major comics creators, in the fashion of Marvel's Ultimate line, separate in continuity from the rest of DC, but sharing its own internal continuity between the books, unlike Elseworlds, All-Star, or Black Label books.

Unlike the Ultimate line, there is intended from the get-go to be some "bleed through" so that the Absolute Comics line will be in the same multiverse as the standard DC continuity, suggesting awareness of each other, maybe competition or even crossover between them in years to come. It's all part of the plan. Probably with Al Ewing.

Marvel has had Ultimate Comics, Image has had the Energon Universe of Transformers and GI Joe, IDW has the new TMNT line, Dynamite has the Warner and Disney lines, and now DC Comics has Absolute Comics, for All-In. Either way, feel free to contact me if you have heard any more… my DMs are always wide open all over the place. Yes, including TikTok and YouTube.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!