Reboots galore!

Unless you have been hiding under a comic proof rock for the past few months, you will have likely heard something about the planned series relaunches by the comic industry's 'big two' Marvel and DC. Both companies are attempting to increase their sales figures by giving fans a chance to come in on the ground level with reboots of major characters and origin stories. Ahead of these releases, Comic Guru attempts to give you a breakdown of what to expect.

First to DC, who have taken what can only be described as a 'ballistic' approach to their reboot. Starting this week every character in the DC universe is going to be rebooted, with even major players such as Batman and Superman being given a fresh start. And that's not the only fresh start DC has gone for, with many of the titles being handled by relatively unknown artists and creators. While some see this as a cynical ploy to save money, it could also provide us with some fresh and interesting takes on characters that may have gone a little stale in their old age.

Meanwhile Marvel have gone for a smaller reboot and chosen to focus on their Ultimates universe, although they did decide to kill off one of their major characters in order to get there. With Peter Parker webslinging in heaven the Spiderman mantle is being taken over by Miles Morales, whose introduction has already caused a stir amongst the mass media due to his ethnicity (half black half Hispanic) and sexuality (creators have not ruled out making the character gay in future). The Ultimates Reborn launch will see Ultimate versions of Spidey, the X men, the Ultimates and Hawkeye all hitting the stands in the next few weeks, although the 'tit for tat' nature of Marvel and DC's relationship means we can't rule out a wider scale Marvel reboot in the next few months.

So whatever your allegiance this is an exciting time to be a comic fan. Head on down to Comic Guru over the next couple of weeks and see for yourself!