Posted in: Batman, Comics, Comics Publishers, Crisis, Current News, DC Comics, Doomsday Clock, Justice League, Superman | Tagged: Absolute Comics, DC All-In, Donny Cates, scott snyder

Scott Snyder, Absolute Comics And DC All-In, The Morning After

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool broke news of a Scott Snyder showrun line at DC Comics, called Absolute Comics, as part of DC All-In.

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool semi-broke the internet with the confirmation and news of a Scott Snyder showrun line at DC Comics, called Absolute Comics, as part of the new DC publishing initiative for 2024 and 2025, DC All-In. But I also had a lot of questions about what I wrote, assumptions about what I wrote, and about assumptions I had made. Lots of people commenting from, understandably, different levels of knowledge. And a few nuggets of clarification through my DMs. So I thought I'd look at reaction, clarify a few points, and run a bit of backstory.

DC Comics has been publishing superhero comics since 1938 with Superman, then Batman and Wonder Woman. They only have ten years or so left of copyright before the original comics go public domain. So they have to do something of note in the decade of exclusive rights that they have left.

Ever since the nineteen eighties and the Crisis On Infinite Earths, DC Comics has reset the continuity of their superhero-shared universe to deal with storytelling issues at a regular pace, some more significant than others. Examples inclue Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, The New 52, Convergence and DC Rebirth, including relaunching certain titles with a new #1. Some people like this, some people do not.

Scott Snyder has been a successful writer at DC Comics, beginning with American Vampire created with Rafael Alberquerque and initially co-written with Stephen King, before  writing Batman. With Greg Capullo, he wrote the rebooted Batman as part of the New 52, as well as Swamp Thing, Justice League and more, including the event comics Metal and Death Metal, becoming a mentor to new comic book creators He also left DC Comics to launch a plethora of creator-owned comics at Image, IDW and ComiXology Originals/Dark Horse. One of which, Wytches is about to be a major TV series. His return to DC is considered a big thing.

DC All-In is the name for the DC Comics publishing imperative across the DC Comics line intended to launch this October/November and will follow the current Dawn Of DC publishing imperative, intended as a refresher after lockdown and major changes in executives and editors at DC Comics.

As part of that, Absolute Comics 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. However, 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.

This is not a relaunch or a reboot. DC All-In will continue the continuity of what DC Rebirth did with the New 52, as well as where Dawn Of DC took it. Absolute Comics is a new shared universe from major comics talents, with a hands off approach from showrunner Scott Snyder. I do not know the creative teams. But yes, I presume Scott Snyder will write at least one. Yes, Mark Waid, who is doing Absolute Power, is a natural. And yes, Ram V is coming off Detective Comics just at the time that Absolute Comics and DC All-In hits, so I would look to him, too. But these are just guesses. There are some, like Donny Cates, who were previously attached, but for one reason or another, it didn't work out. But the biggest names, I am sure, are ones I cannot conceive of yet.

But reaction to the initial announcement has been strong. The most popular story by far, the reaction online was around 95% positive – and there was a lot of reaction. The line "If I had a nickel every time DC Comics started a Snyderverse… I'd have two nickels. But it's weird that it happened twice, right?" was a repeated meme. But in a year with Ultimate Comics, the Energon Universe, an X-Men relaunch, as well as media spinoffs X-Men 97 and Deadpool Vs Wolverine, there's a lot in comic books and comics culture to love right now. So yes, when it comes to Absolute Comics, I am All-In. Now we just have to wait for months for it to all be announced…

My DMs are always wide open all over the place. Yes, including TikTok and YouTube.

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