DC Puts New Logo on Rebirth Titles
DC last redesigned its logo four years ago in conjunction with greater expansion into home entertainment products and TV and film media. That “peel” didn’t much impress anyone, even with its different colors and textures.
It was a bit drastic of a change, frankly, changing shape from DC’s traditional circles. The following chart, assembled by Brian Saner-Lamken, shows the company’s logo history. The years are, from left to right, 1940, 1942, 1949, 1970, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 2005, 2012.
Now, they’ve done it again, in a logo already being called “old school“. That’s on purpose: The company announcement calls it a “design celebrat[ing] DC Brand’s Past, Present and Future”. Clearly, it evokes the 1972 block letter design.
The logo will first appear on DC Universe: Rebirth Special #1 on May 25. The “Rebirth” stunt is, like changing the logo, another trip back to a previously visited well, as DC again tries to goose sales by rebooting much of its comic line with new #1s (last done in 2011, five years ago). The line is said to be “mixing traditional values and a modern aesthetic.” Geoff Johns, DC Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer and writer of the Rebirth special, “To me, Rebirth and the new DC logo are built on what’s come before while looking to what will come tomorrow.”
Said Amit Desai, DC Entertainment Senior Vice President of Marketing and Global Franchise Management, “The launch of the new logo is the perfect tribute to DC’s legacy, exciting future and most importantly, our fans.” I’m not sure how a logo is a fan tribute, unless they’re doubling down on only chasing people who’ve been reading comics for more than 20 years. Pardon my snark — I get grumpy when a company with so many great characters is so stubborn about not being willing to make comics for different types of readers beyond the typical young adult white male.
I find the notches a bit weird. The one inside the D evokes, vaguely, a word balloon, so ok, but the cutouts on the top of the C just look wrong to me. My favorite is still the bullet, the Milton Glaser design from 1976, tilted with four stars. It could be done in all kinds of color combinations, and it still looks classic.