John Ridley to Explore DC Social History; DC in DC Debuts at Newseum

DC Entertainment will team with Oscar-winning screenwriter and comics writer John Ridley to publish The Other History of the DC Universe, a literary comics series that will explore the sociopolitical circumstances behind iconic moments in DC comics.

In The Other History of The DC Universe Ridley will explore the social perspectives of DC super heroes from marginalized American communities, including the experiences of such heroes as Supergirl, Vixen, Rene Montoya, John Stewart, Extraño, and Katana.

The Other History series will be focused on the social experiences that produced these heroes, their lives outside of their costumes and their heroic efforts to address problems in the real world.

Ridley won an academy award for writing the screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, an acclaimed film focused on the horrors of American slavery. But he is best known in comics for his graphic novel series, The American Way, an alternate history of the U.S. that includes an African American superhero in the 1960s. Ridley is currently writing a new version of the series, The American Way: Those Above and Those Below for Vertigo.

Ridley will also be a featured speaker at DC in DC, a three day pop culture convention held January 12-14, that will explore DC Entertainment’s comics, graphic novels, TV and film projects, to be held at the Newseum in Washington D.C. and at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Ridley will be featured on a panel entitled “The Many Shades of Heroism: DC Heroes Through the African-American Lens,” held January 13 at 11 am.

The event will feature a wide variety of DC writers and artists as well as actors from DC’s hit TV shows and films, including the new Black Lightning TV Show. The mini-convention can be viewed online on the DC YouTube channel and on social media at #dcindc2018.

Ridley said, “I could not be more excited by the opportunity to excavate the canon of the DC Universe through a vast array of characters who’ve earned their seat at the table. I’m very impressed with DC's commitment to making their history as reverent and urgent as it is engaging and entertaining for all its many fans.”