DC Comics' New Age of DC Heroes initiative is now in full swing, with the goal of both introducing new characters to the DC Universe and giving the publisher's artists top billing on the new series being launched. The rollout continued this week with Sideways, from artist Kenneth Rocafort and writer (and DC Co-Publisher) Dan DiDio (billed as "storytellers"), dialogue by DiDio and Image Comics regular Justin Jordan, colorist Daniel Brown and letterer Carlos M. Mangual.

Sideways stars new character Derek James in the title role, a new recipient of superpowers due to the events of Dark Nights: Metal -- the ability to "rift" through space, effectively far-reaching teleportation. He's a loner high-school student giving it a go as a superhero, and between the character's visual design, affable nature, quips and "teenager with a secret identity' status -- Sideways has gotten the frequent comment of "Is this just DC's answer to Spider-Man?"

According to DiDio in an interview with CBR, that's not accurate -- well, not exactly. He doesn't deny that he's a huge Spider-Man fan and that the overall spirit of the character has inspired his approach to Sideways, but makes it clear that the character and the series is very much its own thing, with the intent to have the type of resonance to today's young readers that Lee & Ditko's Spidey stories had back in the '60s. "Honestly, it's just ingrained in the things I love about comics, and what I want to see in comics."

PREVIEW: Sideways #1

Read on for CBR's full chat with DiDio on the recently released Sideways #1, including his thoughts on working with Rocafort and Jordan, the importance of tone, not being "that old guy writing young voices" and the looming presence of antagonists like Tempus Fuginaut, who appears in the last page of the debut issue.

CBR: Dan, the first thing that strikes me about Sideways #1 is the tone of it. It's not completely lighthearted, but it has a breezy, fun tone, and a likable character. That all feels very deliberate. How important was tone to you when crafting this series, and the story you wanted to tell with this character?

Dan DiDio: That was my main goal for the series. That reflects a lot of my own personality. I enjoy when things are more fun and engaging. I like the sensibility and sense of discovery that comes along with this story, and as the character is figuring out his powers, he's explaining it to the audience himself, in his own way. I wanted this book to have a different sensibility, a different tone than what might be seen in some of the other New Age of Heroes books.

This initiative is built on launching a host of new characters, and has been a long time in the works -- was announced last April back at C2E2. What was the development for this character like? What were some of the aspects of Sideways that made this character come alive for you?

It's interesting. I've always gravitated to the loner characters, and the characters that really try to find themselves and are looking for ways to really express themselves. I've always found that to be more interesting, and a character you want to really root for. So for me, the creation of Sideways really hearkened back to what I loved about comics when I first started reading them when I was a teenager. I tried to capture some of that ethos for this book.

I love the high adventure; I love the sense that even when you feel you're in control, things are out of control. I think that's something people will see with this character as the story starts to take form.

What was interesting for me in building this book is that, as you see in so many comics today, everybody tells stories in building arcs, really for collections. I love the periodical nature of comics, so what I really want to do is build a story that leaves you on a cliffhanger every issue. You have to pick up the next. But as you look at the creative whole, you get a sense of the full scope of who the character is, and what the challenges will be for him in the future.

Another striking element of Sideways is, he's a teenager -- a high school junior. That's a fun setting, and a classic setting for pop culture general and a lot of famous comic book characters. What's appealing to you about telling a story in that setting? Also, what are some of the challenges? It's been a long time since high school of all of us. There's a degree of authenticity you need to capture as well.

I have a chance to interact with a lot of teenagers these days, through my fiancée's son. Because of that, I get a chance to observe how their interactions work, and how they communicate, which is really intriguing to me. While this might feel similar to what you've seen in other comics in regards to the lone teenager in high school, what I was hoping we could do is place it in high school today, and resonate with kids today. That's one of my real goals.

So much of what the New Age of Heroes books are about, and why I wanted to participate in this fashion, is to come in with no preconceptions about who these characters are, or what they plan to do. My goal is that we find younger readers or new readers, or even existing readers, who can jump on board and follow these characters from the beginning, and hopefully stick with them for a long time to come.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Working with Kenneth Rocafort, Thoughts on the Spider-Man Comparison']

The main selling point of this initiative when first announced was putting the artist up front, so we've got to talk about Kenneth Rocafort. What made him right for this series? You already knew what he could do, but what has impressed you about what he's doing here with Sideways?

