DC Comics today announced “the biggest initiative DC has undertaken in the better part of a decade,” in the words of writer Scott Snyder (Batman, Undiscovered country), who shared the news in an announcement video on the official DC YouTube channel. DC’s All In is a coordinated publishing launch of new comic series, new story arcs in current series, and a new alternate DC universe filled with rebooted, reimagined DC Comics heroes.
“All In is about inviting everyone — the existing creators, some new creators, everything — to tell their best stories, and having them all start at one point,” Snyder said. “The idea is to create the best launching point for you guys in many, many years.” He and co-host Joshua Williamson (Superman, The flash) stressed that All In was not a reboot or retcon, but would instead flow from the conclusion of DC’s current crossover event, Absolute power.
The crossover is expected to wrap up on October 2 with Absolute power #4, after which a DC All special Issue 1 — co-written by Williamson and Snyder, and drawn by Daniel Sampere (Wonder Woman, Injustice 2) and Wes Craig (Deadly class, Kaya) — will be the aftermath of Absolute power in the main DC universe and introduces an entirely new setting: the Absolute Universe.
Somehow created by Darkseid (Snyder and Williamson declined to reveal more about the game) Absolute power (than necessary), the Absolute Universe will be an alternate setting, one in which DC invites writers and artists to reinvent characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, starting their stories over from the beginning. This new setting won’t replace the main DC timeline, but it won’t stand completely apart either. According to Snyder, the Absolute Universe will be part of “a larger story that we’ll be telling over the next few years.”
The name “absolute” suggests prestige at DC, which has long been the hallmark of massive, high-quality hardcover and slipcover editions of the company’s most historic titles. Snyder himself will Absolute Batmanwith Nick Dragotta (East of West, Ghost cage) as the artist. Snyder described the Absolute Universe as more chaotic, dangerous and wild than the main DCU. “In this universe, the heroes emerge in ways that make them underdogs (…) they have to be stronger, they have to be resourceful, they have to shine brighter.”
News about All In has been coming out in the form of rumors and hints over the past month, most notably photos from a leaked black and white ashcan comic strip by Absolute Batmanwith a pretty wild redesign in Dragotta’s signature style. But the real point of intrigue in the leak – perhaps a better draw than anything Williamson and Snyder could have given away in an announcement – was the list of all-star talent from the ashcan involved in the Absolute Universe books, which appears to include the following:
Jason Aaron (Thorn, Avengers), Deniz camp (20th century man), Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk, X-Men Red), Che Grayson (Batman: Urban Legends), Jeff Lemire (Sweet tooth, Black Hammer), Jahnoy Lindsay (Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow), Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian, The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives), Nick Robles (The dream: waking hours), Rafa Sandoval (Action comics, X-Men: Legacy), Hayden Sherman (Dark spaces: dungeon), and Kelly Thompson (Birds of prey, Black Widow).
Snyder closed the video by talking about the company philosophy behind All In as he sees it: “Let’s all launch our biggest stories, whether they’re radical reinventions of the characters – whether they’re ongoing, great legacy stories that play out in the main DCU – let’s do it all at once.”
“Starting in October,” Snyder said, “everywhere you look at DC Comics there will be a story entry point, a place to start.”