DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
#101
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
Heh, fair enough. Probably wrongly, but I view everything after the first crisis, up until Flashpoint to be the same continuity. I know there are spots here and there where the universe gets refreshed, but I felt like I could trace a main thru-line from just after the first Crisis all the way up until Flashpoint.
#103
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Building attractions one theme park at a time.
Posts: 10,800
Received 82 Likes
on
49 Posts
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
Well shit! Action and Detective are going back to Legacy numbering!
Yesterday, Bleeding Cool told you that DC Comics’ Rebirth would be announced today at ComicsPRO in Portland. And so it is being.
We told you that the spin would be the best of the New 52 and DC You, but bringing back classic elements wanted by fans. And that is the approach Geoff Johns is pushing.
In an interview given to CBR by DC PR and COO Geoff Johns, and a video viewed by the site, it begins with DC Universe Rebirth,” an 80-page one-shot scheduled for release on May 25, by Johns Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Gary Frank and Phil Jimenez.
Geoff Johns will no longer be writing Justice League, including the #51 solicited for May. He will end his run with #50.
All the main DC Comics titles will then be renumbered with new issue 1s, aside from Action Comics and Detective Comics which will be renumbered for where they would be by now if the New 52 never happened, issues #957 and #934.
All regular DC titles will return to a $2.99 price point and certain titles will move to a bi-weekly schedule.
And it’s all about restoring “Legacy” to the DC Universe. Whether that means the return of the memory of the JSA, as we are also getting the memory of the original Teen Titans in Titans Hunt as we have speculated, we wait to discover.
We told you that the spin would be the best of the New 52 and DC You, but bringing back classic elements wanted by fans. And that is the approach Geoff Johns is pushing.
In an interview given to CBR by DC PR and COO Geoff Johns, and a video viewed by the site, it begins with DC Universe Rebirth,” an 80-page one-shot scheduled for release on May 25, by Johns Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Gary Frank and Phil Jimenez.
Geoff Johns will no longer be writing Justice League, including the #51 solicited for May. He will end his run with #50.
All the main DC Comics titles will then be renumbered with new issue 1s, aside from Action Comics and Detective Comics which will be renumbered for where they would be by now if the New 52 never happened, issues #957 and #934.
All regular DC titles will return to a $2.99 price point and certain titles will move to a bi-weekly schedule.
And it’s all about restoring “Legacy” to the DC Universe. Whether that means the return of the memory of the JSA, as we are also getting the memory of the original Teen Titans in Titans Hunt as we have speculated, we wait to discover.
UPDATE with checklist:
Check out the full list below.
June:
Rebirth Specials:
• AQUAMAN REBIRTH #1
• BATMAN REBIRTH #1
• THE FLASH REBIRTH #1
• GREEN ARROW REBIRTH #1
• GREEN LANTERNS REBIRTH #1
• SUPERMAN REBIRTH #1
• TITANS REBIRTH #1
• WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• AQUAMAN #1
• BATMAN #1
• THE FLASH #1
• GREEN ARROW #1
• GREEN LANTERNS #1
• SUPERMAN #1
• WONDER WOMAN #1
New Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• ACTION COMICS #957
• DETECTIVE COMICS #934
July
Rebirth Specials:
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY REBIRTH #1
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS REBIRTH #1
• THE HELLBLAZER REBIRTH #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1
• NIGHTWING REBIRTH #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
• NIGHTWING #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATGIRL #1
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY #1
• THE HELLBLAZER #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS #1
• THE SUPER-MAN #1
• TITANS #1
Fall
Rebirth Specials:
• BATMAN BEYOND REBIRTH #1
• BLUE BEETLE REBIRTH #1
• CYBORG REBIRTH #1
• DEATHSTROKE REBIRTH #1
• EARTH 2 REBIRTH #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD REBIRTH #1
• SUPERGIRL REBIRTH #1
• TEEN TITANS REBIRTH #1
• TRINITY REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• CYBORG #1
• DEATHSTROKE #1
• HARLEY QUINN #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATMAN BEYOND #1
• BLUE BEETLE #1
• EARTH 2 #1
• GOTHAM ACADEMY: NEXT SEMESTER #1
• SUPERGIRL #1
• SUPERWOMAN #1
• SUPER SONS #1
• TEEN TITANS #1
• TRINITY #1
Last edited by The Valeyard; 02-18-16 at 06:10 PM.
