The DC universe got upended last year when the New York-based comic publisher rebooted its entire superhero lineup with its "New 52" initiative. Superman got pants, Wonder Woman went on an odyssey and the newest member of the "Green Lantern" Corps.--Simon Baz--is an Arab-American from Dearborn, Mich. Not coincidentally, "Green Lantern" writer and chief creative officer for DC Comics, Geoff Johns, has a similar background since he drew from his own life in Michigan to create Baz. Speakeasy spoke with Johns about "Green Lantern" issue zero which is out today.

What's the big rollout in September and why are you calling it the "Zero Month?"

DC re-launched our comic universe last year. Everything launched as issue one as a starting point. But September will be "Zero Month" and every title will have a zero issue that will delve into an origin. So "Batman" zero will look into the early days of "Batman." "Aquaman" zero will look into the early days of "Aquaman." And "Green Lantern" zero will look into the origin and introduction of the newest human "Green Lantern" Simon Baz.

Did 9/11 inspire you to introduce a Arab-Muslim character, considering that it plays an important part of Simon Baz' life?

When we re-launched our universe last year, diversity was a very important of the thinking when introducing characters. When I thought of the story, I had to introduce a new character into the "Green Latern" Corps. There was a lot of thought about his background, and that's when I came up with the Arab-American "Green Lantern."