Geoff Johns Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is on REBIRTH

DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns has offered a money back guarantee on DC Comics’ universe-resetting Rebirth #1 out of his own pocket if readers don’t love it.

The move is part of an overall PR effort that comes in the wake of an Internet Kerfuffle that broke out over the weekend regarding Bleeding Cool‘s posting spoiler heavy images from DC’s Rebirth comic, due for release May 25, 2016. Reaction from social media and genre specific publications was, to put it mildly, intense.

While DC readers, both fans and detractors, responded to the content of the leaks and their publication, several articles appeared on Monday, May 23 that may offer insight into DC’s mindset about the Rebirth event and the audience they are trying to reach with it.

Luckily for him, initial critical reception to Rebirth has been has ranged from Very Positive (IGN), to Amazing (ComicBook.com), to “Yuck” (Graphic Policy).

Two features in USA TODAY (not anyone’s idea of a genre-specific publication) discuss Rebirth. DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns talked in depth about what DC wants to start in general and he as it’s writer specifically with this 80-page comic. 2011’s “New 52” relaunch of DC’s comic titles gave these classic characters a clean slate, but may have also taken away the heart and history so many readers loved. Johns remarked,”It felt like there were things that had gone missing – not the characters but an overall feeling of hope and optimism… Love was lost, and the ongoing mission of Rebirth is have that love return and have the characters connect again.”

The second USA TODAY  feature (‘DC Rebirth Series Appeal to Superhero Movie Fans’) refers to Johns’ work with the new created DC Films division within Warner Bros. corporate structure. For general audiences that may have never picked up a comic book, Johns provides a list of titles, from Suicide Squad: Rebirth to Batman: Rebirth, that tie in with current and upcoming Warner Bros. superhero releases.

Another non-genre outlet covering this story is Vulture.com (their motto “devouring pop culture” aka the website you visit for recaps of Game of Thrones and Girls). Abraham Reisman’s May 23, 2016 feature in brings the effort of DC and Warner Bros. to appeal to the non-comic book reading movie audience to the forefront.

Reisman describes Rebirth as a “thematic pivot” which incorporates New 52 events and characters, along with their earlier incarnations, into one universe. “But more importantly (at least in terms of grabbing eyeballs), it features a surprise ending that has the potential to snag attention from readers who generally don’t read superhero comics.”

Along with the structural rebuilding at Warner Bros. (featured on SciFi4Me.com), these moves show a corporate behemoth moving at lightspeed (in corporate terms) to course correct and more closely align DC’s print and movie universes at a very early stage.

Feel free to leave your comments on Rebirth #1 here.