DC revealed that the Earth One line is expanding again this week with the news that Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko are working on Green Lantern: Earth One Vol. 1 for a July 2018 release. As a fan of both the franchise and the creative team, that's a very welcome announcement. But the most intriguing thing about this news is the possible shift in direction it signals for the Earth One imprint. Green Lantern could be just the push Earth One needs to finally find its real, permanent place in DC's publishing lineup.
For those not familiar with the Earth One line, it's essentially DC's answer to Marvel's Ultimate Universe. Like the Ultimate books, the Earth One stories take place in a separate universe that's been streamlined and updated for a contemporary audience that maybe doesn't care to wade through decades of old stories and continuity. The main difference between Earth One and the Ultimate Universe is that the former focuses entirely on original graphic novels rather than monthly comics, making it that much easier for readers to follow along and keep track of stories.
But there's another, more unfortunate similarity that the Earth One line shares with the Ultimate books. Just as Marvel struggled to maintain reader interest in the Ultimate books after the initial high of those first few years, DC has never seemed entirely sure of where the Earth One line fits into its larger publishing strategy. Marvel tried a number of different approaches with the Ultimate U., but in the end they elected to pull the plug on the line altogether in 2015. I don't know that Earth One is in imminent danger of being discarded. New Earth One releases tend to top Diamond's sales charts in whatever month they debut, and while we don't have access to hard numbers, it's understood that the Earth One books are dependable, evergreen sellers for DC in the bookstore market. But too often the Earth One line feels like an afterthought rather than a key weapon in DC's war to win over casual superhero fans.
There are a number of factors that contributed to the slow, prolonged downfall of the Ultimate line, but a big one is that it simply stopped filling an important niche after a few years. Early on, the Ultimate books were a breath of fresh air when compared to the often convoluted, underwhelming stories Marvel's core comic book universe was offering. But as time passed, Marvel got better and better about bringing in new talent and ensuring that their core superhero books were accessible and inviting. Marvel readers didn't really need books like Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates anymore once we had Astonishing X-Men and New Avengers.
The Earth One line has faced this problem almost from the very beginning. The original release, J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis' Superman: Earth One Vol. 1, landed in fall 2010. It was a bona fide commercial hit for DC, enough so that they pulled Straczynski off of his monthly books in order to focus all his attention on Earth One sequels. But the success of Earth One also seems to have played a big role in inspiring and paving the way for the New 52 relaunch the following year. Once DC relaunches its entire superhero universe with an eye towards accessibility, where does that leave the Earth One books? Why do we need clean, accessible variations of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman when DC makes it so easy to dive right in with their current, ongoing books? It would be one thing if the overall quality of the Earth One line was high enough to set it apart. But while most of these books have been enjoyable reads (the first couple Superman volumes aside), there hasn't been a true home run yet.
That's the reason Green Lantern: Earth One is so intriguing. This new book is about more than just jettisoning past continuity and giving Hal Jordan a modernized makeover. It seeks to fundamentally reinvent one of DC's most popular heroes. The basics are still there - Hal Jordan is a fearless man who finds a powerful ring fueled by will - but so much about the franchise is being reinterpreted and re-imagined. Hal is no longer a hotshot test pilot, but a lone asteroid miner fueled as much by his intelligence as his bravery. Like the best Ultimate Marvel characters, Earth One's Hal Jordan doesn't come across as merely an alternate universe version of a familiar character, but the product of creators who asked themselves, "What would this character be like if they were conceived today and not decades ago?".
That's the risky approach I wish we were seeing more of in the Earth One books. Sure, creators have made changes to these iconic characters, but mostly in terms of making them more flawed, grounded and relatable. Earth One's Superman is less sure of himself. Earth One's Batman screws up constantly. But those aren't necessarily fundamental, earth-shattering changes. Even with Wonder Woman: Earth One, Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette focused more on bringing back some of the weird imagery and BDSM elements of the Golden Age Wonder Woman comics than actually remaking the character. If anything, Jill Thompson's Wonder Woman: The True Amazon did a better job last year of adding something new and meaningful to Diana's origin story.
My hope is that Green Lantern: Earth One signals a general change in philosophy with the imprint. Simply offering a streamlined, accessible superhero universe is no longer enough. DC's Rebirth comics have that ground covered already. Not to mention that the Rebirth books offer a much more frequent superhero fix than the Earth One line, where readers are generally forced to wait two or three years between new volumes.
Instead, the Earth One books need to be a playground where creators can take big risks with less fear of breaking the toys in the toybox. Consider this - the biggest influence Batman: Earth One has had on the larger Batman franchise is in its depiction of Alfred not as a dignified butler, but a battle-scarred war veteran critical to Bruce's own evolution into Batman. That 's where Geoff Johns and Gary Frank took their biggest storytelling risk, and it's where they've left their most significant mark. You can see shades of "Badass Alfred" in everything from the animated series Beware the Batman to Jeremy Irons' Alfred in Batman v Superman.
I'm very curious to see what influence Hardman and Bechko's revamped Hal Jordan might have as that character makes his return to the big screen. Even if this book has little impact on the larger GL franchise, the prospect of reading a wholly new take on Hal Jordan and not something indebted to Johns' Green Lantern run (terrific as it was) is very appealing. If the Earth One line is ever going to become a prominent, critical piece of the DC Comics puzzle, then the emphasis needs to be less on accessibility and more on risk-taking.
"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
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