It’s been rumored for months, and now it’s official: As of the beginning of September, DC Comics is relaunching its entire DC Universe line of superhero comic books with new #1 issues. The surprising part: The entire line will also be available digitally on the day of each issue’s release in comics stores.
The reboot begins on August 31, with the final issue of the Flashpoint crossover miniseries and the first issue of a new Justice League series by DC’s chief creative officer Geoff Johns and co-publisher Jim Lee. By the end of September, there will apparently be 52 new or newly renumbered ongoing DC Universe series, many of them featuring superheroes in costumes newly redesigned by Lee, and all apparently at least partly rebooting their continuity. (The number 52 is significant within the company’s superhero comics: It’s the number of parallel universes in which their characters live.)
DC and Marvel Comics have both been reticent to release new comics through digital services “day-and-date”–that is, on the same day they’re released in stores; only a few titles have been available that way thus far, so this is a big step.
Most of the DC line’s August issues seemed like they were wrapping up the ongoing plotlines. One major exception is Batman Inc., one of the company’s best-selling titles, which will be ten issues into writer Grant Morrison’s two-year master plan when the line-wide reboot happens. Presumably, one of the new series launching in September will be J.H. Williams III and Amy Reeder’s long-awaited Batwoman, which has been pushed back repeatedly over the past year.
More on TIME.com:
Weekly Comics Column: Superhero Comics Reboot (Again)
The Comic Book Club: Rocketeer Adventures and Batman: Gates of Gotham