Convergence

Barbara Gordon's Oracle identity will return in April, at least temporarily, with Gail Simone and Jan Duursema as the creative team for a new two-part storyline that teams her up with her sometime lover Dick Grayson in Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle. The series is part of DC's big spring event storyline that brings back several fan-favorite characters, including Cassandra Cain, Renee Montoya and, uh, Parallax --- but Nightwing and Oracle's return is probably one of the ones that fans are most excited for. We spoke to Gail Simone to learn where this new story finds the pairing, to ask why Nightwing is so hot, and to learn how she was basically baited into writing the series by DC’s co-publisher!

Convergence is drawing ever closer; a massive not-quite-in-continuity crossover event that replaces all of DC's monthly titles for two months this spring, to throw together interpretations of characters from throughout DC history on an isolated world where they will end up fighting a lot. The event is comprised of a weekly miniseries by writer Jeff King and artists Carlo Pagulayan and Jason Paz that delivers the central overarching plot line, and a number of character-focused two-issue miniseries that will expand on the themes of the weekly series, provide additional context, and revive fan-favorite versions of many classic DC heroes and villains. It's a huge, massively ambitious undertaking, so we spoke to DC co-publisher Dan DiDio to get a better idea about the publisher's plans, the company's overall goals for the event, and the impact it will have on the DC universe in the future.

You can’t keep a good Teen Titan down. On the screen, on the page, in and out of feathered disco unitards --- the public gobbles them up and asks for more. DC’s Convergence event will unite classic Titans writer Marv Wolfman with artists Nicola Scott and Marc Deering for a trip back to the 1980s in Convergence: New Teen Titans, a tale which promises to pit the adolescent do-gooders against the Tangent Universe’s Doom Patrol. Will Robotman and Cyborg square off in a battle for riveted supremacy? Will Beast Boy’s history with the Patrol find him trapped between his past and present? Will Starfire’s legendary ultra-perm emerge from the chaos unscathed? With these issues in mind, ComicsAlliance sat down with the creative team to discuss the Titans’ various eras, their enduring appeal, and what the future holds for the classic super team.

Q: What the hell was hypertime? -- @T_Lawson A: Oh man, Hypertime. That is something that I have not thought about in a while, although I suspect that with Multiversity going on and Convergence about to hit in a few months, it's something that's going to be getting a little more attention than it has in the past fifteen years or so. And given that at least half of these columns are about how much I love DC Comics from the '90s, it probably won't surprise you to find out that it's a really interesting concept. As for what the hell it is, well, it's one of those weird cases where the simplest and most sarcastic answer is also kind of the most accurate: Hypertime is whatever you want it to be.

Though she’s best known as a seductive jewel thief, Catwoman has long been a protector of the unprotected. Justin Gray and Ron Randall will continue this tradition in the two issue Catwoman miniseries during DC's Convergence event, wherein the erstwhile villainess becomes Suicide Slum’s watchful eye --- only to encounter the Batman of the Kingdom Come universe standing in her way. What’s a bad-girl-gone-good to do? ComicsAlliance sought out the creative team to discuss the past, present, and future of DC’s feline fatale.

DC rocked the comics Internet pretty hard today with a massive announcement of 24 new comics spinning out of their Convergence event, and I can assure you that no one is more excited about this than I am. But the one thing that's most impressive about it is just how weird the publisher is getting. And folks, DC is getting weird. Not only is the publisher reviving some of the deepest cuts in DC history, but it's also putting the spotlight on some truly weird characters -- including a few that I didn't think would ever make a comeback. So for the benefit of those of you who haven't been obsessing over DC Comics for the last three decades, here's a quick breakdown of the three weirdest comics coming up in DC's new lineup!

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.

DC's major springtime event this year sees all of the company's staff pack their belongings into boxes and ship them across country to Burbank. (Good luck!) While that's happening, all of the characters in DC's comics will be summoned to Battleworld by the Beyonder (or... close enough) for Convergence, a two-month pause in the company's New 52 publishing schedule, filled with a sort of nostalgia coleslaw of fresh chopped continuity from before Flashpoint, before Zero Hour, and before Crisis, with stories by Gail Simone, Greg Rucka, Keith Giffen, Nicola Scott, ChrisCross, Joshua Middleton, Jeff Parker, Bill Sienkiewicz, and many more. All this week, DC has been unveiling covers for the first month of titles through various outlets. We've collected them here with the solicitation copy, so you can admire some fun throwback art -- including great pieces by Babs Tarr, Becky Cloonan, Steve Lieber, Pia Guerra, Jill Thompson, and Mike Allred -- and get out your Sharpie and use this as a checklist. (Tip: Don't draw directly on your screen.)

A more appropriate name for DC Comics' Convergence event, at least the miniseries that will accompany the main series for two months next spring, may be "Nostalgia Trip." DC has been rolling out titles and creative teams for the 40 planned series week by week. The first batch focused on the publisher's pre-New 52 continuity. The second focused on the 1990s (including WildStorm), and the third seemed to center on the 1980s. The fourth and final group of miniseries, which DC announced Tuesday, covers a much wider time period: All of DC's pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths continuity. And there's another twist: They all take place on defined and listed alternate Earths which existed before the company's last line-wide reboot in the 1980s.

The Tangent universe is a recurring feature in the third week of titles for DC's spring 2015 Convergence event, cropping up by name in the solcitations for the Flash, Justice League of America, and New Teen Titans two-part minis -- and "tangent" seems like an apt term to describe DC's impenetrable two-month event that offers all the confusion and frustration of a reboot with none of the narrative consequence. Besides the Tangent universe, the other unifying theme of the third wave of books is that dig into DC's pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths past, with writer Marv Wolfman returning to the New Teen Titans, Len Wein taking another swing at his own creation, Swamp Thing, Diana Prince back in her modish 1968 white jumpsuit, and the return of the mid-80s Detroit Justice League.