Slugfest | ‘Masters of the Universe’ starts a ‘Revolution’

Plus: Check out news and announcements on Ghost Machine, Spider-Man, Archie Horror, Dr. Frederic Wertham and more.

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

Dark Horse has announced another miniseries tie-in to the Masters of the Universe Netflix show, which returns to the streaming platform on Jan. 25.

Masters of the Universe: Revolution is written by show producers Tim Sheridan, Rob David and Ted Biaselli, with illustrations by Daniel HDR, inking by Keith Champagne, coloring by Brad Simpson and lettering by AndWorld Design. The first issue features a variant cover by Tyler Boss:

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DC will publish YA takes on Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle this year

DC will collect ‘Young Diana’ by Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau, and publish a Blue Beetle OGN by Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo.

DC has announced two projects coming later this year aimed at the young adult market, which include a Wonder Woman collection and a new Blue Beetle graphic novel.

Up first is Wonder Woman: The Adventures of Young Diana, written by Jordie Bellaire and drawn by Paulina Ganucheau. These stories originally ran as a back-up in the regular Wonder Woman title starting 2021, and featured a look at Diana’s early life on Themyscira.

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Slugfest | Superman’s ‘House of Brainiac’ begins + more new comics coming from DC in April

Read about DC’s Free Comic Book Day plans, the 300th issue of Nightwing, DC’s Spring Breakout and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on DC’s April 2024 announcements. Hit the links for more information.

DC’s solicitations for April 2024 arrived this past week — you can find them on The Beat or on Newsarama — and I thought I’d pull out some of the highlights. There aren’t many new first issues, but there is a big Superman-themed crossover event launching, several annuals, some graphic novels and listings for three of their four Free Comic Book Day titles for this year.

So let’s begin …

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Jurgens + Perkins bring ‘The Bat-Man’ to Black Label

‘The Bat-Man: First Knight’ will kick off in March.

Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins will revisit the earliest version of Batman — The Bat-Man — in a new three-issue miniseries kicking off next year. The Bat-Man: First Knight looks at one of Batman’s earliest cases “through an acutely modern lens.”

While this is Jurgens’ first Black Label title, it isn’t the first time he’s tackled tales of the 1930s-era Batman, as he worked on Generations: Shattered, which featured that early version of the character.

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Slugfest | Martinbrough + Greene take Red Hood back to ‘The Hill’

Plus: News and announcements on Marvel’s Godzilla series, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, Ultimate Spider-Man, Sinister Sons and more.

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

Shawn Martinbrough will return to write Jason Todd again next year with Red Hood: The Hill, a miniseries that follows his work on the character’s previous series. Sanford Greene will draw the six-issue series.

Here’s how DC describes the series:

In Gotham City’s early days, The Hill was one of Gotham City’s most dangerous neighborhoods, one that required the residents to band together to keep themselves safe when the police – and sometimes even Batman – wouldn’t.

Now, as the Hill finds itself gentrifying, old habits die hard as the vigilante known only as Strike works with her team to keep the town safe—but she’s not alone. Jason Todd, one of the Hill’s newest residents, is more than happy to don the visage of Red Hood to help Strike keep his new home safe. But a new villain is emerging from the shadows. Will Red Hood, Strike and the Hill’s small militia of vigilantes be able to keep their home safe? This series features a main cover by series artist Greene, with a variant cover by Tirso Cons.

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Question everything you know about the Joker in ‘The Joker Year One’

‘Batman’ goes weekly in February as DC delves into the Joker’s past and future.

DC promises to reveal untold secrets about the origin of the Joker in an upcoming Batman story next year, titled “The Joker Year Zero.,” which will run through three weekly issues in February.

The new storyline is by writer Chip Zdarsky, artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, inker Stefano Nesi, and colorist Alejandro Sánchez, with artist Andrea Sorrentino and colorist Dave Stewart drawing a “juxtaposed” story. It’ll follow the current Batman arc, “Mindbomb,” which also features the Joker.

Here’s a look at the two different art styles, starting with Camuncoli, Nesi and Sánchez’s tribute to The Killing Joke:

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Free Comic Book Day 2024 Gold sponsors include DC, Marvel and more

Free comics featuring Spider-Man, Hellboy, Jonny Quest, Encanto and more will be available next year on May 4.

