After the New 52: The Infinite Imprint Initiative

Let me begin by extending my greetings to those of you in the past receiving this message on behalf of all of us living in September, 2016. In a way, the five year experiment that was the New 52 drew to a close a little over a week ago, on that last Wednesday of August. Yet that continuity can and will continue on, as will the pre-Crisis, post-Crisis, and countless Elseworlds as well, all thanks to the successor to the New 52, the Infinite Imprint Initiative.

The Infinite Imprint Initiative is a move away from the editorial driven singular continuity that was the New 52. Instead of DC’s iconic characters inhabiting a single shared universe, or even a shared multiverse, multiple iterations of such characters exist across multiple imprints which have no interaction with one another. In a response to the booming success of the indie scene, the Infinite Imprint Initiative is creator driven, with a single auteur exercising nearly complete creative control over an individual title or family of titles.

In addition to greater creator control, the second platform of the Infinite Imprint Initiative is the replacement of ongoing series with limited series, essentially formalizing story arcs as distinct titles (not unlike what Mark Millar did with Ultimates 1 & 2 in the early 2000s). Within the Infinite Imprint Initiative only two ongoing anthology titles exist: volumes 3 of Detective Comics and Action Comics. This allows for a greater proliferation of #1s (and thus greater profitability) as well as more numerous and obvious jumping on points for new readers. In fact, the start of the Infinite Imprint Initiative saw the biggest spike in new readership to comics of the 21^st century, even more so than the start of the New 52 five years ago. Furthermore, event fatigue has all but disappeared, while at the same time, every single title is in essence an event.

The third and final pillar of the Infinite Imprint Initiative is digital first exclusivity. All comics are now made to be read natively in a widescreen, guided view format, with the unique transitions and use of hyperlinks first introduced in Marvel Infinite and DC². These will later be printed in limited run trade paper backs, but printed single issues are a rare gimmick aimed mostly at collectors. The demographics of the comic community have changed drastically in the last three years, so that the overwhelming majority of sales are for digital comics through Comixology, to the point that it has become unprofitable for either DC or Marvel to continue eating the cost of printing and shipping paper comics. Without such overhead DC has seen its highest profit margins in decades.

In summary, the Infinite Imprint Initiative which replaces the New 52 is built around Three Pillars:

• Greater Creator Control
• Limited Series instead of Ongoing Titles
• Digital Replacing Print

And to whet your appetite for the next three years, I’ll provide you with a brief rundown of the initial imprints launching this month and the attached auteurs. (Not all titles and creative teams have been revealed as of yet, though some such as Flex Mentallo are highly rumored.)

Action Comics under Sholly Fisch

• Action Comics #1 (vol. 3)
• Action Comics: Krypton #1
• Action Comics: Lois and Clark #1
• Action Comics: Metropolis S.C.U.
• Action Comics: Superman Squadron #1

Adventure Comics under Mark Waid

• Adventure Comics: Superboy #1
• Adventure Comics: The Legion of Super-Heroes #1

All-Flash Comics

• All-Flash Comics: Scarlet Speedsters #1

All-Star Comics under John Ostrander

• All-Star Comics: Justice League #1
• All-Star Comics: Justice Society #1
• All-Star Comics: Shadowpack #1
• All-Star Comics: The Others #1
• All-Star Comics: The Super Young Team #1
• All-Star Comics: Teen Titans #1
• All-Star Comics: Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #1
• All-Star Comics: Young Justice #1

Brave and the Bold Comics under Geoff Johns

• Brave and the Bold Comics: Aquaman & Mera #1
• Brave and the Bold Comics: Flash & Green Lantern #1
• Brave and the Bold Comics: Hawkman & the Atom #1

Charlton Comics under J. Michael Straczynski

Detective Comics under Scott Snyder

• Detective Comics #1 (vol. 3)
• Detective Comics: Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #1
• Detective Comics: Batman, Inc. #1
• Detective Comics: Dark Knight / Boy Wonder #1
• Detective Comics: Gotham P.D. #1
• Detective Comics: Red Hood and Scarlett #1

Fawcett Comics

• Fawcett Comics: Shazam#1

Milestone Comics

More Fun Comics under Yale Stewart

• More Fun Comics: JL8 #1
• More Fun Comics: Lil’ Gotham #1
• More Fun Comics: Tiny Titans #1

Sensational Comics under Frank Miller

• Sensational Comics: Wonder Woman #1

Showcase Comics under Jonathan Hickman

• Showcase Comics: Green Lantern Corps. #1
• Showcase Comics: Green Lantern / Green Arrow #1
• Showcase Comics: New Guardians #1

Wildstorm Comics under Mark Millar

• Wildstorm Comics: The Authority #1
• Wildstorm Comics: Planetary #1

World’s Finest Comics under Grant Morrison

• World’s Finest Comics: Superman/Batman #1
• World’s Finest Comics: Trinity #1

Finally, as proof that I'm really from the future, tomorrow's winning lotto numbers will be...