I've known Kenneth since the start of the New 52. I'm a master fan of all of his work. I've always been completely blown away by just the creativity he has. I don't know if you're familiar with him on Facebook, but he does a sketch a day, and it's some of the most inventive, creative ideas and conceits that I've seen come out of a single talent. Every drawing I see a new idea, a new concept, a new invention and a new story. I always wanted to work with him, to really tap into that creative. I just love throwing words and ideas at him to see what kind of visual interpretations comes at me, and every time he does it, I'm completely taken aback at how incredibly imaginative his material is.

At one point, he was working in a miniaturized sketchbook, which is even crazier than I can imagine. I just love watching him create. That's the fun part of this process. Having an initial idea that's partially formed, throwing it to another creator, and watching it come back in a version that either matches what you thought, or might be something completely different. Then taking that idea and adding that next layer on, and playing creative tennis with a character until you've got something that's so strong you can't wait to tell stories with it.

Let's talk another collaborator on the book -- co-writer Justin Jordan. How did he become involved, and how does the collaboration work between the two of you?

It's a training for me. Justin was important for me because he has a more youthful voice in his storytelling. The last thing I want to do, forgive me for saying it this way, is being that old guy writing young voices.

Yep, that's fair.

Sometimes that can seem disingenuous, and it can lose the impact of what you're trying to create with your series. So by bringing Justin in, he's always had a strong, youthful voice in his material, and I felt that he helped bring an authenticity to Derek's character, and the characters around him, that I feel really makes him more identifiable coming out of the gate.

RELATED: Grant Morrison Joins Dark Matter as Sideways Co-Writer

One comment that's been out there about Sideways, starting back when people saw the initial character design... I'm sure you know what it is.

Go for it!

That Sideways looks like an attempt at DC's Spider-Man. I've seen that comment quite a bit, I'm sure you have as well. What's your response to that?

Blue Beetle is DC's Spider-Man! [Laughs]

It's an interesting thing. One of the things that I like to do is look at past successes and what made them successful, and then present them in a way that makes them original and unique in their own right. If you look at Spider-Man, or any of these characters created in the early '60s, it was a sensibility that they had that I feel has been lost in comics. If you're making your comparisons to Spider-Man because we've returned the conceit of secret identity, the challenge that it is to be a young kid in today's society while struggling with powers that you don't really understand, and trying to deal with all of the emotional issues that come with being a teenager, then I love that comparison.

As a character power-wise, challenges-wise, it's a completely different story, different sensibility. For me, it's really looking at what works with tonality, and then presenting it in a way that feels fresh and new for today's audience. You can do that with any character. With any situation. Everything is in some ways derived from other things that people have read or absorbed in the course of time.

It's not a surprise for me to say that I'm a huge Spider-Man fan. I've always been. That was my favorite character as a kid. It made sense to try to emulate stuff that you love. But not repeat, or make it derivative. That's why I feel that Sideways stands on its own right. But if some people feel that it captures some of that tonality, it might seem deliberate, but honestly, it's just ingrained in the things I love about comics, and what I want to see in comics.

Sideways #2 cover by Kenneth Rocafort

That's an honest take! Let's talk about the character on the last page, who based on the solicitation for issue #2 must be Tempus Fuginaut. Is he the viillain of the series, at least in the early going?

It's one of the antagonists of the series. I won't call him a villain coming out of the gate, because there's a lot of conflict that comes with this character at the very start, but there's a lot of explanation that helps explain what the Sideways powers are, and what he actually is doing by using them, that puts him in conflict with Tempus and other characters along the way.

We're having a lot of fun with this. I don't want to lose sight of that. It's really a rolling adventure in some bizarre way. I wanted to really have different threats and different challenges in every issue, but tell a big story overall. Over the first six issues, you'll see a lot of new characters he'll be coming across, you'll see him interacting with the DC Universe, but on top of that, you get a full sense of the scope of his powers, and the thing that are strong and great about them, and the things that are extraordinarily dangerous about then, too. That's been the fun part. It's not just about a character that just creates rifts and jumps from place to place, but you'll find that the rifts in time and space that he steps through are a much more active participant in the story than you can ever imagine.

As an origin story, I feel it's important to set up so much about who they are at the very beginning, but as you get a chance to see the series develop, you get to see all the textures and the colors of the character that I think really add full dimensions to who he is, and hopefully shows that this character will be here to stay for a while.

Sideways #1 is on sale now from DC Comics. Sideways #2 is scheduled for release on March 14.