It has been a little over a year since DC Comics launched their New 52, an event where they retconned pretty much their entire universe to create a new jumping on point for new, younger readers. Marvel Comics, at the end of their massive event Avengers vs. X-Men series, is planning to do a similar, although smaller, retcon of their own, Marvel Now, for pretty much the same reason. I'm writing this letter to the bigwigs at Marvel to let them know just how the backbone of their sales, the older readers, feel about things like this. First of all, let me be honest up front: I absolutely hate what DC has done. They have basically destroyed over 75 years worth of stories and continuity in order to attract new readers. I call bullshit on this. DC has stated that with all of the confusing continuity made it difficult for newer, younger readers to get into the different titles. DC has been in this situation before, and they solved it pretty well with a little event called Crisis on Infinite Earths. It wasn't perfect, but when it was finished, it provided DC with a new jumping-on point for new readers without acting as if the earlier stories hadn't happened. Although the single Earth concept didn't work, going to a 52 Earths-style set-up made it possible for every story and every character to have its place. You were able to have an Earth for the WWII-era Justice Society, one for the All-Star Squadron, one for the Marvel Family (Fawcett) characters, and so on. Younger readers could go back and find back issues or collections of these foundation stories and see where the current versions all came from. There was no reason to destroy these iconic versions of these characters. Case in point: the media was all in a tizzy when it was announced that a major character would be openly gay. It was soon revealed to be Alan Scott, the Earth-2 Green Lantern. Guess what? Before the retcon, Alan Scott had two children who also became superheroes ( in the tragically forgotten Infinity Inc.). His son, Obsidian, was an openly gay hero. Why not introduce the younger generation to Obsidian? Only DC Editorial knows. Another thing that bothers me is the integration of Wildstorm characters into the DCU proper. For those that don't know, the Wildstorm imprint was the best of the Image Comics revolution of the early '90s. Once acquired by DC, it became sort of a Vertigo with capes, where the superheroes and villains were more mature and handled themes that just wouldn't fly in a regular DC book. Planetary, The Authority, Stormwatch, WildC.A.T.s were all excellent titles and definitely still deserve their own universe to inhabit. I just don't see the deconstructionist view of Warren Ellis and his Planetary Organization working AT ALL in the regular DCU. AT ALL. The crappy thing is the argument that I've been giving about using the different 52-Earths concepts isn't one that I came up with. Guess who did? That's right, the man mainly responsible for overseeing the retcon, Geoff Johns. In the final pages of Infinite Crisis, you can see all of the different Earths I've mentioned, plus quite a few others. So why, pray tell, did DC go through with this horrible idea? In my opinion, it boils down to two things: digital comics and money. By putting out 52 #1's, you guarantee high sales, simply because it's a #1. Also, 52 #1's? DC , or any company doesn't have that many top-tier characters capable of carrying books, so people like Rob Liefeld get a chance to return to comics. So by doing this, you get money coming in from the first issues of these books, and also from the younger crowd who will support a format that isn't popular among the older readers. Why? Because, for older readers, the comic book store isn't just a place to buy comics. It's a hangout spot, a place to get away from the daily grind, a place where you leave your troubles at the door and be surrounded by people who dont just you for being in your 30's or older and still reading comics. So Marvel, please take heed to what I have just written. I know I am just a lowly fan, but trust me, DC will be trying to fix these crap show in a few years, you just wait and see. DON'T re-number your books, destroy all of the history that made Marvel The House of Ideas. You can make your entire line accessible to all readers without destroying the things that made you great to begin with.