Superheroes and comic book characters have become a larger force in pop culture over recent years with many comic-book based properties racing to the top of list box-office winners each year, and over ten comic book-related television shows scheduled to air this fall on various networks.  DC Comics, home to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and dozens of others, has been a big part of that.  Next week also sees the annual San Diego Comic Con taking place, the largest comic and pop culture gathering in the U.S.  To tie in with that (and undoubtedly, the home video release of this year’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice next Tuesday), Warner Bros.’ WaterTower Music label is releasing a follow-up to the 2010 Music of DC Comics: The 75th Anniversary Collection with the simply-titled The Music of DC Comics: Volume 2.  It’s due in stores tomorrow.

Much like its predecessor, the 29 tracks on this compilation draw from a wide range of projects and span a great deal of time (from the 1940 Superman radio show all the way through to the aforementioned Dawn of Justice).  The also come from several types of projects ranging from movies, movie serials, radio show, cartoons, live-action television shows to even video games.  Some of the greatest composers of the industry are represented including John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Neal Hefti and Danny Elfman.  A few of the tracks aren’t even technically from soundtracks.  Three are pulled from the 1966 tie-in album on the Tifton label to the 1960’s Batman television show by The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale and featuring jazz great Sun Ra and some of Al Kooper’s The Blues Project.  Another DC album from Tifton also has three tracks represented: Songs and Stories About The Justice League of America.

Eleven of the tracks have never been commercially available previously.  These include very recent offerings such the themes to Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow television shows (both tracks have been specially produced for this project by composer Blake Neeley) to tracks nearly seventy years old (“Batman Takes Over” from the 1949 Columbia Pictures movie serial Batman and Robin).   Among the other new-to-CD tracks are a cut from Fox’s Gotham TV show, the theme to 1978’s Challenge of the Super Friends, a track from the current cartoon series DC Superhero Girls, a song from Batman: The Brave and The Bold and the theme to the pilot of the unproduced oddity The Adventures of Superpup from 1958.

The album is grouped by character so you’ll get a selection of Superman music, then Batman, etc.  It has been produced by Peter Axelrad, who also produced the first volume in 2010.  If you’d like to take another tour through DC’s musical heritage then we have order links below.

Various Artists, The Music of DC Comics: Volume 2 (WaterTower Music, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. The Baby From Krypton Intro (from the Superman Radio Show) – Bud Collyer (1940)
2. What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving the World? (from Man of Steel) – Hans Zimmer (2013)
3. Superman Theme (from Ruby-Spears cartoon Superman) – John Williams (1988)
4. Superman The Animated Series Theme – Shirley Walker (1996)
5. The Flying Sequence / Can You Read My Mind? (feat. Margot Kidder) (from Superman: The Movie) – John Williams (1978)
6. Fight Night (from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) – Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL (2016)
7. Batman Theme (from the Batman television show) – Neal Hefti (1966)
8. Batman: The Animated Series Theme – Danny Elfman (1996)
9. The Ballad of Batman (from the cartoon Batman: The Brave and the Bold) – Dynamic Music Partners feat. John DiMaggio (2002)
10. Batman Takes Over (Intro) (from the Columbia Pictures serial Batman and Robin) – Mischa Bakaleinikoff (1949)
11. Why Do We Fall? (from The Dark Knight Rises) – Hans Zimmer (2012)
12. Christmas with the Joker / Jingle Bells Batman Smells (from Batman: The Animated Series) – Shirley Walker feat. Mark Hamill (1992)
13. Joker is Wild (from the LP Batman and Robin, Tifton LP 78002) – The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale featuring Sun Ra and the Blues (1966)
14. Mischief (Harley Quinn’s Theme) (from the videogame Infinite Crisis) – Matthew Harwood (2015)
15. Lex Luthor’s Lair (from Superman: The Movie) – John Williams (1978)
16. Penguin Makes Moves (from the television show Gotham) – Graeme Revell and David E. Russo (2015)
17. Penguin’s Umbrella (from the LP Batman and Robin, Tifton LP 78002) – The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale: Sun Ra and the Blues Project (1966)
18. Challenge of The Super Friends Theme (from the cartoon Challenge of The Super Friends)- Hoyt Curtin (1978)
19. The Justice League of America (from the Tifton LP Songs and Stories About the Justice League of America) – Arthur Korb (1966)
20. Supergirl Theme (from the television show Supergirl) – Blake Neely (2015)
21. Robin’s Theme (from the LP Batman and Robin, Tifton LP 78002)– The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale: Sun Ra and the Blues Project (1966)
22. The Adventures of Superpup – TV Pilot  (1958)
23. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Theme (from the television show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow)- Blake Neely (2016)
24. Metamorpho (from the Tifton LP Songs and Stories About the Justice League of America)- Arthur Korb (1966)
25. Get Your Cape On (from the cartoon DC Superhero Girls)- Jordyn Kane (2015)
26. The Flash TV Series Theme (from the 1990 The Flash television show) – Danny Elfman (1990)
27. The Flash vs Arrow (from the 2014 The Flash television show) – Blake Neely (2014)
28. Wonder Woman (from the Tifton LP Songs and Stories About the Justice League of America)- Arthur Korb (1966)
29. Wonder Woman TV Series Season 3 Theme (from the Wonder Woman television show)- Charles Fox and Norman Gimble (1978)