On a recent conference call, DC Entertainment copublishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee (who is also one of DC’s most popular artists) outlined a selection of the DC events that will take place during New York Comic Con and NYCC Presents.
One of the most anticipated events will be the relaunch of Milestone Media, the pioneering African-American–owned superhero comics publisher originally founded in the early 1990s by Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek Dingle, and the late Dwayne McDuffie, which shut down operations in 1997. Lee says the line will be “unveiled” at NYCC this year as part of a panel that will include Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Kirkman is featuring Milestone’s pioneering line of minority superhero series—among them Static Shock, Icon, Hardware, and Blood Syndicate—in a segment of The Secret History of Comics, a documentary on comics history he has produced for AMC that will debut in November. The episode will be previewed during the panel. And look for appearances by Cowan, Reggie Hudlin, Kirkman, and Greg Pak.
Look, too, for big promotions of DC’s new series, among them Doomsday Clock by Geoff Johns and Brad Anderson, which will continue the narrative begun in DC’s popular Rebirth series and feature characters from Alan Moore’s iconic Watchmen graphic novel and the rest of the DC superhero universe. Lee says the Doomsday Clock creators will be featured on a panel at the Javits Center that will also be livestreamed. In addition, there will be a panel on DC’s new blockbuster series Dark Nights Metal, by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, which will feature unusual crossovers with other DC lines (including Vertigo’s Sandman series).
DC will also be promoting Dark Matter: New Age of Heroes, a just-launched series of new stories featuring both newly created and classic DC superheroes, by acclaimed creators, among them such artists as Tony Daniel, Lee, and John Romita Jr., and writers including Dan Abnett, Jeff Lemire, and James Tynion IV.
That’s not all. As part of NYCC Presents, a panel discussion on Batman and pop culture will take place on Thursday at Google’s headquarters in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The panel will feature Lee, along with a group of acclaimed Batman writers including Tom King, Frank Miller, and Scott Snyder. There will be an event promoting the forthcoming Justice League film and featuring Lee will be held at the Times Square AT&T office; a panel on DC’s Young Animal imprint, a line of comics directed by pop-music star Gerard Way; and a salute to DC’s Mad magazine, which is moving to Burbank, Calif., after decades in New York City.
Lee also said there will be more information about DC’s recently announced Young Readers line and its popular DC Superhero Girls line of graphic novels and merchandise aimed at preteen girls. “We’ve made a big push into the YA and middle grade market with the DC Superhero Girls line,” Lee says. “We’ve seen a lot of success in both the comics shop market and the mass market, and there’s more coming from our new Young Readers imprint.”
