Welcome, comics fans, to your weekend edition of Comics Relief! Today we’ve got plenty of Marvel news, as well as rumblings on the return of Xena. But the really big news is another possible big shake up over DC Comics. Is it reboot time again?? Read on for the full scoop…

Rumor: Is DC Comics getting ready to start from issue #1 AGAIN?? And is it another Reboot?

2015 was a tough year for DC Comics. Their Convergence event early in the year led to a two-month wide gap in their titles, and many books never recovered sales-wise when they returned. Their comeback approach, which they labeled “DC YOU,” never really took off, either. Meanwhile, their television series like Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl have brought tons of new fans to the characters. Legends of Tomorrow and the upcoming Suicide Squad look to do the same.

According to a new rumor from the folks at Bleeding Cool, it looks like DC is going to do something drastic yet again this June, and will re-number (possibly even reboot?) their superhero line of books, right after the remaining New 52 titles hit their 52nd issues. And it’s said the returning books will reflect the way the characters are being portrayed in television and film. The rumor also suggests that comics that currently don’t have a media component will get the ax, so it might be time to say farewell to books like Earth-2: Society and Constantine.

Without a proper continuity reboot, it will be hard to get many of these characters to line up with their media counterparts. How do you explain Iris West suddenly turning African-American in Flash, or Supergirl growing up as Kara Danvers on Earth since age 12? DC has their work cut out for them.

One thing’s for sure: both DC co-publishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee tweeted out this image, saying “Rebirth,” followed by the words DC Comics, in case there was any doubt that something was up.

We reached out to DC Entertainment for more information, but in an email to Nerdist, DC representatives had no comment.

Dynamite Entertainment brings back Xena: Warrior Princess

While the fate of Xena: Warrior Princess  in television is murky (is the new series a reboot? Will Lucy Lawless return? I’m still not sure) the character is for sure coming back to the comic book page, thanks to the folks at Dynamite Entertainment. In April, Dynamite launches their new Xena series  from writer Genevieve Valentine (Catwoman) and artist Ariel Medel, with a story that’s set to feature classic Amazon action, and even a fight against Julius Cesar. For more info, check out our full story: [Nerdist]

Marvel reveals full Thunderbolts line-up

Just a few days back we revealed the first teaser for Marvel relaunch of Thunderbolts, and now we have the full line-up and creative team. The new Thunderbolts series is coming this summer from writer Jim Zub and Jon Malin, and will spin off from the upcoming Avengers: Standoff! event. The new team will feature several founding members like Moonstone, Fixer, Atlas and Mach-V. But here’s the big surprise-the new leader of the team is the Winter Soldier! Which makes sense, as he’s maybe Marvel’s most high profile ex-bad guy turned good guy.

Said writer Malin of his new protagonist, “Super villains looking for redemption I think is the ultimate strength and heart of Thunderbolts and sets it apart from everything out there. These characters have done very bad things—willingly. No one mind controlled them, they made choices of their own free will and that can never be fully taken back. That motivates me beyond belief to tell this story.” No release date for the new Thunderbolts has been given yet. [Newsarama]

Viz Media expands in two of America’s biggest retail chains

Manga and Anime continue to gain more popularity in the US, and this news is maybe the best example of that. Viz Media, one of the most well-known publishers of manga material in North America, has made separate agreements that will expand the number of  titles it sells at Walmart, and also bring their product to Best Buy for the first time. With the Walmart deal, books like Pokemon and Naruto will be available in more than 2,000 locations across the country. Under the Best Buy agreement, two Naruto titles and Assassination Classroom will be packaged with their respective anime and featured in floor displays at 687 locations. [CBR]

Power Man & Iron Fist get a graffiti inspired variant cover for issue #1

Luke Cage and Iron Fist are about to get their own Netflix series this year, ahead of the team up event The Defenders. But back in the ’70s, the two shared a title, called Power Man and Iron Fist. Eventually, both characters went their separate ways, but Marvel is teaming them up again for an all-new series from the creative team of David Walker and Sanford Greene. Now Marvel has revealed the variant cover for issue #1 of the series, which is inspired by graffiti art and illustrated by artist Chris Visions. The first issue of Power Man & Iron Fist hits February 17th. [Newsarama]

Just who is “Dead No More” at Marvel?

It was revealed this week that Captain America would be the main feature of Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day offering this year. But what about the other side of this “Flip Book” comic, titled “Dead No More?” The story description for Dead No More is as follows: “If you got a chance to bring back someone who died, would you? And how will CLASSIFIED deal when ones they thought long dead once again walk the earth?”

So which high profile dead Marvel character is coming back? Wolverine? Jean Grey? Gwen Stacy? They all have alternate versions of themselves running around the current Marvel Multiverse, so the impact is lessened. Care to venture any guesses, Marvel fans? [Marvel.com]

IMAGES: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / Dynamite Entertainment / Viz Media