DC has finally released the details of The Other History Of The DC Universe, a mysterious project by screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years A Slave) that had originally been announced back in January of this year. The project will be released under DC`s (now slightly controversial, thanks to the recent Batman: Damned censorship issue involving Bruce`s, uh, whole area) Black Label, a mature readers imprint that looks at alternate, out of continuity takes on classic heroes.So, what exactly is The Other History Of The DC Universe? Well, for one, it`s not a traditional comic.The book will be a five-issue limited series and an illustrated prose story, instead of a full-on comic or graphic novel. Each issue is going to focusing on a different marginalized DC hero. Issue #1 will focus on Jefferson Pierce, aka Black Lightning, with illustrations by Alex Dos Dias, and follow up issues will focus on Karen and Mal Duncan, aka Bumblebee and Guardian; Tatsu Yamashiro, aka Katana; and Renee Montoya, aka The Question. Artistic talent for issues #2 through #5 has yet to be announced.Solicit text for issue #1 gives some clue as to what we can expect, explaining that the story will focus on Jefferson during his pre-superhero days as a track and field all-star and eventual teacher--which likely means that each issue will focus on a stand alone origin story, or close approximation of one. It also promises `extensively researched` plots, meaning we can likely expect to see real historical moments re-imagined through the lens of the DCU. However, because of Black Label`s official status as an out-of-continuity imprint, it`s difficult to tell just how much of each hero`s familiar comic book background will filter through--or how much will actually affect their in-continuity stories moving forward.The Other History Of The DC Universe is far from Ridley`s first work under the DC Comics umbrella, after his critically acclaimed WildStorm series The American Way, an alternate history epic, ori ...
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