DC Unveils New 52’s “Second Wave”

DC Comics has announced via its blog, The Source, that the “Second Wave” of DC Comics – The New 52 will launch in May of 2012 with six new, ongoing series.

“The excitement of the initial launch of DC Comics-The New 52 was in seeing the re-imagining of these classic characters and concepts,” said DC Entertainment Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras. “The ‘Second Wave’ is all about world-building.”

The new books will, according to the blog, “build on the shared universe and bold concepts introduced in September 2011 with the renumbering of DC Comics’ entire line of comic books.” Like the first wave of titles, they will also feature many of the industry’s top creators, including the first ongoing series written by acclaimed author China Miéville (Embassytown, King Rat).

“Second Wave” titles include:

• Batman Incorporated, written by Grant Morrison & illustrated by Chris Burnham, which will present a “fresh take” on the series in which the Batman brand becomes an international franchise in preparation for a major threat. (Shown at right)


• Earth 2, written by James Robinson & illustrated by Nicola Scott, in which the Justice Society battles menaces that will set their parallel Earth at odds with other worlds.

• Worlds’ Finest, written by Paul Levitz & illustrated by George Perez and Kevin Maguire, which follows Huntress and Power Girl as they fight to return from our Earth to Earth 2 in story arcs that will be illustrated alternately by the two artists.

• G.I. Combat, written by J.T. Krul & illustrated by Ariel Olivetti, brings back the DC classic The War That Time Forgot alongside rotating back-up stories and creative teams, including The Unknown Soldier, with writers Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Dan Panosian; and The Haunted Tank, with writer John Arcudi & artist Scott Kolins.

• The Ravagers, written by Howard Mackie & illustrated by Ian Churchill, a spin-off from Teen Titans and Superboy that tracks four superpowered fugitive teens as they combat the organization that wants to turn them into supervillains.

• Dial H, written by China Miéville & illustrated by Mateus Santoluoco, takes the popular concept and turns it into an examination of the psychological effects on an everyman who accidentally gains powers. (Shown left)


The six new titles will replace six existing books -- Blackhawks, Hawk and Dove, Men of War, Mister Terrific, O.M.A.C. and Static Shock – that will end in April with their eighth issues. However, Harras assured that many characters from these titles will appear in the remaining New 52 books “in some very surprising ways. We’re developing stories that reach from cultures around the globe to parallel worlds. We’re just getting started.”