Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s July 2026 titles. Hit the links for more info.
Action Comics will hit a big milestone in July as it reaches issue #1100 — following several months behind Detective Comics, which hit issue #1100 last year. The oversized issue will feature stories from creators from across the Superman titles, including Mark Waid, Skylar Patridge, Sophie Campbell, Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Dan Slott and more.
Her’s a look at the main cover by Ryan Sook:
DC hasn’t revealed much of anything about the story, as the solicit just says it will “honor Superman’s storied career and turn toward his thrilling future.” Given that Superman is currently MIA in the DC Universe as a result of what happened at the end of DC K.O., I do wonder what they’ll focus on here. Of course, Action has been focused recently on a young Clark Kent who gets time-displaced during the Reign of the Superboys storyline, so this could continue that story. Whatever the case, we do know the issue will have variant covers, by David Talaski, Mark Spears, Daniel Sampere, Jim Cheung and Rahzzah.
It’ll actually arrive at the end of June. But speaking of Superman’s absence from the DCU …
Superman 2026 Annual: Year One Thousand #1 comes out at the end of July, by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows and Yasmine Putri, and in it, DC will give us an idea of what Superman has been up to since getting his godlike powers in DC K.O.:
At the end of DC K.O., Superman became King Omega with the powers of a god. But after pushing Darkseid back to the Absolute World, Superman rejected the Heart of Apokolips…and went missing. Now the story of where he went can be told! The future was infected by Darkseid and his Legion—leaving a trail of death and disaster in their wake—including the Legion of Super-Heroes. Now Superman is using Time Trapper’s powers to heal the future and correct the damage that has been done. But Superman’s godlike powers are fading fast, and he may become lost at the end of time!
This one features variant covers by Mark Spears, Ariel Olivetti, Mario Foccillo and Alex Eckman-Lawn:
It’ll arrive July 29, along with the team-up you’ve been longing for …
Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson and Miguel Mendonca present Justice League: Knight Vision, a tie-in to the current Justice League Unlimited story where Batman and other members of the Justice League elected to give membership status to several of their foes — including Lex Luthor. But with Lex and company on the side of the angels, someone else decides to fill the void on the villains side, bringing an all-new foe with some sort of super-weapon for this unlikely duo to deal with.
Variant cover artists include Juan Ferreyra, Mark Spears and Javi Fernandez.
Speaking of Batman and unwanted team-ups …
Mikel Janin does the cover for the 2026 Detective Comics Annual, which is by Tom Taylor, Dave Wielgosz, Nicola Scott and Fran Mariscal. Batman has been accused of a crime he didn’t commit in a whole other galaxy, and guess which space-faring bounty hunter decided to hunt him down? After being dragged into space by the Main Man, Batman must clear his name.
Guillem March and Javier Fernandez provide variants:
Look for it on July 29.
DC’s seasonal anthologies always have fun names, and this year’s summer special follows that trend. Also on July 29 comes DC’s Hawk-Girl Summer, featuring tales from the hottest months of the year. Contributors include Meghan Fitzmartin, Andre R. Frattino, Trick Weekes, Cavan Scott, Josh Trujillo, Dacy Lim, Siobhan Chiffon, Cathy Le, Ramon Perez, Meghan Hetrick, Andrew Drilon, Ramon Perez, Rafael Loureiro, Rowan MacColl and more, creating stories featuring Hawkgirl, Catwoman, Red Hood, Grace Choi, Thunder, Shining Knight, Kid Quick, the Female Furies and more.
Guillem March did the main cover, while Lesley “Leirix” Li did the Bat-themed variant:
Jumping now to the Absolute Universe …
Here’s the cover for Absolute Batman #22. which continues the story of the Robins we’ve been hearing about:
As the Robins nest in Gotham’s backyard, and Batman faces ultimate defeat, Harley Quinn’s origin is revealed. How does Harley connect with Ark M, and how did the Robins fledge from hatchlings to birds of prey? The call of more than one predator will be answered in this issue.
Look for it on July 8.
Following the release of the Supergirl film in June, DC will release From Comic to Screen: The Art of Supergirl in July. Authored by James Field, this 224-page collection brings together concept art, production design, annotated script pages and never-before-seen materials “that illuminate the dialogue between comic and film.” It’ll feature art from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by writer Tom King, artist Bilquis Evely and colorist Matheus Lopes, which inspired the film.
Finally, looking a bit further into the future, DC will collect their halves of the recent DC/Marvel crossovers in The Cosmic Kiss Caper & Other Stories. It’ll include all the stories from Batman/Deadpool and the more recent Superman/Spider-Man, as well as the digital releases The Flash/Fantastic Four and Supergirl/Blade. Look for it on Sept. 8.