Batman Beyond and Justice League Beyond , two of DC's popular digital-first series on the DC Comics app , are getting some new blood this summer.

Taking over the adventures of Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond will be current Nightwing scribe Kyle Higgins along with artist Thony Silas (Venom) and the amazing Sean Murphy and colorist Jordie Bellaire on cover duties. As for the future incarnation of the Justice League, writer Christos Gage (Avengers Academy) and artist Iban Coello (Superboy) will be taking the reins.The Beyond titles -- including Superman Beyond , which will be keeping its current team of JT Krul and Howard Porter -- get new chapters every Saturday, which retail on the app for .99 cents. Every month, three chapters of the digital series are collected into print and released in comics shops.Before all that, though, a new member of the Batman Beyond family will be making her debut in the series under writer Scott Peterson and artist Annie Wu; Batgirl Beyond will be making her official first appearance in her own arc this July. The identity of this future Batgirl is unknown at this point, but according to DC, she's going to have a healthy working relationship with Commissioner Barbara Gordon.Big things are clearly ahead for DC's Beyond line-up, so we caught up with Higgins and Gage to find out what they've got planned for this future-version of the DC Universe.Oh, totally. I was, and still am, a huge fan of the show. In fact, some of my all-time favorite Batman moments come from Batman Beyond. I remember watching the pilot with my dad, initially skeptical about a futuristic teenage Batman. But Terry won me over very quickly, which is a testament to Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, et al. Terry was headstrong and cocky, often didn’t make the right decision, but had a strong moral compass and worked hard to live up to the mantle of Batman. He was someone you could root for.Of course, the little bits from Batman: the Animated Series peppered in were the icing on the cake for me. What happened to Dick Grayson and Tim Drake? Why do Barbara and Bruce no longer talk? What about the Joker? The show handled all that stuff so well, very seldom focusing on it, but alluding to it in ways that made you realize that yes, big things did happen. The mysteries from the past never drove the show, but they provided for fantastic atmosphere. Every once in a while, there would be a nugget that really made you sit up and smile. Like, when Terry needed to borrow a tuxedo. He tells Bruce he found one in the upstairs closet of Wayne Manor, and it’s his size. Terry then turns to Bruce and asks, “Who’s D.G.?” Bruce’s face goes white, and he dodges the question. I remember watching that and saying to myself, “oh man, I have to see that story…”Flash forward to now, and I would be remiss if I didn’t say it’s been an absolute joy to watch Adam [Beechen] work for the last three years. I remember when they announced the first Batman Beyond mini-series, with that Dustin Nguyen cover. The book has been great and so exciting to read each month -- I’m a big, big fan of 10,000 Clowns in particular.As a fan, I’m going to really miss reading Adam’s Terry each month.If I had to pick one episode -- outside of Return of the Joker, which for my money is one of the single greatest Batman stories in any medium -- I’d have to pick "Out of the Past." I know that’s an easy one to go to, as it’s a “mythology episode,” but the story of Bruce regaining his youth via Talia and the Lazarus Pit is so fantastic… and the final scene (with Bruce and the cane, as the effects of the Lazarus Pit are starting to wear off) is so heartbreaking.My other favorite is "Lost Soul," where Terry has to work as Batman without the aide of the teched-out suit. He grabs one of Bruce’s old utility belts and Nightwing’s mask, and proves that Batman is more than just the costume. How do you not love that?First and foremost, my interest lies in the characters. Terry, Bruce, Barbara, Dick… the chance to explore and push these guys within the context of the DC Animated Universe is -- bar none -- one of the coolest opportunities I could ever hope for. If you look at my stuff on Nightwing and Gates of Gotham, I think it’s pretty evident that “my” Batman -- I imagine every writer has “their” Batman -- is very much from the animated series.With that in mind, my take for the book is designed around exploring the next stage of Terry’s life, and the lives of everyone else we’ve come to know and love. Our first issue opens after a bit of time has gone by and a number of things have changed. I don’t want to give away too much, but I can say that Terry’s in college now, he and Dana are no longer speaking, the relationship between Terry and Barbara (Commissioner Gordon) is different… there’s definitely a “what happened?” mystery that weaves in and out of the book. And when you see what did happen… yeah, I’ve probably already said too much! [laughs]Oh, and our way into the story is through the lens of a big murder in Neo-Gotham. So, there’s that, too.Yes, totally. But I’m not about to say which ones! [laughs]

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The same kind of large-scale storylines they're used to in a Justice League book, hopefully without ever forgetting that it's the characters who make it all matter. For our first arc, Superman faces a situation he's encountered before -- his powers going out of control -- but he chooses to deal with it in a way that is unique to the Superman of the Beyond Universe.The solution will come to involve all his teammates, and hopefully lead to some interesting character moments... and there'll prove to be an old and deadly member of Superman's rogues' gallery behind it all. The storyline will also introduce a brand new character with a familiar name. And best of all, fans can look forward to the amazing art of Iban Coello, an artist who I think will really turn some heads... this guy can do it all!I think about who he is at his core, and who he is in the present, but also what he's been through in the Beyond Universe and how that would change him. This is a Superman who's older and wiser, but he's also been hurt, and seen many of the people he loves die. He married Lois Lane, and lost her...he's a widower.One of my favorite sequences in the first story arc is when a co-worker of Superman's asks him out, and he is trying to plan his first date in who knows how long, and he's asking the various members of the League what they think makes for a good date. That was a blast to write. The tragedies he's experienced make Superman both stronger and more vulnerable, so we'll be exploring that.Alex, Kyle and I are speaking regularly -- we just had a very productive and fruitful brainstorming summit -- and it's safe to say that before long the storylines will connect. But for the first arc, at least, we are going to let them stand on their own. However, they are taking place at the same time, so when you see Batman in JLB, it'll reflect his current status in Batman Beyond. And let me say we've got some really fun stuff coming up... it's great to be able to plan stories featuring such iconic characters, while figuring out how to present them in exciting new ways!

Joey is a Senior Editor at IGN and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito , or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN . He still references the "Slappers" episode of Batman Beyond, like, all the time.