#104
DVD Talk Legend
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
I like everything I've heard so far. DC breaks it and Johns fixes it
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hOFXITBuLMA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hOFXITBuLMA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
#105
DVD Talk Hero
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
June:
Rebirth Specials:
• AQUAMAN REBIRTH #1
• BATMAN REBIRTH #1
• THE FLASH REBIRTH #1
• GREEN ARROW REBIRTH #1
• GREEN LANTERNS REBIRTH #1
• SUPERMAN REBIRTH #1
• TITANS REBIRTH #1
• WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• AQUAMAN #1
• BATMAN #1
• THE FLASH #1
• GREEN ARROW #1
• GREEN LANTERNS #1
• SUPERMAN #1
• WONDER WOMAN #1
New Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• ACTION COMICS #957
• DETECTIVE COMICS #934
July
Rebirth Specials:
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY REBIRTH #1
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS REBIRTH #1
• THE HELLBLAZER REBIRTH #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1
• NIGHTWING REBIRTH #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
• NIGHTWING #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATGIRL #1
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY #1
• THE HELLBLAZER #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS #1
• THE SUPER-MAN #1
• TITANS #1
Fall
Rebirth Specials:
• BATMAN BEYOND REBIRTH #1
• BLUE BEETLE REBIRTH #1
• CYBORG REBIRTH #1
• DEATHSTROKE REBIRTH #1
• EARTH 2 REBIRTH #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD REBIRTH #1
• SUPERGIRL REBIRTH #1
• TEEN TITANS REBIRTH #1
• TRINITY REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• CYBORG #1
• DEATHSTROKE #1
• HARLEY QUINN #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATMAN BEYOND #1
• BLUE BEETLE #1
• EARTH 2 #1
• GOTHAM ACADEMY: NEXT SEMESTER #1
• SUPERGIRL #1
• SUPERWOMAN #1
• SUPER SONS #1
• TEEN TITANS #1
• TRINITY #1
Rebirth Specials:
• AQUAMAN REBIRTH #1
• BATMAN REBIRTH #1
• THE FLASH REBIRTH #1
• GREEN ARROW REBIRTH #1
• GREEN LANTERNS REBIRTH #1
• SUPERMAN REBIRTH #1
• TITANS REBIRTH #1
• WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• AQUAMAN #1
• BATMAN #1
• THE FLASH #1
• GREEN ARROW #1
• GREEN LANTERNS #1
• SUPERMAN #1
• WONDER WOMAN #1
New Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• ACTION COMICS #957
• DETECTIVE COMICS #934
July
Rebirth Specials:
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY REBIRTH #1
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS REBIRTH #1
• THE HELLBLAZER REBIRTH #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1
• NIGHTWING REBIRTH #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
• NIGHTWING #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATGIRL #1
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY #1
• THE HELLBLAZER #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS #1
• THE SUPER-MAN #1
• TITANS #1
Fall
Rebirth Specials:
• BATMAN BEYOND REBIRTH #1
• BLUE BEETLE REBIRTH #1
• CYBORG REBIRTH #1
• DEATHSTROKE REBIRTH #1
• EARTH 2 REBIRTH #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD REBIRTH #1
• SUPERGIRL REBIRTH #1
• TEEN TITANS REBIRTH #1
• TRINITY REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• CYBORG #1
• DEATHSTROKE #1
• HARLEY QUINN #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATMAN BEYOND #1
• BLUE BEETLE #1
• EARTH 2 #1
• GOTHAM ACADEMY: NEXT SEMESTER #1
• SUPERGIRL #1
• SUPERWOMAN #1
• SUPER SONS #1
• TEEN TITANS #1
• TRINITY #1
#106
Banned
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
I'm sorry but this sounds horrible. As bad as the New 52. Like it happened on that reboot, these idiots (Didio, Lee, Johns) want cake and eat it too. The big difference between Marvel and DC Comics is that Marvel evolved after the bankruptcy. They have gone out of their comfort zone and given a push to forgotten characters like Nova, Ms. Marvel, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, Vision and the Inhumans. These assholes at Warner Bros and DC Comics can't function unless the book is Batman or Superman related. Even Wonder Woman is relegated to the background. And I blame Geoff Johns for refusing to get his head out of the Silver Age. There was a reason Barry Allen and Hal Jordan were removed as the respective Flash and Green Lantern. These personas are the ones DC could use to move forward and attract a new generation of readers. We had Wally West and Kyle Rayner.
