DC Universe: Rebirth #1 by Geoff Johns (Kinda review)

Title: DC Universe: Rebirth #1

Author: Geoff Johns

RATING: 4 STARS!

It all begins here. Do not skip to the last page. Do not let a friend or message board ruin this comic for you. The future (and past) of the DC Universe starts here. Don't say we didn't warn you!

THEY SAID IT: "Rebirth is about focusing in on the core of the character and their respective universe," says writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. "It brings back what has been lost: the legacy of the characters, the love and the hope of the DCU!" 

~ MY THOUGHTS! ~

So this is a thing I have been anticipating since I knew it was happening. And that was quite a few months back. And I am a little bit torn. 

Let me start this review off by saying I have never been into the Big Two. Neither DC nor Marvel gave me much to look forward to or anything really that I felt like trying. I was late to the whole comics fan club, so I stuck to the stories I knew I liked. And those were, and still are being published by BOOM! and Image comics, almost exclusively. I do dabble here and there in other publishers works, but for the most part, I like the types of stories that Image and BOOM! studios delivers. I am the audience for those comics, and I've always been okay with that. The whole capes comics never really interested me, from either Marvel or DC. 

That changed, however, when I heard that DC was resetting it's entire Universe. And for me, that seemed like the perfect opportunity to jump on the bandwagon of some pretty iconic superheroes. I thought that it was my chance to see what I've been missing, as I would be on the same ground floor as everybody else.

So, I waited. And I looked into websites, and blogs, and others opinions of the reset. And I did my research as to what titles were coming out, who was on the team, when they would be released. I have an entire three page outline of release dates for the comics in this reset I wanted to get my hands on (basically ALL of them). I've been counting down the release of the 80 page intro to the new world for over a month now. This has been one of the first events in a long time that I have anticipated this hard. That I have been this excited for. And I'm torn.

Release day happened this past Wednesday, and of course I had to work. So, I avoided all social media all day. Easy enough, I was supposed to be working... Then I got to the store, and saw the SOLD OUT card where my copy of this glorious start was supposed to be. I literally felt like crying. But I looked again, and saw the last copy of a variant cover (not the one I wanted, but it would due to get me the story). And I grabbed it.  I wasn't leaving the store without it.

When I got home, I sat down and started. Straight out of the gate I was let down, because there at the bottom of page one, there was a little publisher note saying that this story, the reset story, the beginning of the entire world, needed to be read after Justice League 50 and Superman 52. Well, I didn't have either of those comics, because from all the research I had done, this was going to start the entire thing off. So I hadn't expected being behind from the beginning. And that feeling carried throughout the comic. There were references to many characters that I frankly don't know, backstories and alternate worlds were referenced, again that I don't know. And the ending, the big reveal....it was about characters and a story that I DON'T KNOW! 

Even through the confusion, I kept reading. How could I stop? This was the single most anticipated comic for me, well since I had started reading comics. Everything up until this point had always already been released, I didn't have to wonder or wait. The next one was always already there. With this DC Rebirth, I felt like a part of something. And I got left behind out of the gate. But, I finished it. And sat and thought about it. And then looked up spoilers, which I will refrain from mentioning because of, well spoilers. I had already read the comic, I just need clarification. 

I ended up really liking it. For what it was, a start to a new Universe. A reset, if you will. But not completely. I had this change of heart from my initial let down because I felt like I had a fresh perspective. I had no real expectations going into this series, I had no love of a certain character that was being let go or reintroduced. I was, if you will, falling for the Universe and it's inhabitants as the creative teams deemed fit to introduce or get rid of them. I may be a slight bit lost as to plot line direction, or even how the reveal was so shocking, but I still got the story for what it was. 

And I figure, we all have to start somewhere. Comic readers of now weren't reading comics back when all these superheroes were first introduced probably, so they were new at some point. And I am new, and I am glad I get to be on this bandwagon. This story was most definitely a feels read for me. And I liked that there seems to be a level of emotion going on with this direction of these stories. I look forward to reading the first issues of a lot of the characters that we see in this Rebirth issue #1 come June 1. 

I feel as if this wasn't a review of the actual comic story but of my journey to where I am now. But that is okay, I felt it necessary to talk about. And it's almost one in the same as with a review of the comic. 

I was once intimated by the Big Two, and the long list of backstory issues that I had missed, as well as trying to follow along with continuity and the vast perimeters the words of DC and Marvel encompass. But, thanks to DC Rebirth, no more! I am a cape fan, and look forward to the journey this will take me. This was a win in my book. A win for an entire new type of story that I will now be enjoying. 

And PS...DC please make sure I see a TON of Aqualad! He is by far my favorite introduction so far! :)