Tuesday, April 5, 2016

YA Authors Take On DC Comics

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a YA novel!

Mashread exclusively reportedly on March 31, 2016 that four top YA authors will be penning full-length novels starring DC's most iconic characters. The lineup includes Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha Trilogy) on Wonder Woman, Marie Lu (The Young Elites) on Batman, Matt de la Peña (Mexican Whiteboy and The Living) on Superman, and Sarah J. Maas (The Thrones of Glass series) on Catwoman. The novels will be released in that order, starting in August 2017.

Leigh Bardugo and Marie Lu
I wonder how this is going to work out for the hardcore DC comics fans. I know you've been mostly accepting of the movie adaptations, but those still include the visual elements that you find in graphic novels and comic books. While a straightforward novel seems, well, novel, I am not sure if it is such a good idea. I mean, if it were, wouldn't it have been done by now? I am sure there have been attempts before, but it's not like comic-based novels are flooding the market.

Matt de la Peña and Sarah J. Maas
I AM pleased to see that DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and Random House Books for Young Readers have chosen such renowned authors to undertake this project. It gives me hope that the novels will at least be well crafted. Still and all, it will be interesting to see how they are received by true DC comics fans. I personally have my doubts that they'll be a smash hit. I guess I'll have to revisit this topic in August of 2017!

Peace out, Butterscouts.
-Miss Sara