The biggest non-cinematic news in comics this week was perhaps the announcement of DC Comic’s newest imprints: DC Zoom and DC Ink. Aimed at middle schoolers and young adults, respectively, the new imprints demonstrate a clear attempt to hold on to a difficult demographic of readers. The plot thickened this week as DC revealed the titles that will make up the first runs of these imprints, and perhaps, more importantly, the teams behind them. Showing an awareness that their competition seems to sometimes lack, DC Ink and Zoom have behind them teams that will actually represent the diversity of the comics audience.
DC Zoom will aim for readers aged around 9-11, and its art style will be decidedly more cartoony than other comics. Maybe the biggest title in this range will be Superman Smashes The Klan, with Avatar: The Last Airbender and New Superman scribe Gene Lang at the helm. Other notable titles include Minh Lê’s Green Lantern: Legacy, Princess Bride creator Meg Cabot’s Black Canary (Ignite), and Shea Fontana’s Batman: Overdrive.
DC: Ink will align with a YA audience, and employ multiple authors from that genre. DC is hoping to speak to a generation who have outgrown DC Zoom, but might not be ready to dive into the more adult DC comics universe. The obvious flagship of the line will be Teen Titans, which will be written by Beautiful Creatures author Kami Garcia. Other big titles coming from Ink include Witches of East End creator Melissa De La Cruz’s Batman: Gotham High, and Legend series author Marie Lu’s Batman: Nightwalker.