This reboot is not going to work. The same way Pandora (remember her? yeah, that important character that appeared in every first issue of the new 52 and it didn't lead to anything) didn't work. The same way the Twix ads with Nick Lachey didn't work. The same way DC You didn't work. The same way Convergence didn't work.
The only way I feel they could actually fix this is if the go back to Flashpoint and show how Barry Allen and his selfishness fucked up, not one, but 3 universes (DC, Vertigo and Windstorm). Barry Allen was the villain of that series. He caused Flashpoint because once again he wanted to change history.
Few good things came out of the New 52, but we can all agree that it was mostly Batman driven. Any other book with a buzz that wasn't Batman or Superman, DC ignored and de-pushed it.
Didio, Lee and Johns simply need to go and WB needs to either sell DC Comics to someone who would actually take care of the property or stop meddling in their affairs. The micromanaging these imbeciles have done in the past 5-8 years have driven one of the best companies to the toilet.
This reboot is not going to work. The same way Pandora (remember her? yeah, that important character that appeared in every first issue of the new 52 and it didn't lead to anything) didn't work. The same way the Twix ads with Nick Lachey didn't work. The same way DC You didn't work. The same way Convergence didn't work.
The only way I feel they could actually fix this is if the go back to Flashpoint and show how Barry Allen and his selfishness fucked up, not one, but 3 universes (DC, Vertigo and Windstorm). Barry Allen was the villain of that series. He caused Flashpoint because once again he wanted to change history.
Few good things came out of the New 52, but we can all agree that it was mostly Batman driven. Any other book with a buzz that wasn't Batman or Superman, DC ignored and de-pushed it.
Didio, Lee and Johns simply need to go and WB needs to either sell DC Comics to someone who would actually take care of the property or stop meddling in their affairs. The micromanaging these imbeciles have done in the past 5-8 years have driven one of the best companies to the toilet.
#107
DVD Talk Legend
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
So you're not getting Red Hood and the Outlaws #1?
#108
Banned
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
hahaha! Sad thing is that I will have to read all these books since I'm a store owner.
Don't get me wrong, I love DC Comics and their history, but much like WWE, it seems that they can't simply move on and embrace the future. Just look at the Geoff Johns video from above. He's proud of going back and bringing stuff from the past and simply saying that Kyle Rayner wasn't worth anything. Like I mentioned, Marvel moved to the future fast. We have a half black half latino Spider-Man, a Muslim Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, new Wolverine, Squadron Supreme having an excellent book, a new Hulk.
The funny thing is that I was a bigger DC reader than a Marvel one. It seems that I'm not the only one who changed sides since it's pretty clear by the sales charts that DC Comics has lost an incredible amount of readers.
Don't get me wrong, I love DC Comics and their history, but much like WWE, it seems that they can't simply move on and embrace the future. Just look at the Geoff Johns video from above. He's proud of going back and bringing stuff from the past and simply saying that Kyle Rayner wasn't worth anything. Like I mentioned, Marvel moved to the future fast. We have a half black half latino Spider-Man, a Muslim Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, new Wolverine, Squadron Supreme having an excellent book, a new Hulk.
