DC Comics ended its 2024 San Diego Comic-Con presence with a special interactive panel spotlighting its lineup of original graphic novels for young adults. The characters highlighted in the panel included Blue Beetle and Supergirl‘s Dreamer.

Mark Russell, author of DC’s PREZ: Setting A Dangerous President was joined by writer Nicole Maines and artist Rye Hickman, the creative team behind Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story, and This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story‘s writer Julio Anta and artist Jacoby Salcedo for the DC Book Club panel. Together, the artists spoke to the audience about their introductions to their characters, the challenges the protagonists face as inheritors of superpowered legacies that none of them asked for, and issues and challenges unique to each of their stories. Hickman and Salcedo sketched various DC characters throughout the panel.

BAD DREAM: A DREAMER STORY

Written by NICOLE MAINES Art by RYE HICKMAN On sale now

PREZ: SETTING A DANGEROUS PRESIDENT

Written by MARK RUSSELL Art by BEN CADWELL On sale now

THIS LAND IS OUR LAND: A BLUE BEETLE STORY

Written by JULIO ANTA Art by JACOBY SALCEDO On sale Oct. 1

At the end of the panel, the artists spoke about who they believed each of their books would appeal to, and members of the audience participated in a special DC trivia question game with Hickman and Salcedo’s sketches awarded as prizes. The three stories are some of the latest graphic novel offerings from DC Comics, with the publisher also announcing a Wonder Woman novel that will go on sale in early August.

DC’s Graphic Novels Showcase The Publisher’s Diverse Storytelling

Bad Dream, PREZ: Setting a Dangerous President and This Land is Our Land all feature three very different protagonists in the DC Universe. Mark Russell reimagined a character originally published in the 1970s in PREZ, updating it for a world where “corporations vote, the government is corrupt, and a 17-year-old girl can become President of the United States based on a video of her getting her hair caught in a fast food deep fryer”. This Land is Our Land also deals with topical issues, with the Blue Beetle story combining the classic superhero coming-of-age story with modern themes including tensions at the U.S. and Mexico border.

Nicole Maines gives fans a unique insight into DC’s Dreamer character, having debuted as the character on DC’s Supergirl television series and going on to write stories that feature her in titles including DC Pride and Suicide Squad: Dream Team. At the panel, Maines spoke about the importance of Dreamer’s friends as she continues her heroic journey and how they provide a unique perspective on the transgender superhero’s evolution.

PREZ: Setting a Dangerous President and Bad Dream: A Dreamer Story are available now. This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story goes on sale Oct. 1 from DC Comics.

Source: DC