DC Universe, which launches September 15, 2018, will have something for every level of DC fan. Movies, TV shows and comics from practically every decade will be available in some form on the app. I was sold on the idea as soon as they announced that comic books will be included. An annual subscription will be $74.99 (plus tax where applicable, and a monthly price will run $7.99.
I downloaded the app on both my cell phone and tablet. The interface is easy and simple to navigate. At the bottom of the screen are icons for the five sections of the app. There’s the homepage, which shows Trending movies & TV shows, comics, and discussions. Each of which has its own icon so you can browse those sections only.
Currently, there’s already a good amount of content in both movies, TV and comic books. The movies range from the 1978 Richard Donner Superman movie (and it’s three sequels). All the way to the most recent animated movie, 2018s The Death of Superman. There’s also a good number of TV shows available that span the decades. You can go from watching the complete 1950s Adventures of Superman to the mid-2000s Justice League Unlimited.
The main reason I’ve been excited about DC Universe has been the comic books. We finally have a place to read DC Comics easily, without having to carry around physical books. It’s… looking good? Currently, before the official launch, there’s a nice amount of comics available, more than anyone can read in a day. There are a lot of classic (classic, to me, meaning pre-2000) comics. I’m not 100% certain, but it looks like there are some full series already available. If not, at least over 50+ issues in some series. The flip side to that, if you want to read anything post-2000, chances are you won’t be able to. At least not yet. And if you want modern stuff from the New 52 or Rebirth relaunches, you won’t be able to read more than 1 or 2 issues. Once the service fully launches, the catalog of comics will be over 2,000 strong, with titles being curated quarterly.
I don’t like being negative, so I will point out the positives of the comics side of things. If there’s a limit to how many comics you can download, I haven’t hit it yet. Marvel Unlimited only lets you download twelve issues for offline reading. Comixology Unlimited caps you at 50. So far, I’ve hit 34 downloads, and it’s not stopping me. The guided view is smooth, with adjustable controls, or you can go full page reading if that’s your style. One thing that the others don’t have that DC Universe does is a timed view. Meaning, you can set a timer (between one and sixty seconds) for the page/panel to automatically change. No swiping or tapping a key anymore!
At the time of writing, I’ve been playing around and exploring the app for two hours straight. I haven’t had any bugs or glitches yet. I’ve spent 10 – 15 minutes on the website on a laptop, and so far same deal. Easy to navigate, read and watch. There’s a community section, where you can discuss a wide range of topics and add your own threads as well, but I haven’t ventured those waters much yet. I expect once the service fully launches, it’ll be a busy place.
I’ve been sold on this idea for months now, and I can say that I’m not disappointed. Both the app and website are easy to use and navigate. Eventually, it’ll expand to TV and video game systems (Amazon fire TV and Xbox One/PS4 consoles, among others). The comic library (and movies and TV to a lesser extent) can be updated a bit more. But, I have to remind myself, the official launch date is September 15, 2018, so hopefully it’ll change. Either way, I’m already a happy customer.
