How The New 52 Broke DC Comics

All the noise about DC at the time was pointing towards the idea that the publisher's comics were simply too difficult to approach as a new reader, or even that their characters were out of date. Years of contradictory retcons and Crises had seemingly erected barriers around the DC universe as it then existed, which meant that, if DC ever wished to catch up to Marvel, a change in direction was deemed necessary.

This new direction was, according to DiDio in a 2011 interview with The Washington Post, spearheaded by Johns and Lee. Both had been key figures at the publisher for years by that point, the former famous for his work reshaping books like Green Lantern and The Flash, and the latter more so for their time spent with Marvel and Image in the 1990s.

Johns' DNA was especially woven into the fabric of the New 52 as the publisher's Chief Creative Officer, with the writer continuing his work on Green Lantern, but also joining Lee on Justice League and then Ivan Reis on Aquaman. (It's also important to note that Johns would later become heavily involved in DC Film, where he would serve as a key architect of the DC Extended Universe alongside filmmaker Zack Snyder, which was developed concurrently alongside the New 52.)

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