It was only 18 years ago that DC comics offered us a Zero Hour, the event that temporarily brought all of DC’s comics back to a #0 issue while realigning the confusing timeline of DC continuity post-Crisis. It was not a particularly well loved DC comics event, but it’s repercussions were certainly appreciated by many fans for years to come. However, an hour sounds like such a short amount of time as compared to what DC is now calling their Zero Month.

To mark the 1-year anniversary of DC’s New 52, DC comics will be number each of their titles a #0 for the month of September. At the same time, we will also see the third wave of New 52 titles, with 4 new on-going series premiering at #0:

 

TALON – Co-Writers: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV. Artist: Guillem March.

Meet Calvin Rose, the only Talon to ever escape the grasp of the Court of Owls. This former assassin of the Court is trying to live a normal life … but that’s impossible when he’s being hunted by his former masters!

SWORD OF SORCERY – Writer: Christy Marx. Artist: Aaron Lopresti.
Featuring the return of Amethyst, Amy Winston leads a strange life on the road with her mother and resents it. She’s about to learn it’s all been necessary when she discovers she’s the lost princess of Gemworld—and she’s being hunted by her murderous aunt. With a back-up story written by Tony Bedard with art by Jesus Saiz, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the monstrous warrior Beowulf is charged with finding and defeating the evil Grendel.

 

THE PHANTOM STRANGER – Writer: Dan DiDio. Artist: Brent Anderson.
Spinning out of his recent appearances in JUSTICE LEAGUE and DC’s Free Comic Book Day story, learn more about the true origin of The Phantom Stranger and his connection to the mysterious Pandora.

TEAM SEVEN – Writer: Justin Jordan. Artist: Jesus Merino.
Set in the early days of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, threads of the entire DC Universe collide. As Superman emerges, so does the world’s counter measures against him and his kind. Team 7 is comprised of Dinah Lance, Amanda Waller, Steve Trevor, John Lynch, Alex Fairchild, Cole Cash and Slade Wilson — and their story will change everything you know about DC COMICS-THE NEW 52.

 

These 4 new titles will be replacing some of the previous New 52 comics, such as Justice League International. Come October Talon, The Phantom Stranger, Team Seven, and Sword and Sorcery will all begin normal numbering with #1 issues, while the other 52 titles return to their traditional numberings at #13 and #5 respectively (depending on which wave of the New 52 they were released in).

Each of the #0 issues is said to be a stand alone story, considered a great jumping on point for new readers to a title, and will retell origins or answer questions long time readers have had about the new continuity of DC’s New 52. Personally, I think this sounds like it will be just like DC’s last run of zero issues, with fans being generally upset with the changes, but in the end will appreciate the more defined continuity.

Currently, as seen in the pictures attached to this post, all the covers for Zero Month reuse the covers from the series’ premiere issue. This means that while new art is imposed over, and exploding out of, the original #1 covers, we still see the #1 information in a grayscale format behind the new art. So will DC be smart and put #0 somewhere on the cover or are these images DC is proving even consistent with what we will see on comic stands this September? Hard to say just yet, but there will undoubtedly be more news on this subject to follow shortly.