Year Two Hype
by Editor in Chief Bill Kte'pi

About a year ago, DC: Year Two started up -- a new fanfic group which I hoped would fill a niche I didn't see addressed: stories set neither in the future of the DC Universe, like DC Futures, DC 2099, or DC Future Shock, nor in its present, like Faux DC, but in its past. Its thematic past, that is -- DCY2 is set in the year 2000, but with the conceit that the Silver Age is still getting started. Even Superman is still new on the scene, and the Justice League hasn't yet been formed.

Differences crept in quickly: Hal Jordan resigned as Green Lantern, to be replaced by Guy Gardner; a new Supergirl has appeared, from the Bottle City of Kandor discovered by the Atom; and we continue to explore the early, modern-day adventures of the DC Universe's best known heroes and villains. Our ongoing titles include Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Lobo, New Gods, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Atom, and Birds of Prey (pairing Black Canary with Rook, formerly known as Fate; our first spinoff from Showcase), as well as the Showcase anthology title which has featured characters as diverse as Plastic Man and Rose and Thorn.

Coming up? The Flash, at long last. We come closer to the debut of the Justice League as the Martian Manhunter is introduced in Showcase. Green Lantern's Thomas Deja takes over the reins of the Superman title for awhile. And once the Atom finishes its current run, Showcase will be packed with new stories exploring the lesser-known aspects of the DCU.

A little while after DCY2 premiered, Marvel: Year Two seemed an obvious next step, and you could almost literally feel the excitement as prospective writers tossed their ideas around. I won't lie to you: we probably premiered earlier than we should have, because while everyone wanted to write something, not everyone had time to start right away. But premiere we did, with the X-Men, Captain America, Excalibur, Daredevil, and the Fantastic Four -- and recently, Spider-Man has followed, Thor has premiered in a Strange Tales precursor to the Avengers, and Iron Man and the Hulk are on the way.

What's going on at MY2? Steve Rogers, the first Captain America, is struggling both with his identity and with the men and government who have taken over the name "Captain America." Professor Xavier's students are falling into the web woven by Mister Sinister, a man who may be more deadly than even Magneto. Peter Parker finishes his last year of high school while looking to the future -- a future which may include Gwen Stacy, a student at ESU. The Excalibur Project, a team put together by Peter Wisdom and Elizabeth Braddock, takes on the dirtier aspects of the MU. Matt Murdock's early Daredevil career includes encounters with the Gladiator, and a mayoral bid by a man named Kilgrave. And the Fantastic Four?

The Fantastic Four deserve a paragraph of hype all their own, because our approach to it has, in a way, changed the entire Year Two project and the way its run. It started as one of those titles we knew had to be written, but we couldn't decide who should write it. Tom Deja and I both had definite ideas -- and we decided, hey, we'll make it a title with a rotating writer, the way the Justice League title at DCY2 will be. The result has been a real synergy -- Tom's kicking the title off with a storyline featuring Susan Storm Richards in an alternate universe where Hank Pym founded the FF, and my storyline will follow, involving the High Evolutionary and all the various "hidden lands and races" of the MU.

It's big stuff, world-shaking stuff, at the sort of pace I don't think either of us could maintain if we were doing it every month. Like a relay race.

The thinking crept over into everything else. Hey, we said -- this rotating writer thing works well. So Trevor Carrington took over for me on Wonder Woman after I realized, very shortly into it, that my story wasn't coming together. I kicked off Spider-Man for Trev. Tom spanned Trev on Superman. Trev might do an arc on Green Lantern. And so on. Even we have trouble keeping track of who's writing what, but here's what it all comes down to:

We do it for you, good readers. We do it to slam the best stories possible home.

Okay, that was hype.

But it's true.

Are we looking for more writers at Year Two? Yes. We always are. Each site includes a guideline for proposals, and I urge people to read them, but if you want a sense of what I'm looking for specifically ... the following things come to mind. Something wacky and offbeat, especially for DCY2 (Blue Devil? Metamorpho?). An update of one of the Vertigo titles -- Shade the Changing Man, for instance, or Black Orchid. The Legion of Superheroes. Something star-spanning and/or cosmic-oriented for MY2, like Dr Strange, Silver Surfer, or Adam Warlock. Good writing -- always good writing.

And, a special note regarding the future of the Year Two groups: imprints.Starting very soon, we'll be adding three imprints to the line, designed to be something slightly more than anthology titles and slightly less than ongoing. Each imprint will offer a place for stories outside of the ordinary Year Two scheme of things -- short miniseries and one-shots, primarily. In the works are Marvel Steampunk, featuring the adventures of Elseworlds-like Marvel heroes in an alternate 19th century; M25, taking a look at the MY2 universe in the year 2025; and DC25, doing the same for DCY2.

DC Year 2 - http://slayerfanfic.com/dcy2/
Marvel Year 2 - http://slayerfanfic.com/my2/
Y2 discussion list - YearTwo@yahoogroups.com