Diamond has revealed the “Gold Sponsor” comic publishers and titles for Free Comic Book Day 2024, which includes Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and more. A dozen comics from the gold sponsors will be available during next year’s event, which is scheduled for May 4.

“We’re looking forward to another great year of celebrating comic books and comic book shops!” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “This year’s lineup has a title for everyone. Whether you’re new to comics or a longtime reader, you’re sure to find a title that grabs your attention. And with the event falling on Star Wars Day this year, that adds a little extra excitement to the day!”

Interestingly, DC returns to the list for 2024, promoting an “exciting new project” that’ll be revealed at a later date. Since DC left Diamond back in 2020, they’ve participated in the event, but their books were not promoted by Diamond nor were they included on the Free Comic Book Day website.

Here’s a look at the gold sponsor titles, many of which are teasers rather than actual announcements. The extensive silver sponsor title list will be announced later this week.

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‘Dawn of DC’ continues into 2024 with ‘Suicide Squad: Dream Team,’ ‘House of Brainiac’ + more

Amanda Waller has big plans for the DCU next year.

If you were wondering if the Dawn of DC — and its snappy graphics — would continue into 2024, you are in luck. Today DC revealed a teaser for the “trinity of evil” that will hit after the big Beast World crossover that kicks off later this month.

Without further ado, here’s the new teaser image, promising something “evil” for next year:

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Slugfest | ‘Titans: Beast World’ has giant starfish and lenticular covers

Plus more news and announcements on Canto, Nomads, Batman, Blue Book, Star Wars and more.

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

DC has released a preview of the upcoming Titans: Beast World miniseries, which was announced this past summer. The crossover event will feature a main series by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis and Danny Miki, with various tie-ins throughout.

The story centers on The Necrostar, a giant space starfish that rivals Starro and who the Titans, along with the rest of the DC Universe, team up to fight. Along the way, they somehow end up being turned into animal versions of themselves. Beast Boy, in fact, will show that it takes a giant starfish to stop a giant starfish, as he transforms into a version of Starro himself.

Here’s a preview, along with a look at the main cover, which is by Ivan Reis, Danny Miki and Brad Anderson:

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DC announces a ‘Compact Comics’ graphic novel line

The new format will begin arriving in stores next summer.

DC has announced a new line of “compact” graphic novels, as they plan to re-release several titles from their backlist in a smaller format and at a lower price point.

The format, 5.5″ x 8.5″, is closer in size to the ever-popular manga format and what you might find overseas, than the current standard 6.5″ x 10″ format.

“The DC Compact Comics price and sizing is perfect for readers of prose and manga looking to pick up a new-reader-friendly storyline in a self-contained full color graphic novel,” said Anne DePies, SVP & General Manager, DC. “This 5.5″ x 8.5″ paper cut is the most widely circulated softcover book size in the U.S. and is popular among graphic novel aficionados in international markets. At $9.99, it’s a great price point for retailers to stock these classic titles. For readers, DC Compact Comics deliver a new graphic novel reading experience that fits in the palm of their hands, with no loss of readability.”

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Marvel + DC’s Black History Month anthologies will return in 2024

Look for both anthologies the week of Jan. 29.

Both Marvel and DC have announced their plans for Black History Month, which includes the return of their traditional anthologies featuring Black creators and characters.

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Spurrier, Campbell + Bellaire reunite for more Hellblazer

‘John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America’ kicks off in January.

Si Spurrier, Aaron Campbell and Jordie Bellaire’s run on John Constantine was cut short back in 2020, but as we’ve seen many times before, the rapscallion’s pretty good at cheating death. At NYCC last weekend, DC announced that the trio will team up once again for John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America, an eight-issue Black Label miniseries.

“Hellblazer is back. Between 2019 and 2021, Aaron Campbell and I chronicled John Constantine’s sly progress through London,” said writer Si Spurrier. “For 13 issues, the book dripped with heart and hate and rage—rage at the state of the world, rage at the state of our minds and lives. Those 13 issues were our poisonous love letter to the Constantines of the past—[Alan] Moore’s, [Jamie] Delano’s, [Garth] Ennis’s. It was the best work we’ve ever done. And then it stopped. On a note of death and despair, with—like all magic—a heavy price levied. And now it’s back. Because the cost doesn’t count if we don’t get to see it being paid. Because even dead things can make a difference.”

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