Coming September 7, DC Comics is introducing a new kind of hero for today’s youth, Whistle, the star of a new eponymous graphic novel Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero, featuring a teenage activist going up against some of Gotham’s heaviest hitters. Introducing Willow Zimmerman and her trusty dog sidekick Lebowitz, this new young-adult illustrated novel, written by decorated best-selling author E. Lockhart with art by Manuel Preitano, will explore a more down-to-Earth version of the famously supercriminal-infested metropolis.
Part of DC’s recent trend of releasing novel perspectives on classic heroes in less traditionally epic and more grounded reimaginings, such as Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed, I Am Not Starfire, and The Oracle Code (also illustrated by Preitano), Whistle presents the protagonist Willow as a young, secular Jewish denizen of the Gotham neighborhood of Down River, a 16-year-old student activist who volunteers at a local animal shelter. Struggling to make ends meet when her mother falls ill, Willow takes a job with an old family acquaintance E. Nigma, The Riddler, and soon finds herself embroiled in Gotham’s criminal underbelly, hosting elite poker games for the master criminal. Following a mysterious meeting with Killer Croc which ends up granting her a sixth sense, (and the ability to talk to her rescue dog), the stage is set for a new hero to emerge in Gotham.
In a press release from DC Comics, writer Lockhart described the joy of crafting the story using some of the comic-dom’s greatest villains, reinterpreting Gotham’s macabre menagerie of menace into the “best dark mirrors” for her new hero, saying she had always loved Batman’s rogues’ gallery. New images from the upcoming novel depict Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Riddler in a slightly more toned-down realistic vein, as each plays a role in the forging of the new hero. Check out these preview shots below:
The story will cast Riddler as a recovering addict and real estate mogul who offers Zimmerman a job in order to pay for her mother’s medical bills. A new version of Poison Ivy will also assist the fledging superheroine as she lobbies Gotham City Hall to meet its commitments to her underserved community, while also plotting her own catastrophic misdeeds. “As an academic and an activist (of the most destructive sort), she serves as both a mentor and an antagonist for Whistle,” said Lockhart. Killer Croc rounds out the villainous clade, a serial killer portrayed near to his traditional appearance.
Previous young adult graphic novels of this ilk have depicted a more everyday brand of superheroics which eventually lead to series of cataclysmic “baptism by fire” adventures, the repeated theme being that real heroes are people who try and help their community. Will this new superheroine stand a chance against such heavy odds? Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero goes on sale September 7 wherever books are sold.
Source: DC Comics
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