DC Comics Five Year Flash Forward Event to Include 3D Covers

DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio confirmed today (via Newsarama) that DC Comics New 52 tradition of a line wide event during the month of September will continue in 2014. This year, the event will tie into the DC Comics weekly series Futures End, with every title in the DC Comics line flashing forward five years to give readers a glimpse at a potential future for their favorite characters. DiDio assured fans that, even if you're not reading the weekly Futures End series, you'll still be able to enjoy the September issues of your favorite series. "It gives some exciting teases of potential storylines that might be coming for our characters in the near future," DiDio said of the event. "These stories aren't going to just be tied into the weekly. But what you'll be seeing is a lot of the writers who are working on series right now projecting forward — their ideas, their storylines, where they think their character might be five years from now." The event will also lead into the launch of a new DC Comics weekly series in October, though details on that series have yet to be revealed. DiDio also confirmed that the 3D motion covers that were a part of last September's Villains Month event will also be returning next September for the Futures End event. DiDio said that the cover from Villains Month sold "extraordinarily well." "All the lenticular covers — all the Futures End stories that will be told in September — will be in the titles of the ongoing series," DiDio said. "The covers now will also have the ability to have a 'flicker' effect. That means that the images change and show the transformation going on. … There is a level of change that is taking place with our characters during the course of this story." DC launched the New 52 reboot of their superhero universe in September 2011 and has celebrated the reboot's anniversary with a special event each September since then. In September 2012, "Zero Month" gave readers a glimpse into the early years of the New 52 DC Universe. In September 2013, "Villains Month" put the spotlight on the New 52's bad guys. "Futures End" will do the opposite of "Zero Month," looking ahead to see where the characters of the New 52 could be a few years down the line. The weekly series, The New 52: Futures End, launches in May.