The funny thing is that I was a bigger DC reader than a Marvel one. It seems that I'm not the only one who changed sides since it's pretty clear by the sales charts that DC Comics has lost an incredible amount of readers.
#109
Member
#110
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
Very interesting, in light of the articles posted earlier in this thread about how there are too many titles in the marketplace.
They are cutting the line from 52 to 32 titles. But 17 of those titles (their most popular ones) are going bi-weekly. Will it work?
If my monthly cost for some of my titles is going to double indefinitely, I'm going to need to seriously think about whether I want to continue them or not.
They are cutting the line from 52 to 32 titles. But 17 of those titles (their most popular ones) are going bi-weekly. Will it work?
If my monthly cost for some of my titles is going to double indefinitely, I'm going to need to seriously think about whether I want to continue them or not.
#111
DVD Talk Hero
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
That's exactly what Valiant/Acclaim did with their "Birthquake" event -- cancelled half of their line and made most of the biweekly -- and it was, literally, the final nail in the company's coffin.
#113
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
At least they are fixing Action Comics and Detective Comics numbering. Does not fix what was done. It never should have reset in the first place. I wonder if they will fix what they did to Superboy. Not even sure what they really plan to do.
#114
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
But this Rebirth thing might work. Might not. Ultimately the only thing that matters to me is if the books are good, so while the machinations of a comic universe are interesting, when it comes down to it the books that it births need to be dope for me to care. I hope this results in dope books.
I do worry that it is Johns dictating the direction. That isn't totally fair, because the last time I truly cared about DC as a universe Johns was the one spearheading it, but I haven't really cared for the stuff of his I've tried in the last 6 years or so.
#115
Senior Member
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
Weird. I thought a partial reason Scott Snyder left Batman to jump on Detective Comics was because he didn't want the stress of twice-a-month releases on one title. But it looks like Detective Comics is now coming out with the same frequency.
I know they've mentioned the $2.99 price point across all titles—which is good—but have they mentioned the page count? What if DC is planning on reducing page count to 15-16 pages per issue. With the double shipping titles, this makes it a little easier for creative teams to handle the extra workload. It wouldn't be quite double, more like 1.5 times the work.
I went from buying every new title DC published through Convergence to nothing DC has published since. I thought I'd go through withdrawals, but I'm surprised how I don't miss any of it. The reason for going cold turkey was the price point. If I really missed DC Comics, I'd be on board with the lower price. But I have no desire to start up again. DC lost me a year ago and I don't regret it.
I have been buying a lot of nice year-long hardcover collections of Image titles. Great stuff.
I know they've mentioned the $2.99 price point across all titles—which is good—but have they mentioned the page count? What if DC is planning on reducing page count to 15-16 pages per issue. With the double shipping titles, this makes it a little easier for creative teams to handle the extra workload. It wouldn't be quite double, more like 1.5 times the work.
I went from buying every new title DC published through Convergence to nothing DC has published since. I thought I'd go through withdrawals, but I'm surprised how I don't miss any of it. The reason for going cold turkey was the price point. If I really missed DC Comics, I'd be on board with the lower price. But I have no desire to start up again. DC lost me a year ago and I don't regret it.
I have been buying a lot of nice year-long hardcover collections of Image titles. Great stuff.
Last edited by lumberjack; 02-20-16 at 11:09 AM.
#116
DVD Talk Legend
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
Don't worry, Marvel is going to counter attack with Iron-Gwen #1. Weekly and $5.99 cover.
#117
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
But all this talk of DC's past has me in the mood to do some great reread of late-90s to Mid-2000s DC comics. That won't happen, but it's fun to think about.
#120
Banned
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
DC Rebirth: Is Geoff Johns Selling Out DC’s Future in Pursuit of its Past?
http://comicsalliance.com/geoff-john...ckback=tsmclip
http://comicsalliance.com/geoff-john...ckback=tsmclip
#121
DVD Talk Legend
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
DC Rebirth: Is Geoff Johns Selling Out DC’s Future in Pursuit of its Past?
http://comicsalliance.com/geoff-john...ckback=tsmclip
http://comicsalliance.com/geoff-john...ckback=tsmclip
In other news Jim Lee will be one of the artist on Suicide Squad.
