DC Comics announced this morning it will tell stories from the early years of Superman and Batman in a series of graphic novels set "on a new earth with an all-new continuity."

Superman: Earth One, by J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis, will journey back to Smallville and chronicle "the journey of Earth’s greatest adopted son, as he grows from boy to Superman." Batman: Earth One, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, will take Bruce Wayne back to Crime Alley, where tragedy set him on the path to become the world's greatest detective.

"Batman: Earth One allows Gary and I to break the restraints of any continuity and focus on two things: character and story,” Johns tells Ain't It Cool, which appears to be down.

The books will debut in 2010, but no specific date was announced.