After a hurricane, the sun usually comes out resulting in sparkling skies for the clean-up. As the East Coast attempts to clean up and dry off from a storm that could have been much worse (but was still pretty bad in spots) we wake up to a fairly epochal week in the history of comics. Because the internet wasn’t around, we didn’t know that the 1980 arrival of SUPERBOY SPECTACULAR or DAZZLER #1 — the first comics produced by DC and Marvel that were direct market-only — would mark the beginning of a whole new era for the comics industry, and — despite the protestations of imminent death at every turn — usher in a era of undreamed of creative fertility and energy.

Wednesday at 12:01 am the new era begins. Not the era of the New 52 — despite any declarations to the contrary, that’s really business as usual, just jump started in the manner of a car battery. No, it’s the era of digital comics. While everyone has been transfixed over whether GREEN LANTERN by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy will be better than GREEN LANTERN by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy; or how Tony Daniels’ DETECTIVE COMICS is going to vastly improve on his Batman comics, the real revolution has quietly been dawning on retailers and readers: DC’s decision to go with simultaneous digital and print release of their comics.