DC announces ‘Absolute Power,’ DC Finest and a return to Wednesdays

DC made several announcements during the ComicsPRO industry meeting this week.

If you’re wondering why so much comic news broke today, it’s because ComicsPRO, the Comics Professional Retail Organization, is hosting its industry meeting over the next three days. As a part of that meeting, comics publishers are presenting some of their future plans to attendees and, in many cases, releasing that news into the wild.

DC was one of many publishers on hand to talk to retailers, and gave several updates on their future plans. But let’s not bury the big news — DC announced at the conference that they plan to move the release of their new issues back to Wednesday. DC moved the release date of their comics from the traditional Wednesday to Tuesday back in 2020, when they moved away from Diamond to Lunar Distribution and other distributors. It was, and remains, a controversial move, and from what I’ve heard retailers gave this news a standing ovation at ComicsPRO today. The shift will occur in July.

In other news …

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Quick Hits | Massachusetts police officer searched an 8th grade classroom for a copy of ‘Gender Queer’

Plus: News on IDW, Fantagraphics, Joe Sacco, Jim Lee, Chris Gooch and more.

In a chilling chapter in the ongoing culture war against LGBTQ+ books and graphic novels, several sources reported that a plain-clothes police officer searched an eighth grade classroom for a copy of the graphic novel Gender Queer in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

The officer notified the school he was coming and was accompanied by the principal as he searched for the memoir by Maia Kobabe, which has topped the most banned book list for the last couple years. The search reportedly took place after school hours and was the result of a single complaint by a community member.

“Police going into schools and searching for books is the sort of thing you hear about in communist China and Russia. What are we doing?” Ruth A. Bourquin, senior and managing attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts, told the Berkshire Eagle.

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Slugfest | Soule + Alburquerque continue ‘The Shrouded College’ storyline in a new miniseries

Plus: News and announcements about Star Wars, Sea Serpent’s Heir, Richard Corben, Kingdom Come, Stranger Things and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Charles Soule and Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque will present the second of seven interconnected miniseries in “The Shrouded College” saga that started with Soule and Will Sliney’s Hell to Pay.

The Bloody Dozen will run for six issues and kicks off in December.

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The Justice League will throw down with Godzilla and King Kong in a new miniseries

Brian Buccellato, Christian Duce and Luis Guerrero will bring together two worlds filled with big characters.

DC kicked off the first full day of the San Diego Comic Con with a king-sized announcement — a crossover featuring the Justice League, Godzilla and King Kong.

DC will work with Legendary Comics and Toho International on Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, the seven-issue miniseries, which will be written by Brian Buccellato, with art by Christian Duce and colorist Luis Guerrero.

“As a comics fan—there’s nothing more fun and exciting than exploring those amazing ‘What If’ situations that come up when fandoms cross streams,” said Jim Lee, DC president, publisher and CCO. “In this case, it’s a match-up of the world’s greatest super heroes in the Justice League who take on not only the King of the Monsters—Godzilla—but the mighty Kong himself! It’s a crossover no-holds-barred battle, decades in the making, and no bona fide comics fan will want to miss it!”

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Rafael Grampá celebrates Batman Day with ‘Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham’

The Black Label miniseries will follow a Batman who gives up being Bruce Wayne.

Mesmo Delivery creator and Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child artist Rafael Grampá will return to Gotham this fall for Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham, a Black Label miniseries that will arrive just in time for Batman Day on Sept. 16.

In the miniseries, Batman will decide to “kill off” his Bruce Wayne identity and dedicate his life to fighting crime as Batman. Mat Lopes joins him on colors.

“When his origin was introduced in Batman #1 in the 1940s, Bruce Wayne swore revenge by the spirits of his murdered parents and—driven by his belief in an omen—became Batman,” said Grampá. “For me, this subtle aspect of Bruce’s belief system has always been the fundamental core of Batman, and through that lens I recognized this untold story. Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham explores ‘who he is and why he came to be.’ It makes my dream of bringing my own interpretation of Batman to life a reality as I delve into the darkest corners of his essence. I sincerely hope readers enjoy the ride.”

