A new Australian-authored comic series featuring a female Wolverine is being released as part of Marvel's initiative to create a more diverse roster of superheroes.

All-New Wolverine is being written by Tom Taylor, with the first issue hitting the stands on Wednesday (US time).

The ongoing series will feature a young woman named Laura Kinney — also known as X-23 — who was mentored by the original Wolverine, Logan, and will "continue in his footsteps as a hero".

It comes as other comic book publishers are realising the need for different characters, with DC Comics having launched a range of new titles with more diverse characters earlier this year.

DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio said the push for diversity came after half a decade of flat sales.

"We realised that our characters were created 40, 50, 60, 70 years ago," he told NPR.

"The world has changed, and we've got to change our characters along with them and diversify our cast, our voice, and really be able to connect with as many of our readers as possible."

Taylor said taking up the story of X-23, who has previously been introduced in other X-Men-related comics, was "huge".

"Laura has been through so much but has come through all of it. She's not unscathed by her early life, tragedies, and hardships but she hasn't let anything beat her down," he said.

"This ferocious tenacity is one of the qualities that make her perfect to follow in the footsteps of Logan."

Wolverine is not the only Marvel comic to see a reinvention — the Thor series was relaunched last year with a female protagonist and the Captain America comics have seen an African-American character strap on the shield.