On September 15th the landscape of comics will change forever as DC launches its latest streaming service.
And all it will cost is $7.99 a month.
In what will go down as a historic moment for DC Comics the company revealed the details of their DC Universe subscription service. The event was hosted by fan favorite and Batman aficionado Kevin Smith. (Director of Red State, Jay and Silent Bob, and Clerks)
During the two and half hour long event Smith introduced viewers to the makeup of the DC Universe app and how this service is going to be unlike anything fans have seen before. DC Universe looks to be part movie and television streaming service like Netflix and Hulu; Part comic reading app like Comixology or Marvel Unlimited; Part online store; Part online community chat and 100% devoted to the fans.
There were special guests galore during the evening, with notable chats with Teri Hatcher, Greg Capullo, Kevin Conroy, Jim Lee and the new cast of DC Daily; a daily show covering the world of DC with some surprising names like John Barrowman, Sam Levine, Harley Quinn Smith, and Sam Humphries introduced.
Fans were treated to clips from classic TV shows and movies as well as catching a run down for the app’s exclusive shows that will be available including:
Titans: This live action version of the Teen Titans has already created waves within the comics community when the series was announced at San Diego Comic Con and the infamous line from Nightwing of “F*** Batman”. The first episode will be available Oct. 12th with new episodes following every Friday.
- Swamp Thing- No new details were discussed.
- Harley Quinn- No new details were discussed.
- Young Justice: Outsiders – The third season of the series is coming to DC Universe after being on a hiatus since 2013.
- Stargirl- Little in the way of details was discussed of this series outside of the reveal that long time DC writer Geoff Johns will take the lead writing chores.
- Doom Patrol- It was announced that this series will be live action and Brendan Fraser will be doing voice work for Robotman.
There was a lot of information passed to the viewers during the live stream; there was also a decided lack of technical information. It’s still undetermined which platforms DC Universe will be available on; but we did find out that a single subscription guarantees that you can stream on up to two devices. It was made clear that Titans will debut in October but few other details were given in regards to the other original series that have been announced. The viewers were able to see the layout of the service, but only a handful of content was announced. (JLU, Batman TAS, Teen Titans, Lois and Clark, 1960s Batman, 1970s Wonder Woman, The Burton Batman movies, the Christopher Reeves Superman series, and a handful of others were shown)
It was also announced that the service will also have a digital comics library that will have thousands of current and classic issues available on day one.
There will also be an online store for DC merch.
And fans will get to interact with each other in a special community feature that acts as a message board/chat.
Information was not in full supply, but during the stream there was a genuine sense of excitement from everyone involved. You can tell that DC has taken their time in developing this service. In just a few short days the fans will get to have their own hands on experience. This might be the moment that DC inserts itself back into the discussion of which of the big two is giving fans what they want. Marvel has lorded over Hollywood in recent years, but with DC Universe the game is about to change. For the first time it may be Marvel turn to play catch-up.