DC announces 11 surprise new 2021 titles

art from the cover of Batman and Robin Vol. 1 #19 (Image credit: DC)

DC gave a virtual presentation to comic book retailers at this year's annual ComicsPro event, and announced 11 new titles that it plans to publish in 2021.

The upcoming new titles include (as briefly described by DC):

Deathstroke Inc.
Harley Quinn Animated Series sequel
A Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary title
Elseworld (1/2 of the new center of the new DC Omniverse)
"DC Vampires" (described as a working title)
Robin and Batman
Joker: A Puzzle Box
The Legend of Batman
Crush and Lobo
Nubia and the Amazons
DC Middle Ages

In a follow-up announcement, the publisher said more information will be forthcoming on these projects throughout the year.

The publisher also announced their intention to participate in Free Comic Book Day 2021 on August 14, another annual event that has traditionally happened on the first Saturday in May but was scuttled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis and was scheduled this year for August for the same reason.

DC initially announced a May 1 date, but Newsarama has confirmed that was in error.

The publisher reports its virtual presentation to the retailer-only audience included DC publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee, new SVP and general manager Daniel Cherry III, and editor-in-chief Marie Javins, with Lee "reaffirming DC's commitment to publishing comic books and the direct market."

DC says it referenced 2020 sales successes such as Batman: Three Jokers, DCeased: Dead Planet, Batman: The Joker War, and Dark Nights: Death Metal.

According to DC, Javins commented on the "positive reception received by new characters such as Punchline, Clownhunter, Liar Liar, and Ghost-Maker and spoke to DC's ongoing commitment to a more additive universe of characters."

Maybe someday some of those 11 new titles will contribute to Newsarama's list of the best DC stories of all time.

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.