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Earlier in October DC announced the 2023 event Lazarus Planet, which spins out of the penultimate Batman vs. Robin #4 of the five-issue limited series by writer Mark Waid and artist Mahmud Asrar.
"Heroes transformed. Secrets revealed. Powers unleashed," is the event's tagline, which involves an explosion of the Lazarus Volcano spitting transformative lava into the atmosphere. The eruption has worldwide, status quo-altering effects on existing superheroes (like transforming the Jon Kent Superman into a version of his dad's former Electric Blue persona) and supervillains. It apparently also creates brand new ones like City Boy as DC shifts into the new editorial era known as the Dawn of the DCU in the new year.
Waid is the event's architect and he'll be teaming with other writers on a series of 48-page one-shot specials in January and February, including Lazarus Planet: Alpha (1/10), Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton (1/17), Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods (1/24), Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn (1/31), Lazarus Planet: Next Evolution (2/7), Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate (2/14), and Lazarus Planet: Omega (2/21).
With DC ready to release its January 2023 solicitations on Friday, October 21, Newsarama readers get a first look at the creative details, full descriptions, and 25 cover images including many new covers for the four Lazarus Planet specials on sale in January.
The event kicks off January 10 with Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1, written by Waid and Gene Luen Yang with art by Riccardo Federici, Billy Tan, and more, and covers by David Marquez and Alejandro Sánchez, Federici, Francesco Mattina, Mateus Manhanini, Nathan Szerdy, Jorge Corona, John Giang, A.L. Kaplan, and Scott Godlewski.
"CHANGE THE WORLD," reads DC's description.
"Following the explosive (literally) events of Batman vs. Robin #4, the Lazarus Volcano has erupted, spewing dangerous and transformative chemicals into Earth's atmosphere! As these Lazarus clouds rain down upon the planet, people across the globe begin to develop strange new abilities, watch their already-extraordinary abilities change, and witness a whole host of chaos unlike anything the DCU has experienced before!
"It's up to Damian Wayne to put out the distress call for whoever can still hear it: come to the ruins of the Hall of Justice and help save the world! Poison Ivy, Power Girl, Cyborg, Batman, and more answer the call…but why could the fate of all life as we know it rest in the hands of…Monkey Prince?
Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1 is up next on January 17, by writers Nicole Maines, C.S. Pacat, Frank Barbiere, and Leah Williams, artists Skylar Patridge, Godlewski, Sami Basri, and Marguerite Sauvage, and cover artists Marquez and Sánchez, Jen Bartel, Szerdy, Mario "Fox" Foccillo and Prasad "Pressy" Rao, and Ariel Colon.
"With the world in chaos and Lazarus raining from the skies, the Earth's protectors from Krypton are hit hard," reads the description.
"In this collection of epic vignettes from in and around Lazarus Planet, we'll see heroes transformed, secrets revealed, and power unleashed. Can Power Girl free herself from the out-of-control Omen? Will Dreamer's visions guide our heroes to the path of victory? Can Mercy Graves survive the transformation she's undergone? And will Jonathan Kent ever be the same again?"
On January 24 comes Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods #1, by writers Francis Manapul, Dan Watters, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Josie Campbell, and artists Manapul, Max Dunbar, Jack Herbert, and Caitlin Yarsky, with covers by Marquez and Sánchez, Dave Johnson, Mattina and Rafael Sarmento, and Yanick Paquette.
"As the Lazarus rain beats down upon planet Earth, human beings are only a fraction of those affected by this transformative upheaval—enter: We Once Were Gods," reads the official description.
"This series of vignettes explores Lazarus Planet's effects across the many extraordinary locations and creatures in the DC Universe, and like their human counterparts, these beings are in for some big changes. Can Themyscira survive the resurrection of every invading army that ever graced its shores? Will Martian Manhunter survive a psychic link to a Doomsday nest? What happens when the monsters from the Trench gain the ability to breathe air? And look out, Shazam Family…the Rock of Eternity is about to get rocked."
Finally (for January, that is), there's Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn #1 on January 31 by writers Alex Segura, Greg Pak, Alex Paknadel, and Dennis Culver, artists Clayton Henry, Chris Mitten, Minkyu Jung, and Jesus Merino, and covers by Vasco Georgievk, Sarmento, Laura Braga, and Reilly Brown.
"NEW FRIENDS…NEW FOES…NEW LEGENDS!
"Ancient and dangerous power has been awakened following the eruption of the Lazarus Volcano, and this surge of fantastical power will affect the DC Universe forevermore! In Lazarus Planet: Legends Reborn, we'll explore corners of the planet newly awakened and primed to restore some heroes and villains long forgotten!
"With the help of Nightwing, can new hero City Boy hope to commune with Gotham in time to save it? Who are the mysterious trio claiming to be resurrected siblings of Raven? How far would the Question go to chase a lead across a transformed Gotham City? And will the flame of Firestorm burn out yet another horrific host? Not if Harley Quinn has anything to say about it!"
Look for more information about Lazarus Planet in the coming weeks, as well as DC's full January 2023 solicitations on Friday, October 21 at 12 p.m. ET.
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