After days of rumors, DC Entertainment has officially unveiled its new logo design for DC Comics. Earlier looks at the new peel design fell short of impressing most people. The grayscale version that had been leaked to the public was met with quite of bit of criticism for being dull and too much of a departure from DC's previous logos. It seems that DC took notice of this less than spectacular reaction. As part of their press release, they didn't just reveal one version of the new logo. They didn't just reveal two or three versions. In fact, I'll need a moment to go do a quick count.
Fourteen. I am seeing fourteen versions of the new DC Comics logo accompanying the press release. I feel like that should be followed by the Count's laugh.
Obviously, DC felt the need to aggressively push back against the underwhelming response the new logo had been getting. Had it not been leaked, I doubt the new logo would have been unveiled with such a variety along with having several mock-ups of how it will look on the books. DC was faced with a challenge here, and to their credit, they did rise up to take it on.
Personally, I was among those very unimpressed with the new logo when it was first leaked. It was so different from the usual blue, circular DC logo designs that it just didn't feel right. I also wasn't sure that the peel effect actually worked and made for a very recognizable "DC" design. I now chalk up that reaction to getting a poor introduction to the new logo. The gray version of it that was leaked really didn't do it justice. The way that DC shows it off proves that it has an impressive amount of versatility, and seeing it in color gives the peel a much more dynamic effect that sells me on it. The more I look at it the more I find it to be a pretty clever design.
Word has it there is more to come and an animated version of the new logo is on the way. This animation is said to be the real selling point of the design. What this suggests is that DC has its eye more on digital than print when it comes to the future direction of its business. You don't focus on making a logo that will look good animated if print is going to be your priority. This is a logo that caters toward appearing at the start of movies and shows and being plastered on digital comics in ways that would let it actually peel back before your eyes. It's honestly one of the most forward-thinking moves I have seen DC make in a long time.
The actual content of the press release itself is largely hyperbole about DC Entertainment's brand identity and how the new design is representative of the duality of its characters. However, there is one quote from it that is interesting in an unintentional way.
“It was just a few months ago that Superman, Batman and many of our other Super Heroes were updated when we launched DC Comics – The New 52 and now it’s time to do the same for the company’s identity while remaining true to the power of storytelling which is still at the heart of DC Entertainment.”
Actually, the time to do the same was probably the same time you did the New 52 and not a few months later as if it was some poorly planned afterthought.
