DC joins Forces with Young Adult Authors for DC Zoom and DC Ink imprints

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DC Entertainment, the home of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and a legion of other heroes, is planning two new graphic novel imprints aimed at younger readers. DC Zoom will feature stories for middle school readers, and DC Ink will focus on young adults. Books from the two divisions are scheduled to come out in the fall.

“We wanted to go back to what we used to have in comic books: story arcs for younger readers,” said Bobbie Chase, a vice president at DC and the executive editor for the new imprints.

Though a few of the graphic novels will have creators who are already working in the comic book industry, the majority of the writers are a Who’s Who of popular novelists for young readers. They include Laurie Halse Anderson (“Speak”), Melissa de la Cruz (the Descendants series), Michael Northrop (“TombQuest”) and Ridley Pearson (the Kingdom Keepers series).

“Any initiative that will create material for 7- to 15-year-olds, I’m all for,” said Chuck Rozanski, the president of Mile High Comics, which has three comic stores in and near Denver. “That’s our biggest growth area in the store.”

Mr. Rozanski added that a lot of comics, particularly those centered on superheroes, attract a limited, die-hard audience. “The young people coming into stores are not getting material they can take ownership of,” he said. “They are hungry for adventure and for the kind of escapism that comics can provide.”

DC Ink will begin with two graphic novels: one featuring Harley Quinn, a supervillain from the Batman universe, written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Steve Pugh, and one with Mera, the regal, longtime love interest of Aquaman, written by Danielle Paige. (No artist has been announced for that project.) DC Zoom will make its debut with “DC Super Hero Girls: Search for Atlantis,” by Shea Fontana and Yancey Labat.