DC Comics: The New 52#1

Cover: Rags Morales & Cliff Chiang & David Finch & Francis Manapul & Ivan Reis & Richard Friend & Joe Prado

DC Comics: The New 52 #1

Sep 2011 · DC · 0.00 FREE

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★ 1st appearance — Batwing★ 1st appearance — Starling

About this Issue

DC Comics: The New 52 #1 served as the official public announcement artifact for what DC Comics co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio called one of the boldest relaunches in the company's publishing history — the cancellation of every ongoing DC title and their simultaneous replacement with 52 new #1 issues in September 2011. As a free giveaway distributed at comic shops beginning July 20, 2011, and also handed out at San Diego Comic-Con that same day, it functioned as the first tangible document readers could hold that mapped the full scope of the new universe, previewing character redesigns and solicitations for all 52 titles at once. The sampler's centerpiece — a six-page excerpt from Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee — gave readers their first printed look at the rebooted DC Universe's new continuity, with Batman and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) meeting for the first time in a post-Flashpoint timeline where heroes were not yet trusted by the public. Because the New 52 reset decades of continuity, including the original numbering of Action Comics and Detective Comics stretching back to the 1930s, this preview book marks the precise cultural moment when that rupture was formally presented to the readership.

writer Geoff Johns · artist Jim Lee · inker Scott Williams · colorist Alex Sinclair · letterer Pat Brosseau · cover Rags Morales, Cliff Chiang, David Finch, Francis Manapul, Ivan Reis, Richard Friend, Joe Prado

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History

The New 52 initiative grew out of the conclusion of the 'Flashpoint' crossover event and was shaped significantly by DC co-publisher Jim Lee, who — on the advice he gave to co-publisher Dan DiDio — insisted the relaunch consist of exactly 52 titles to honor DC's established thematic use of that number, up from DiDio's originally planned 48. Character redesigns for the relaunch were spearheaded by Jim Lee and DC Art Director Mark Chiarello, who enlisted artist Cully Hamner to help coordinate the visual overhaul across the line. The free preview one-shot was produced to give both existing fans and potential new readers a comprehensive guide to what was coming, with its introduction co-signed by Lee and DiDio and its story content drawn from Johns and Lee's Justice League #1, which would itself launch the entire wave on August 31, 2011.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published as a free giveaway one-shot with a cover date of July 2011, made available in comic shops on July 20, 2011, and also distributed at DC Entertainment's San Diego Comic-Con booth the same day.
Contains a 6-page preview of Justice League #1, written by Geoff Johns with artwork by Jim Lee — the first printed pages of the rebooted DC Universe's flagship title, featuring Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) as the central characters.
Functioned as a comprehensive catalog of all 52 relaunching titles, including cover art, solicitation text, creative team listings, and character sketches showing the new costume redesigns for heroes including Superman, Wonder Woman (Princess Diana), The Flash (Barry Allen), and Sinestro.
The Justice League preview sequence depicts the new post-Flashpoint continuity in which superheroes — Batman and Green Lantern specifically — are distrusted and hunted by law enforcement, a foundational tonal shift from pre-Flashpoint DC.
The number 52 for the initiative was chosen on the insistence of co-publisher Jim Lee, to align with DC's established thematic use of the number following the weekly series '52,' after DiDio had initially planned only 48 titles.
DC co-publisher Jim Lee and DC Art Director Mark Chiarello enlisted artist Cully Hamner to lead the visual redesign of DC's characters for the relaunch, work that was prominently showcased in the preview book's sketch and design pages.
The introduction to the free preview issue was co-signed by both DC co-publishers, Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, marking it as an official editorial statement from DC's top leadership about the new direction.
All 52 launch-month #1 issues previewed in this sampler were subsequently collected in the DC Comics: The New 52 hardcover omnibus, released in December 2011, making this preview book the direct precursor document to that collected edition.