All-New DC? Publisher Unveils Surprising New Line-Up Post-Convergence (And No Reboot!)

Divergence follows Convergence this June, as DC unveiled details today of a bold new line-up of post-Convergence titles that suggest that the publisher has learned lessons from past reboots, recent successes, and the best efforts of its rivals at Marvel and Image. The new line-up marks the formal end of the New 52 as a DC brand, though presumably not the end of the continuity it established. Where that initiative took an indiscriminate approach to overhauling the line, and seemed fixated on a young male demographic, the new DC seems determined to appear accessible to new audiences, and offers a more interesting array of titles -- and creators.

Among those creators; Shaft writer David F. Walker will become that rarest of sights, a black comic book writer on a black superhero book, with a new Cyborg title with art by Ivan Reis. The Shadow Hero creative team of Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew is split in two, with Yang taking over as Superman writer, with artist John Romita Jr., and Liew as artist on a new Dr. Fate series with writer Paul Levitz. Ming Doyle will pull a double shift, as artist on Dark Universe with writer James Tynion IV, and as co-writer with Tynion on Constantine: The Hellblazer, with art by Riley Rossmo. Alisa Kwitney will write an ongoing series, the mysterious Mystic U, with an artist yet to be named.

Disappointingly, DC's long-running title with a solo LGBT lead, Batwoman, has finally met its end, but DC will have a new title with a solo LGBT lead in Midnighter, from Steve Orlando and ACO, begging the question; why not both? Another book with a female lead, Supergirl, appears to have gotten the chop, but Black Canary and Starfire will both headline their own books, both with female artists, with Annie Wu and Irene Koh on Black Canary and Emanuela Lupacchino drawing a version of Starfire that may actually not alienate young women who fell in love with the character in their cartoons.

Of course, this is the superhero comic version of diversity, where 'any' feels like a victory; any non-white creators, any women, any queer representation. Any is not enough. But these are encouraging signs that DC is trying to shake off its conservative instincts and embrace new audiences and new voices, with a creative line-up that's a little more contemporary Image, less 90s Marvel.

Some of the new titles appear to be direct substitutions for cancelled books; Earth 2: Society replaces Earth 2; a Red Hood/Arsenal book and the Starfire book replace Red Hood And The Outlaws; Robin, Son of Batman replaces Batman And Robin; Dark Universe replaces Justice League Dark; and Justice League 3001 replaces (or maybe just 'renumbers') Justice League 3000. A monthly Batman Beyond seemingly title set in the present-day DC Universe appears to offer a de facto continuation for the weekly Future's End.

DC's Free Comic Book Day comic will showcase some of the new Divergent titles. Here's the complete list of new books:

Batman Beyond
Written by Dan Jurgens, art by Bernard Chang

Black Canary
Written by Brenden Fletcher, art by Annie Wu and Irene Koh

Constantine: The Hellblazer
Written by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV, art by Riley Rossmo

Cyborg
Written by David Walker, art by Ivan Reis

Dark Universe
Written by James Tynion IV, art by Ming Doyle

Green Lantern: Lost Army
Written by Cullen Bunn, art by Jesus Saiz & Javi Pina

Doomed
Written by Scott Lobdell, art by Javier Fernandez

Earth 2: Society
Written by Daniel Wilson, art by Jorge Jimenez

Dr. Fate
Written by Paul Levitz, art by Sonny Liew

Justice League of America
Written and drawn by Bryan Hitch

Justice League 3001
Written by Keith Giffen, art by Howard Porter

Martian Manhunter
Written by Rob Williams, art by Ben Oliver

Midnighter
Written by Steve Orlando, art by ACO

Mystic U
Written by Alisa Kwitney, artist to be revealed

Omega Men
Written by Tom King, art by Barnaby Bagenda

Prez
Written by Mark Russell, art by Ben Caldwell

Red Hood/Arsenal
Written by Scott Lobdell, art by Denis Medri

Robin, Son of Batman
Written and drawn by Patrick Gleason

Starfire
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner, art by Emanuela Lupacchino

We Are Robin
Written by Lee Bermejo, art by Khary Randolph

In addition, four six-issue mini-series have been announced:

Bat-Mite
Written by Dan Jurgens, art by Corin Howell,

Bizarro
Written by Heath Corson, art by Gustavo Duarte

Harley Quinn/Power Girl
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, art by Stephane Roux

Section Eight
Written by Garth Ennis, art by John McCrea

25 titles will continue, including established hits like Harley Quinn, Batgirl, Grayson, and Snyder and Capullo's Batman. In a pleasing vote of confidence, some under-performing books like Gotham Academy, Gotham By Midnight, and Catwoman appear to have been given a chance to find their audience. Here are the continuing titles:

Action Comics, by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder;
Aquaman, by Cullen Bunn and Trevor McCarthy;
Batgirl, by Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr;
Batman, by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo;
Detective Comics, by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccelato;
Batman/Superman, by Greg Pak and Ardian Syaf;
Catwoman, by Genevieve Valentine and David Messina;
Deathstroke, by Tony S. Daniel;
The Flash, by Robert Venditti, Van Jensen, and Brett Booth;
Gotham Academy, by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl;
Gotham By Midnight, by Ray Fawkes and Juan Ferreyra;
Grayson, by Tom King, Tim Seeley, and Mikel Janin;
Green Arrow, by Ben Percy and Patrick Zircher;
Green Lantern, by Robert Venditti and Billy Tan;
Harley Quinn, by Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and Chad Hardin;
Justice League, by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok;
Lobo, by Cullen Bunn and Cliff Richards;
Secret Six, by Gail Simone and Dale Eaglesham;
Sinestro, by Cullen Bunn and Bradley Walker;
New Suicide Squad, by Sean Ryan and Carlos D'Anda;
Superman, by Gene Luen Yang and John Romita, Jr.;
Superman/Wonder Woman, by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke;
Teen Titans, by Will Pfeifer and Kenneth Rocafort;
Wonder Woman, by Meredith Finch and David Finch;
Justice League United, with a creative team to be announced.

Cancellations include Arkham Manor, Batman and Robin, Batwoman, Constantine, Earth 2, Green Lantern Corps, Justice League Dark, Justice League 3000, Klarion, Infinity Man And The Forever People, Red Hood & The Outlaws, Red Lanterns, Secret Origins, Star Spangled War Stories, Supergirl, Swamp Thing, Trinity of Sin, World's Finest, and my favorite ridiculous title, Aquaman And The Others. Poor others. As noted above, some of these titles are effectively replaced with new ones. Some may end up being relaunched; it's hard to believe that there won't be a Supergirl book when the character's TV show kicks off in the fall.