New York Comic Con is all wrapped up for another year! The event brought the usual slew of comic announcements and reveals from the major publishers.
DC in particular had a really strong showing this year, unveiling the next phases of both its DC Next Level and Absolute Universe lines, and teasing the return of classic characters like Swamp Thing, Static, Jonah Hex and Vixen.
If you couldn't make the event, fear not! We've rounded up the biggest highlights from DC's various panels below so you can get up to speed on all the amazing comics headed your way over the next few years.
New Bat Books
The Dark Knight remains DC's brightest star, so it's no surprise that the mainline DC continuity is getting a couple of intriguing new Bat-books.
Batman: The core Batman comic begins a new arc with #15, released on November 4. The series, written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Jorge Jiménez, sees the Caped Crusader investigating a shocking crime: the assassination of Bruce Wayne! December's #16 is said to be a must-read issue in particular.
Batman – Shadow of the Bat: Now this one looks really interesting. Shadow of the Bat, from the creative team behind the brilliant and occasionally baffling Absolute Martian Manhunter. On stage at NYCC, Camp revealed that the series kicks off with an explosion at the Ace Chemicals factory from The Killing Joke, which floods a Gotham neighborhood in neuropharmacological agents. The area is quarantined, but Batman enters to try and prevent the birth of more Jokers. Expect this in early 2027.
Batman – Justice Year: DC mainstay Joshua Williamson and artist Bruno Redondo are the creative team for this new series, which takes us back to the early days of the Caped Crusader as he has his first difficult dealings with the other members of the Justice League. There's no public release date for this just yet, but early 2027 is likely.
Bruce's big blue pal Superman also had a few reveals at the con. Xermánico will be the regular series artist on Superman from #43 onwards, and Tom King and Mitch Gerads are working on an as-yet-unnamed Man of Steel project. There's also an upcoming Superboy Prime special from Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora.
The Absolute Universe
The other half of DC's publishing line, the Absolute Universe, is expanding in 2027. As well as announcing big developments for the range's current titles, a long-awaited new series was also revealed. Let's start there...
Absolute Justice: This is the big one: the first major crossover between the Absolute Universe Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The series, by writer Jason Aaron and artist Juan Ferreyra, sees Martian Manhunter J'onn J'onzz gather the heroes together to fight back against the Absolute Universe's corrupt version of the Justice League, which is made up of Joker, Dr. Elenore Thawne, Hector Hammond, and Veronica Cale. You can see a trailer above.
Absolute Batman: The biggest comic in the world right now continues into its 25th issue. Bruce Wayne is recovering from his encounter with Scarecrow, but he's about to face the Joker once more. Artist Nick Dragotta is sitting #26 out, with Cliff Chiang filling in for an issue that will focus on Barbara Gordon. The series will then take a month off before returning in January 2027.
Absolute Superman: The next issue of Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra's Absolute Superman is set to wrap up the long-running Brainiac arc, with future issues set to take the Man of Steel deep into space.
Absolute Wonder Woman: Artist Hayden Sherman teased the future of the Kelly Thompson-penned series, including the introduction of the Absolute Universe version of Cheetah in #25 and the arrival of Silver Swan a few issues later.
Writer Pornsak Pichetshote also revealed that Absolute Green Lantern is being expanded into a 12-issue maxi-series and that an Absolute Black Canary one-shot, drawn by Belén Ortega, is also in the works.
A trio of new solo comics
It's not just about the big name heroes, of course. A trio of new solo books starring some of the publisher's lesser-known characters were also revealed at the DC Next Level panel.
Starfire: Coming in April 2027 is a new series focused on the veteran Titan. Writer Alyssa Wong and Belén Ortega are the creative team on a book that DC is describing as "Red Sonja meets One Piece." Yes. Yep. Count us in for that.
Vixen: Stephanie Williams and Khary Randolph were both on stage to share some teases and character designs for the upcoming Vixen comic – a project that has reportedly been in the works for several years now. The title is set in Detroit and the creators stated an intention to make Mari McCabe a more distinctive character with slightly redefined powers as well as teasing a love interest who is connected to the Bat-Family.
Static: Writer Cody Ziglar wants to bring the classic Milestone character Virgil Hawkins back to prominence with his new Static series with artist Diego Olortegui. Away from the panel, Ziglar also revealed to Chris Covers Comics that the series will also heavily feature fellow hero Rocket.
Monsters and Magic
The Demon: James Harren is both writing and drawing this new take on Etrigan the Demon, reimagining the look of occultist Jason Blood as someone who has lived for a century, all the while struggling with his curse. The series launches on October 27, with the issue's solicit reading: "Following the mute face — a lost wizard — tortured by a voice from Hell, can Jason Blood protect our world and save his soul?"
The Swamp Thing: Hallowed Ground: Details were slim for this standalone release from writer Steve Foxe and artist Riccardo Federici, but the art in the trailer below looks suitably gnarly and gothic. It follows hot on the heels of Swamp Thing 1989, published earlier this year, which finally completed writer Rick Veitch’s acclaimed late-1980s run on the storied horror hero.
Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death: The veteran gunslinger returns in this six-issue limited series from writer and artist Michael Walsh – the first solo Jonah Hex book in a decade. Described as a horror western with shades of Hellboy and Unforgiven, it finds Hex coming out of retirement when a sinister preacher rides into town.
DC Black Label Presents Zatanna: DC's main magic-wielder is getting a new Black Label (so, aimed at mature readers and not in the mainline continuity) one-shot from Terry and Rachel Dodson.
Also coming soon from the Black Label imprint is Green Lantern: The Dying of the Light by Jason Aaron and Tirso, which sees an older Hal Jordan imprisoned with a ring that's running out of power. Sounds like a great read for fans of the recent Lanterns TV show.
For more, check out our guides to upcoming DC movies and shows on the way.
