If DC is trying to reach out to a much larger audience (And that's a big "if"), there's nothing in the announcement to indicate that this latest top-down effort is a radical departure from their usual brand name approach. The writers J. Michael Straczynski (Superman) and Geoff Johns (Batman) are familiar to the direct market audience. The cosmetic changes to the character designs don't exactly strike me as bold or different. Overall, Earth One comes across as just another expansion of their corporate work for hire traditions. Even the name of the imprint is a shout out to its own myopic history.
It's probably too much to ask that DC put far more serious effort into nurturing new personal styles and creator-owned ideas. Their last attempt to work outside their comfort zone was pretty halfhearted. But if they're sincere about wanting to attract new readers, shouldn't they at least reconsider the offbeat shojo Wonder Woman?
