'Hawk and Dove' premise teased by Sterling Gates

DC Comics writer Sterling Gates has said that his new Hawk and Dove title is a complete fresh start that won't rely on fans' previous knowledge of the characters.

Hawk and Dove launched as part of the first wave of 'New 52' titles last week, and continues several lingering plot threads from the recent Brightest Day maxiseries.

However, Gates, who writes the series alongside artist Rob Liefeld, said readers will not need to have read Brightest Day to understand what's going on.

"We start issue one the same way I would start any issue one, introducing the main characters and establishing their relationships to one another," Gates told IGN Comics. "Once you have the basics down then you can start addressing other problems, like picking up any threads from other places.

"Yes, Dove is still dating Deadman, but we're not going to have long, drawn-out conversations about just what the White Entity means or anything. I want to make this a big, bold book that doesn't require you to read a lot of back issues to enjoy."

Gates also revealed that Hawk and Dove will not operate under the traditional five or six issue story arc format, and will instead follow a more episodic structure similar to the current season of Doctor Who.

"With each episode we get a rollicking adventure that fives us a tiny piece of the bigger picture," Gates explained. "I love that type of story-building, so I'm implementing that in Hawk and Dove."

The writer confirmed that popular character Deadman will make regular appearances throughout the new series.

Hawk and Dove #2 will be published on October 5.

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