Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s November 2025 solicitations. Hit the links for more information.
Fans of DC’s street-level thrillers from the 1980s, like Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan’s The Question and Mike Grell’s Green Arrow will be happy to know that Gabriel Hardman (Invisible Republic, Green Lantern: Earth One) is bringing that same kind of storytelling to Batman/Green Arrow/The Question: Arcadia.
The four-issue Black Label series will feature Hardman as writer and artist, with colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr. and lettering by Simon Bowland.
“I’ve wanted to tell a story about Batman, Green Arrow and the Question since I was 14 years old, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally get the chance,” said Hardman. “While I’m taking inspiration from the great work of Denny O’Neil, Denys Cowan and Mike Grell, this series isn’t an exercise in nostalgia. I’m taking the grounded approach they spearheaded in the late 80s and moving forward, having these three difficult, opinionated personalities confront a contemporary brand of criminality on a global scale.”
According to DC, the series “unites three of DC’s most ideologically distinct heroes in an expansive narrative of global stakes and personal reckoning. As Bruce Wayne forms a tenuous bond with a billionaire climate visionary, Batman begins to question the true purpose of Arcadia—an ocean-sailing city, climate-hardened against weather extremes, being constructed off the coast of Greenland. Meanwhile, Green Arrow and the Question investigate the darker realities hidden beneath Arcadia’s utopian promise.”
Hardman drew the main cover for the first issue, shown above, while Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz did the variant. Look for it on Nov. 26.
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy each have their own solo titles, but what they don’t have is a title where they appear together on a regular basis. Until November, when DC will launch Harley and Ivy: Life and Crimes. It’s written and drawn by Squirrel Girl veteran Erica Henderson, and will reveal bits of their past together and how they went from “enemies to friends to lovers.”
DC K.O. #1 arrives in October, as previously mentioned, and when it does DC will introduce a blind bag variant program — called “Lights Out” — for the first issue. Most of the covers they revealed back in July will get foil editions that’ll be randomly available in the blind bags, along with a couple by Greg Capullo and Javi Fernández that we hadn’t seen before (shown above).
In addition, DC K.O. is a big ol’ fightin’ tournament, and DC has revealed a few of the heroes that’ll fight in the opening brackets:
You’ve got Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Zatanna … but no Batman, because he’s involved in his own exclusive fight club …
As revealed at Comic-Con last month, while the rest of the DCU is battling it out, Batman will take on the “Batmen of the future” in Batman: Knightfight. Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora will pit Bruce Wayne against his various wards, now all grown up and serving as Batman in their respective futures:
Experience Batman’s epic journey during the explosive DC K.O. event!
The Dark Knight is forced to take a different path in the tournament for the Heart of Apokolips—one that has turned Gotham into a deadly arena where Batman must battle against the Batmen of the future! Who are these Batmen? Stay tuned to find out!
Get ready for the greatest fight of Batman’s life in this over-the-top crossover miniseries!
The three-issue miniseries begins on Nov. 5.
Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent is a new Black Label miniseries by Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan and Jason Badower that actually starts in October (above are Martin Simmonds’ cover for the first issue, which comes out Oct. 8, and the second issue, which arrives Nov. 12.) It follows Garcia and Suayan’s Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity, reimagining everyone’s favorite psycho couple as a grounded psychological crime thriller.
DC’s I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus #1 arrives a month before Christmas on Nov. 26, giving you plenty of time to unwrap and enjoy the holiday stories in it by Ashley Allen, Nathan Cayanan, Steve Orlando, Jadzia Axelrod, Dave Baker, Bruno Abdias, Michael Shelfer, Riley Rossmo, Hannah Templer, Nicole Goux, Anthony Marques and more.
Finally, in the advanced solicitation bucket, Rob Justus is back with another all-ages graphic novel, this time putting the spotlight on Supergirl and Krypto. Supergirl’s Zoo-per Heroes: Krypto’s Big Break involves the super pup accidentally launching the Justice League’s costumes into space, and they end up radiated by cosmic energy and giving super powers to the zoo animals they eventually land on. Can Supergirl and Krypto “beat the fastest sloth on earth, a wonder seal, the bat rhino and a super-lion while keeping Krypto from getting caught by an ambitious zookeeper?” You’ll have to read it to find out when it comes out next February.