Last year DC Comics and WEBTOON announced a collaboration that would see the digital webcomic platform produce new series featuring iconic DC characters. The first such series, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, debuted in September, and now DC and WEBTOON have announced a trio of new titles that will be joining the platform later this year. The three newly-announced titles are Vixen: NYC, Red Hood: Outlaws, and Zatanna & The Ripper.
Here’s more detail, along with some creative team credits, for the trio of new DC WEBTOON series, as well as some early art from Vixen: NYC:
VIXEN: NYC (May 26), written by Jasmine Walls with lead artist Manou Azumi
Mari Jiwe grew up in a small, seaside town in North Carolina, but upon graduating high school seeks to connect with extended family in Ghana. There, she meets relatives who gift her a mysterious totem, passed down for generations. Immediately upon returning home, she moves to New York for her freshman year of college. Mari hates it. New York is smelly, dirty, and full of even smellier and dirtier animals. Holed up in her room she finally inspects the totem–inadvertently releasing its magic. She is hit with an energy that gives her the power of the animal kingdom…of New York.
Mari had a hard enough time navigating college as a normal girl, and now she not only has to figure out how to “adult,” but also how to “superhuman.” Then women, who look unusually like Mari, are kidnapped across the city. Vixen learns an estranged, distant relative, General Maksai, is on the hunt for her, seeking the crystal for himself. To stop his war path, Vixen will have to stop him. As she does, she learns the true extent of her abilities. Turns out, she’s capable of a lot more than she thought.
RED HOOD: OUTLAWS (Summer 2022), written by Patrick R. Young with art by Nico Bascuñán
The Outlaws try to go legit — and fail spectacularly. The Justice League has issued a challenge to Red Hood, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, and Bizarro, who have to try and replace their goody-two-shoe counterparts as the heroes the world neither deserves nor needs.
In this original series, the Outlaws will battle some of DC’s biggest Super-Villains and Super Heroes — but their biggest battles are among themselves. Can this team last? And can they find their own identities separate from Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman?
ZATANNA & THE RIPPER (Summer 2022), written by Sarah Dealy and lead artist Syro
Giovanni Zatara is one of the world’s most talented magicians. His daughter Zatanna, on the other hand, is among the world’s most powerful. On her 21st birthday, Zatanna witnesses a fight between her father and the sorceress Allura. Before Allura can get to his daughter, however, Giovanni blasts Zatanna far away-to London, England…in the 1800s. Zatanna tries to use her burgeoning magic to return home, but fails. What she can do, however, is pull things out of the future (and past). So her small, 19th century room is now filled with modern gadgets. It seems she’ll be stuck forever until an old friend finds her — John Constantine. Recognizing him from her past–or her future, he tells her he knows how to get her home. They’ll have to solve the Jack the Ripper murders. To make matters worse, Zatanna also quickly learns that she’s among the Ripper’s targets.
In a gritty but magical journey (with a healthy dab of romance), Zatanna and John Constantine join forces to find and unmask Jack the Ripper.
Just like Wayne Family Adventures, which as of this writing has 32.4 Million views and more than 937K followers on WEBTOON, the three newly-announced DC series sound like they’ll offer an interesting mix of superheroics with other webcomic staples like fashion, romance, and humor.
In a statement announcing the new titles, DC VP of Sales & Marketing Nancy Spears and WEBTOON U.S. Head of Content David Lee both expressed their enthusiasm at expanding the two companies’ partnership:
Nancy Spears, DC’s vice president of Sales and Marketing, said, “The DC and WEBTOON partnership is an exciting opportunity to explore new genres with DC’s iconic Super Heroes and Super-Villains, telling new stories that both new and old fans can enjoy.”
“WEBTOON is home to a new generation of comics fans, and DC is home to some of the most iconic characters and franchises in comics,” said David Lee, Head of Content at WEBTOON U.S. “Our partnership with DC represents the future of the comic industry, combining legendary franchises with new technologies and global fandoms that cross borders. Fans can’t get enough of ‘Batman: Wayne Family Adventures,’ and we know they are going to love what we have in store for the 2022 slate.”
Look for Vixen: NYC to launch on WEBTOON on Thursday, May 26th, with Red Hood: Outlaws and Zatanna & The Ripper to follow later in 2022.