#122
DVD Talk Legend
#123
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
I really wish Rebirth results in Wildstorm getting another go. I would LOVE if WS was spun off from DC again, and the whole universe was contained to 3 books or so. WS characters are great, but they work best when they aren't sharing space with the characters they're analogs of.
The following users liked this post:
John Pannozzi (06-20-21)
#124
DVD Talk Hero
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
DC Rebirth: Is Geoff Johns Selling Out DC’s Future in Pursuit of its Past?
http://comicsalliance.com/geoff-john...ckback=tsmclip
http://comicsalliance.com/geoff-john...ckback=tsmclip
I guess there is an audience for that kind of clickbait.
All I am expecting from this reboot is a simplified, streamlined DC universe with the essential traits of the characters I know and love. Basically the same storytelling approach that Timm took with the cartoons applied to a larger universe of characters.
#125
Senior Member
Re: DC Comics to relaunch everything with #1s in June 2016
The one thing I admire about Johns' previous "Rebirth" titles is the lengths he's gone to in order to retcon things and try to line everything up for the new continuity/status quo going forward. Green Lantern: Rebirth is particularly a master class in successful retconning. The Flash: Rebirth isn't as good but Johns certainly jumped through all of the hoops to bring back all of the necessary characters (only for Flashpoint/The New 52 to wipe it all out a year later or whatever).
I have no idea how he thinks he's going to pull that off in 80 pages for an entire company where he's going to have to do something to marry pre-Flashpoint with the New 52. Funny enough it might not be as difficult given how Green Lantern and Batman hung onto so much of their pre-Flashpoint continuities at the start of the New 52. It might have been much harder to pull this off if they had done a complete blank slate restart with the New 52 (which is what they should have done more or less).
I think this also has the potential to dramatically backfire on the company. They've already alienated a certain portion of the audience with the New 52. At the same time, the New 52 absolutely did bring in new readers, many of whom are probably just fine and are used to the New 52 continuity. So now he's going to try to recapture those old readers who gave up while trying not to confuse whatever new readers they've built up. Good luck making all of those parties happy.
Johns may say they're not looking to the film and TV shows creatively, but marketing and branding wise they sure are:
* = Double shipping
Bat-Family Titles
BATMAN * [BvS/JL/Solo Films]
DETECTIVE COMICS [BvS/JL/Solo Films]
NIGHTWING * [Possible BvS/Batman Solo Films appearances]
BATGIRL
BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY
RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS
HARLEY QUINN * [Suicide Squad film/Possible Batman films]
GOTHAM ACADEMY: NEXT SEMESTER
BATMAN BEYOND [Former TV Cartoon Show]
Super-Family Titles
SUPERMAN * [Solo films/BvS/JL]
ACTION COMICS [Solo films/BvS/JL]
THE SUPER-MAN [Lex Luthor in BvS & other films]
SUPERGIRL [TV Show]
SUPERWOMAN (Possibly a Lois Lane book)
Justice-Team Titles
JUSTICE LEAGUE * [BvS/JL films]
JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA * [BvS/JL films ??? - Depends on who is on the team]
TITANS
TEEN TITANS
TRINITY [BvS/JL films]
SUPER SONS (probably some kind of book related to Batman and Superman properties)
Core Characters With Films & TV Shows
WONDER WOMAN * [Solo film/BvS/JL]
THE FLASH * [Solo film/TV show]
AQUAMAN * [Solo film]
HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS * [JL/Future film]
GREEN LANTERNS * [Future film]
CYBORG * [Solo film/BvS/JL]
SUICIDE SQUAD * [Suicide Squad film]
DEATHSTROKE * [Suicide Squad film; Past TV appearances]
GREEN ARROW * [TV show]
THE HELLBLAZER [Former Constantine TV show; possible future TV appearances; possible future JL Dark film]
Other
BLUE BEETLE
EARTH 2
Are you in the Bat-Family, Super-Family, Justice-Team, or have a film coming out? Then you don't get your own book for the most part.
