DC explores new worlds via old hits
Six titles will premiere in May
The new year is bringing new series to DC Comics’ slate of superhero books — and the addition of an award-winning author to the fold.
Six monthly titles will premiere in May as part of DC’S continuing “The New 52” initiative, a relaunch of 52 books last September that met with strong sales and fan interest for a more modern DC Universe.
Among the highlights: Scottish writer Grant Morrison finishes his six-year run of Dark Knight stories with Batman Incorporated, and novelist China Miéville writes his first ongoing comic, Dial H, based on the DC cult comic Dial H for Hero from the 1960s and 1980s.
“The New 52 was about showing the new world. Now we’re just expanding on that world and furthering the story,” says Bob Harras, DC Entertainment’s editor in chief.
Make that plural “worlds.” DC is bringing back its concept of parallel Earths in two of the books. Earth 2 features the return of the fan-favorite Justice Society, while Worlds’ Finest stars two superheroines, Huntress and Power Girl.
In addition, G.I. Combat will offer a rotating roster of creative teams and rebooted tales of past war comics such as The Haunted Tank and The Unknown Soldier, while The Ravagers follows four teen superheroes on the run from an evil organization.
Morrison’s Batman Incorpo- rated pits the popular Caped Crusader and his army of global crime fighters against former flame Talia al Ghul, with their son Damian (who also is the current Batman sidekick, Robin) caught in the middle.
“It’s like Kramer vs. Kramer, but they’ve got thermonuclear capability,” Morrison says.
And instead of one superhero, Miéville will create several every month in Dial H, about a guy who finds an old dial that gives him different powers every time he uses it.
Nine of DC’S “New 52” issues were among the 10 best-selling comics of 2011, according to Diamond Comics Distributors.
“Part of the sign of the New 52 growing up is that it can afford to stretch its wings a little bit and so some things that are a bit more left field,” Miéville says. “There’s room for a lot of different inflections in this vocabulary.”