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DC is crowdsourcing the development of a new comic book series.
No, the publishing giant that's a subsidiary of corporate mega-giant AT&T is not raising funds on Kickstarter, but they are asking their readers to choose which idea out of 16 to develop into a new series.
Making the announcement just under the wire to qualify as'March Madness,' this publishing undertaking is beginning with an NCAA tournament-like structure they're calling 'Round Robin.' Readers can participate in a series of polls on the DC Universe Infinite digital platform to whittle 16 candidates down to one in a series of four rounds.
Here's how it'll go:
- Round 1 voting: March 31 through April 7
- Round 2 voting: April 8 through April 15
- Round 3 voting: May 5 through May 13
- Round 4 voting: May 20 through May 27
Each block of voting will be followed by new information and artwork about the remaining candidates.
The creators of each project (and some art) won't be revealed until April 8, after round 1 voting ends. This would work for voters to decide based strictly on these concepts, and not because of the creators involved.
After the winner is chosen on May 27, DC aims to have the winning series debut by the end of the year.
Here are DC's initial descriptions of each potential series blocked out in their initial brackets.
Bracket 1
Green Lanterns: Underworld On Fire
A deadly outfit of space outlaws are razing the intergalactic underworld sector by sector under the command of a disruptive new kingpin, in search of an ancient payday worth becoming the target of every power player in the galaxy—including Sinestro! Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner and Kilowog are put on the case, but will Kyle be able to do this one by the book when he finds out who’s behind it all?
Etta Candy: Holliday Hero, Inc.
On summer break from Holliday College, an accident grants Etta Candy her very own superpowers! Taking on the new superhero mantle of Candy Stripe, Etta joins forces with Wonder Woman, Amanda Waller, and her Beeta Lambda sorority sisters to create Holliday Hero Inc.—an all-girls agency sworn to protect and assist anyone in need. WOO WOO!
Bracket 2
The Brave and the Bug: Crisis on Infinite Ambush
Ambush Bug must team up with some of DC’s greatest heroes to survive an attack by revenge-seeking Ambush Bugs from across the MULTIVERSE who never got to exist thanks to AB’s refusal to be rebooted.
Zatanna and the King of Nightmares
Something is terribly wrong with Zatanna’s powers, but before she can heal herself, she is forced to confront her worst fears in a strange new spiritual realm ruled by the terrifying otherworldly foe known as the King of Nightmares.
Bracket 3
Lobo / Animal Man: Scorched Earth
Lobo. The name makes entire alien races collectively wet themselves with fear. The Main Man is proudly hyper-violent, arrogant, loud, stubborn, impatient, and ill-tempered. The best thing about him is that after he completes his contract, he leaves. Until now…
Son of the Creeper
An awkward teenager’s life is turned upside down when he inherits his dad’s chaotic powers. With his family in danger, Kieran Millar must save a father he doesn’t know from the monster he’s become.
Bracket 4
Justice League Queer
Eight young queer heroes investigate a series of monstrous manifestations around the world and discover that something much more terrifying is coming.
Robins
In the Blüdhaven apartment of Dick Grayson, a group of young people meets for coffee, doughnuts, and kvetching (between long, awkward silences.) The only thing they have in common? All were once Kid Wonders. Sidekicks to Batman. Robins.
Bracket 5
Paws Off the Justice League
When the Justice League disappears, Jimmy Olsen and the Super Pets must save the world from certain doom by posing as the missing League.
Jesse Quick: Control
When Jesse Quick uses her speed to access an alien artifact from a long-dead civilization, she finds herself imbued with the ability to harness and control the elements around her as her former super-speed is drained. But, when the power begins to corrupt Jesse, she must decide to give up these gifts or risk becoming, quite literally, her own worst enemy.
Bracket 6
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day
Trapped between heroics and his future, Jaime Reyes is directionless. When the Reach interrupt Jaime’s high school graduation, things only get worse. Starfire becomes a new mentor to Blue Beetle, but is it Jaime or the Scarab that’s really in the driver’s seat? And why hasn’t Jaime applied to any colleges?
Nightrunner: Love in Paris
All of Paris is obsessed with an intoxicating virtual songstress, whose holographic stage shows are lighting up the City of Love. But when the “vocaloid” ingenue’s fans start to disappear, Nightrunner must track down the infamous developer behind the eerily realistic celebrity AI.
Bracket 7
Swamp Thing: A House of Secrets
When love will not die, the dead must rise from the grave to kill it.
Louisiana, 1905: Caught in an eternal triangle of love and living death, the monstrous Alex Olsen; his widow, Linda; and his undead rival, Damian, vie for control of the cursed swamp where life, death, the past, and the future spiral into one never-ending nightmare.
Suicide Squad Seven
Harley Quinn leads a team of criminals—a millionaire adventurer, a stage magician, a sugar-obsessed serial killer, a delusional former superhero, a drunk assassin, a mute metahuman, and a child who becomes a monster—to stop the centuries-old Church of Blood from trying to destroy all of humankind.
Bracket 8
Asteria: The Last Amazon
An immortal Amazonian champion returns to Man’s World to discover her and the Amazons’ sacrifice now forgotten; a new breed of hero seeking power, glory, and dominance; and the secret family she left behind offering one last chance at redemption.
Superman & Lois: Ignition
Our solar system is a machine—and its purpose is to trap and kill Superman! The sun is darkening, Mars’s orbit is changing, and a mysterious citadel in Jupiter’s Great Red Eye has awoken; it is time for Kal-El to stand against the very end of his world. But he won’t be doing it alone: Lois Lane is suited up and blasting off to get the biggest story in human history…and to watch Clark’s back as he faces his greatest challenge yet. Facing ancient aliens and planet-sized machines, trickster asteroids, and the gigakrakens of Neptune, Superman and Lois will fight across all nine planets to prevent Earth’s dark destiny and save our future!
Maybe someday one of these series will quality of one of the best DC stories of all time.
