Middle-Grade Superhero GNs from DC | Incoming

DC has announced three new middle-grade superhero graphic novels to be released in 2022. All three star classic DC characters in new, self-contained stories.

The most recent announcement came today: Green Arrow: Stranded by writer Brendan Deneen and newcomer Bell Hosalla is a survival story in which 13-year-old Oliver Queen (the Green Arrow’s alter ego) is stranded on a remote island after a plane crash. His father is seriously wounded, and the other passengers are missing. Ollie’s father had always wanted him to learn to hunt, but now the teen has to learn those skills on his own—and quickly—which starts him on the road to eventually becoming the Green Arrow. The book is scheduled for March 1, 2022 release.

Next up: Green Lantern: Alliance, by Minh Lê and Andie Tong, a sequel to last year’s Green Lantern: Legacy, featuring Tai Pham as the Vietnamese-American teen who inherits the Green Lantern ring from his grandmother. In this new book, the freshly minted superhero matches wits once more with his archenemy from the first volume Xander Griffin. This book is scheduled for April 2, 2022.

Last but not least, Shazam: Thundercrack, by Yehudi Mercado, is coming on June 7. Mercado, a former Disney art director, is the creator of Sci-Fu and Chunky and the artist for Cat Ninja, so he’s been on a roll lately. Shazam: Thundercrack is set in the same timeline as the movie Shazam!, but the story is new: Called on the carpet for skipping school too often, Billy Batson opts to join the school’s football team in order to avoid detention. Now he’s spending time at football practice and training to be a superhero, and his ego is growing along with his muscles, which means trouble will soon be coming his way.

It’s interesting to note that DC’s first three announcements have all been for middle-grade superhero graphic novels, rather than YA titles.

Filed under: All Ages