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Superboy, Doom Patrol and more will get new titles in 2023

DC Comics announces several new titles and storyline coming next year as part of the ‘Dawn of DC’ initiative.

DC today revealed plans to launch more than 20 new titles next year in the wake of their close-to-ending Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and the upcoming DC Universe: Lazarus Planet. Dawn of DC, their new publishing initiative for 2023, will feature not only new titles but will also spotlight “fan-favorite superheroes and super-villains that haven’t been front and center for some time.”

“After the near-Multiverse-ending events in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and DC Universe: Lazarus Planet, the DC Universe will be heading toward the light,” said Jim Lee, DC publisher and chief creative officer. “With brand-new series and story arcs from some of the top creative members in comics, Dawn of DC is one of our most ambitious initiatives ever and is a chance for us to tell bigger and bolder stories across our line.”

Here’s the teaser image for what’s to come, which features icons for several upcoming titles that were announced today — with more to be revealed on the right side in the future:

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Slugfest | Harley Quinn, San Starros and more from NYCC

Check out a round-up of recent announcements about ‘Batman,’ Jonathan Hickman, ‘West of Sundown’ and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Some of these are from this weekend’s New York Comic Con, while some are from before. Hit the links for more information.

DC held a panel focused on the Batman titles yesterday during New York Comic Con, revealing some new artwork and one new project — Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU. It’s by Frank Tieri and Logan Faerber, both of whom have worked on the character before.

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NYCC: DC + Milestone announce ‘Icon vs. Hardware’

The miniseries written by Reggie Hudlin and Leon Chills begins in February.

Two cornerstone of the Milestone universe will clash next year in Icon vs. Hardware, a five-issue miniseries coming from DC.

DC Publisher and CCO Jim Lee announced the new series during his Jim Lee & Friends Panel at New York Comic Con earlier today. The story spins out of the Milestones in History anthology from earlier this year and will be co-written by Reggie Hudlin and Leon Chills.

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NYCC: Joe Quesada is back at DC drawing Batman covers

The former Marvel editor in chief returns to the company where he got his start.

At New York Comic Con today, DC Publisher and CCO Jim Lee welcomed a special guest during his Jim Lee & Friends Panel — Joe Quesada, the longtime Marvel executive who left the House of Ideas earlier this year to pursue other projects.

Apparently one of those projects will be drawing variant covers for Batman. DC revealed two of them at the panel:

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Here’s a look at the Paul Dano/Stevan Subic ‘The Riddler: Year One’ project

Jim Lee and Paul Dano shared a preview during the San Diego Comic-Con yesterday.

As revealed during the Jim Lee & Friends panel in San Diego yesterday, DC has released preview pages and variant covers for The Riddler: Year One, the upcoming Black Label project by actor Paul Dano and artist Stevan Subic.

According to DC, “Dano’s story provides an in-depth look at how the unknown forensic accountant Edward Nashton evolved into the menace known as the Riddler and came so close to bringing down the entire city.” Dano of course played the character in The Batman.

Let’s take a look …

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Lee, McFarlane + Capullo reunite at SDCC to announce Batman/Spawn

The first crossover in more than 25 years between the two characters will arrive in December.

DC’s “Jim Lee & Friends” panel at San Diego Comic-Con brought a lot of interesting news and some surprise special guests — not the least of which was Todd McFarlane, Lee’s former Image Comics partner.

Along with artist Greg Capullo — who has a long history with both Batman and Spawn — they announced a new Batman/Spawn crossover project.

Batman/Spawn #1, a 48-page one-shot, will arrive in shops Dec. 13. Unfortunately they haven’t shared any artwork from it, but I’m sure that’s coming soon.

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Dark Crisis expands with five specials focused on the Justice League members who just died

‘Dark Crisis’ will run through December with multiple tie-ins, crossover issues and more.

DC has revealed more of their plans for Dark Crisis, the big event series spearheaded by Joshua Williamson that kicked off in Justice League #75 with the “death” of several members of the Justice League.

I put “death” in quotes because with this latest announcement, we find out that all those dead Leaguers will appear in a series of specials over the next few months, with the big conclusion to the event expected to land in December.

Here’s a look at what’s been announced thus far:

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