Obviously DC isn't jettisoning everyone not named in one of these titles, especially since the alleged goal is to bring back DC's sense of legacy. Surely all our favorite B/C/D Grade characters are going to have to populate titles like Titans/Teen Titans/Birds of Prey/Outlaws and be supporting cast in other books.
And it's not like a DC universe shouldn't have titles featuring the majority of those solo characters (DC still trying to make Cyborg happen; Deathstroke probably not worthy of a solo).
But from the titles it's clear they're doubling down on the bankability of their TV/film properties in conjunction with those core names everyone knows. That's smart to a degree, but it seems there's very little risk taking outside of all of this.
I have no idea how he thinks he's going to pull that off in 80 pages for an entire company where he's going to have to do something to marry pre-Flashpoint with the New 52. Funny enough it might not be as difficult given how Green Lantern and Batman hung onto so much of their pre-Flashpoint continuities at the start of the New 52. It might have been much harder to pull this off if they had done a complete blank slate restart with the New 52 (which is what they should have done more or less).
I think this also has the potential to dramatically backfire on the company. They've already alienated a certain portion of the audience with the New 52. At the same time, the New 52 absolutely did bring in new readers, many of whom are probably just fine and are used to the New 52 continuity. So now he's going to try to recapture those old readers who gave up while trying not to confuse whatever new readers they've built up. Good luck making all of those parties happy.
Johns may say they're not looking to the film and TV shows creatively, but marketing and branding wise they sure are:
* = Double shipping
Bat-Family Titles
BATMAN * [BvS/JL/Solo Films]
DETECTIVE COMICS [BvS/JL/Solo Films]
NIGHTWING * [Possible BvS/Batman Solo Films appearances]
BATGIRL
BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY
RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS
HARLEY QUINN * [Suicide Squad film/Possible Batman films]
GOTHAM ACADEMY: NEXT SEMESTER
BATMAN BEYOND [Former TV Cartoon Show]
Super-Family Titles
SUPERMAN * [Solo films/BvS/JL]
ACTION COMICS [Solo films/BvS/JL]
THE SUPER-MAN [Lex Luthor in BvS & other films]
SUPERGIRL [TV Show]
SUPERWOMAN (Possibly a Lois Lane book)
Justice-Team Titles
JUSTICE LEAGUE * [BvS/JL films]
JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA * [BvS/JL films ??? - Depends on who is on the team]
TITANS
TEEN TITANS
TRINITY [BvS/JL films]
SUPER SONS (probably some kind of book related to Batman and Superman properties)
Core Characters With Films & TV Shows
WONDER WOMAN * [Solo film/BvS/JL]
THE FLASH * [Solo film/TV show]
AQUAMAN * [Solo film]
HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS * [JL/Future film]
GREEN LANTERNS * [Future film]
CYBORG * [Solo film/BvS/JL]
SUICIDE SQUAD * [Suicide Squad film]
DEATHSTROKE * [Suicide Squad film; Past TV appearances]
GREEN ARROW * [TV show]
THE HELLBLAZER [Former Constantine TV show; possible future TV appearances; possible future JL Dark film]
Other
BLUE BEETLE
EARTH 2
Are you in the Bat-Family, Super-Family, Justice-Team, or have a film coming out? Then you don't get your own book for the most part.
Obviously DC isn't jettisoning everyone not named in one of these titles, especially since the alleged goal is to bring back DC's sense of legacy. Surely all our favorite B/C/D Grade characters are going to have to populate titles like Titans/Teen Titans/Birds of Prey/Outlaws and be supporting cast in other books.
And it's not like a DC universe shouldn't have titles featuring the majority of those solo characters (DC still trying to make Cyborg happen; Deathstroke probably not worthy of a solo).
But from the titles it's clear they're doubling down on the bankability of their TV/film properties in conjunction with those core names everyone knows. That's smart to a degree, but it seems there's very little risk taking outside of all of this.