DC's second panel of Comic-Con 2011, "DC: The New 52," was the first panel of the convention where DC took questions about its September relaunch. On the panel were Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras, Executive Editor Eddie Berganza, Justice League International writer and Green Arrow artist Dan Jurgens, Captain Atom artist Freddie Williams II, Captain Atom and Green Arrow writer J.T. Krul, Legion of Super-Heroes and Huntress writer Paul Levitz, Demon Knights and Stormwatch writer Paul Cornell, Wonder Woman artist Cliff Chiang and Teen Titans, Superboy and Red Hood and the Outlaws writer Scott Lobdell.

The biggest news? DC is very serious about no longer shipping late books, Wally West's fate will be revealed soon, The Marvel family is on hiatus and there are no immediate event-style crossover plans in the DCU's future.Cliff Chiang joked during the panel that Wonder Woman, in taking "a cue from the competition," would have retractable pants. There was a great deal of internet controversy recently regarding the change of the first cover from her having pants in the initial solicitation to briefs in the final version of the cover, and this seems to resolve that situation in favor of the previous pant-less look for the Amazon princess

Additionally, when asked about a future Crisis, DiDio stated that there are currently no plans for any upcoming crossovers, and they want the individual titles to stand on their own merits for the foreseeable future. As for the Marvel Family, including Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel, there is currently a certain degree of deliberation at a corporate level regarding how to approach that property, but once DC has that worked out they want to roll out a new title, likely with the next batch of DC reveals.

On the topic of late books, DiDio stated that his old mantra was that DC would stop releasing late comics when people stopped buying them -- and people stopped buying them, so they're now very serious about ensuring that titles do not ship late.

As for former Flash Wally West, there are apparently no plans right now to include him in Flash, although they didn't rule out his inclusion in other titles. When asked when we'd see him again, DiDio didn't hold out much hope, saying that they wanted to focus on Barry to make it easier for new readers. When the questioner pointed out that they were keeping around all four Robins, he said it was simply a creative decision they made.

In other news:

On the Future of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Xombi and Stephanie Brown: "Yes, no, and yes." He expanded to say that T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents will return in November written by Nick Spencer. Xombi readers are out of luck for the time being, although Stephanie Brown's place in the new DC continuity will be revealed eventually.

On Barbara Gordon as Batgirl: DiDio stated the decision to return Barbara Gordon to her position as Batgirl after years spent as Oracle was done because DC wants to return all of its characters to their most accessible versions.

On Arsenal and Lian Harper: Because they want to return characters to younger incarnations, Arsenal is now too young to have had children, so Lian Harper no longer exists. He will also have two arms and likely won't be known for abusing heroin.

On Wonder Woman's Compassion: The warrior aspect of Wonder Woman's character has been amped up for marketing purposes for the covers, but she'll still be the caring character she's always been.

On Whether Booster Gold Will Remember the Old DC Universe: Writer/artist Dan Jurgens stated this will be answered in the final issue of Booster Gold.

On Women Working in the DC Universe: When asked why DC's proportion of female creators decreased to 2%, DiDio asked the audience who he should have hired that they currently working with. When he was told Alex de Campi and Nicola Scott, he implied Scott was hired on a future project and thanked the questioner for his opinion.

On Allaying Audience Fears: DiDio said the point of the New 52 panels is to make fans feel more at home with the changes, and that he hoped to win everyone over by the end of the weekend.

On Separating Captain Atom From the rest of his world: Freddie Williams II said that he's rendering Captain Atom in inkwash with the rest of the world inked traditionally to up the contrast between Captain Atom and the rest of the world.

On Rebooting the Teen Titans: Scott Lobdell was very excited about the new book, and said that he really wanted to make it feel like the ground floor of a new series rather than a continuation of a previous one.

On Demon Knights: Cornell said that he was very excited to write this book, and that its swords and sorcery is in the Dragon Age/Game of Thrones vein. Additionally, a new character called the Horsewoman is involved. Horsewoman will reportedly use her horse for transportation since she can't use her legs, and while Cornell explained he knows she can't replace Oracle, he's very excited about her.

On Stormwatch: They've been around in the DC Universe for a long time, and find the new superheroes such as the Justice League rather unprofessional and gauche, since they were fighting alien invasions and similar threats covertly for years. He also stated that he wanted to get a "They're Still Gay" T-shirt to reassure people about Apollo and Midnighter, and that the villain in the first arc is -- wait for it -- the moon.

On the Legion of Super-Heroes: Levitz rather foul-mouthedly noted that while Cornell has the entire medieval world to "f*** around with," he has the entire future.

See more art shown during the panel below:





