DC Comics brings out first Jewish character in 40 years

DC Comics is bringing out the first Jewish superhero in more than 40 years – and she’s a teenage social activist with a dog named Leibowitz! 

Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero by acclaimed young adult novelist E. Lockhart and illustrator Manuel Preitano is released in the autumn and centres on 16-year-old Willow Zimmerman as she struggles to make ends meet during her mother’s cancer treatments. 

A series of odd jobs leads to a life-altering accident that leaves Willow and Leibowitz with a ‘sixth sense’ that is as much a blessing as a curse.

Fans of the comic series will also enjoy Willow’s encounters with Gotham City’s familiar antiheroes Killer Croc, the Riddler and Poison Ivy.

“Whistle is a hero like me. Like you, maybe. She’s an ordinary person who sees what’s wrong in her city and feels powerless to right it — until she isn’t,” said Lockhart. 

“The story explores the dark, ethically compromised side of a superhero’s life as well as the empowerment. There’s the thrill of corruption and the lure of riches on the one hand, versus an activist’s belief in the rights of her community members on the other.”

Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero by E. Lockhart and Manuel Preitano is released on 7 September, priced £12.99.