4 8 15 16 23 42

Ummm... Is this true or is this guy trolling.

@supernategames said:

I'm not trolling, just pitching my idea with style.

I hate digital comics. I'll stick with my decision to abandon DC

@crom_cruach said:

What particularly about digital comics do you dislike? Have you tried them out on a high resolution tablet ever?

everything. I hate the feel of a screen on my fingers when I'm flippin the page, the effect it has on my eyes, the lack of that new paper smell. The legal implications of digital comics most people are unaware. The fact that I need goddamn batteries or electricity to read in a sunny day.

No thanks paper comics and books are far better

@crom_cruach: I don't do digital either. Hey yo!

well my 6 month old baby could not chew on my tablet, unlike the printed one...

I'm way too lazy to read through all of that.. But awesome Lost reference!

You are a man of reason and good taste sir!

Also tablets can't be arranged in a library and appreciate how awesome my man cave looks

Nice.

@crom_cruach: I'm with you man, old school is the way to go. I like having the book in my hand and enjoy the excitement of visiting the local comic shops.

Every day I go to work or class, I bring hundreds of digital comics with me, more than many long boxes could hold. The image quality is far superior to anything that can be rendered with ink and paper. Not only is the quality of the product superior, but it can be delivered to me at a fraction of the price, having cut out the middle men of printer, distributor, and retailer, and therefore generating the company which actually created the comic greater revenue. Furthermore, Marvel Infinite comics and DC² prove that the digital canvas provides a wider range of tools for storytellers to utilize. Digital comics are the future of the medium and should be embraced as such immediately by everyone.

well i still can not use it to wipe my butt after going number 2...

And yet you'll be reading 1-5 tops per day. So useless. I'll just carry the ones I plan on reading and the result is the same. Only I get to enjoy the full sensations of my reading, including touch and smell

Completely false. Then image you see in a digital comics is the same as the physical copy of the issue you pay for. Only you actually own the comic, unlike those clever laws digital comics have where you don't actually own your copy if you read the fine print.

Selling prices of digital comics are on par with physical copies. New 52 Justice League 22 is 3.99 digital which is the same as physical copies.

nope.

I like both...I have no problem reading most of my titles digitally but when something comes along that I absolutely love then I will buy the trades of it mostly in hardcover but some companies just refuse to make hardcovers of their books...I'm particularly upset that IDW hasn't done any hardcovers of TMNT other than the ridiculously expensive volume 1 which only covers 4 issues for $50...that's way to expensive for only 4 issues

@crom_cruach: 1) How the hell does smell enhance your comic book reading experience???

2) No one is ever going to take digital comics away from you. Even if Comixology were to go out of business right now, it would just stop adding comics and you would still be able to access your collection.

3) A month after they're released, digital DC comics, such as JL 22, are reduced by a dollar on Comixology. It helps immensely if you're trying to catch up on a series (or are just cool with the wait) and they usually have some really great prices on volumes. The only printed comics I own are the volumes I got when I went to a local comic-con recently. Everything else is digital.

Also...this guy made an awesome Lost reference...so yeah, I side with him.

I live one block away from a comic shop and pass another five days a week on my way to work. Yet the Comixology app on my iPad is even closer to me, is open 24 hours a day, has a larger selection of back issues, and has far more frequent sales.

But moving the discussion away from the third pillar of my Infinite Imprint Initiative (digital comics), what are the community's opinions on the first two pillars (no shared universe and no ongoing series)?

@rideaspacecowboy: I totally like the "no ongoing series" part (even though I might want them for certain titles, like Batman), but I'm not sure I would endorse the no shared universe thing. Anyway...and yeah, I'm bringing this up again...but you were the guy who made the awesome Lost reference, so...your wish is my command.