Taylor + Redondo’s final Nightwing arc begins in May

‘We wanted to show how high this flying Grayson could soar. Now, it’s time for him to fall.’

It’s been almost three years now since Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo took over Nightwing, taking an approach that wasn’t “Not Batman,” as my colleague Tom Bondurant put it when reviewing their first issue, but instead, was “Fun Batman.” I think the title has stuck to that ideal pretty well, and now we’ll see if they can stick the landing.

DC has announced that Nightwing #114 is the first of a five-part arc that will wrap up their run on the title. And thanks to the villain Heartless, it could be the end of Nightwing’s career as a superhero.

“When Bruno Redondo and I first took on this series, we felt it was the perfect time for a big Nightwing story,” Taylor said. “We wanted to show the world why Dick Grayson was an A-lister in our eyes. It was the right time for a charming, entertaining, positive force for good pushing back against corruption and greed. It was also time for Dick and Babs to get a puppy.”

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Beast Boy leads the pack in ‘Titans: Beast World’

The crossover event will spin out of Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott’s work on ‘Titans.’

When an interstellar Sea Star that rivals Starro the Conqueror threatens Earth, one hero will step up to save the world — Beast Boy.

In San Diego today, DC announced Titans: Beast World, a crossover event spinning out of Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott’s work on Titans. The event will begin in Tales of the Titans #4, which spotlights Beast Boy, and will continue through Janaury.

“I’m beyond excited to bring this DC crossover event to life starting in November with our new Titans: Beast World series, featuring art by the incomparable Ivan Reis. ‘Beast World’ will also thread the needle between the current series that I’m writing about the Titans,” said Taylor. “Friends will fall. Super Heroes will rise. And nothing will ever be the same again. Earth is about to become…Beast World.”

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DC will launch new Titans, Cyborg + Green Lantern titles

Dawn of DC continues in May.

DC has revealed three more titles and their creative teams for their 2023 Dawn of DC publishing initiative, which Publisher Jim Lee called “one of our most ambitious initiatives ever” and “a chance for us to tell bigger and bolder stories across our line” when it was announced back in November.

Today brings news of three new titles featuring some old favorites, all of which will kick off in May:

  • Titans by Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott, which is not surprising given the end of Nightwing #100 earlier this month
  • Green Lantern by Jeremy Adams and Xermánico, which will feature a main story focus on Hal Jordan, with a back-up by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Osvaldo Montos focusing on John Stewart.
  • Cyborg by Morgan Hampton, a graduate of The Milestone Initiative Talent Development Program, along with Tom Raney.

They also released an updated infographic on their plans for 2023:

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NYCC: DC plots a new course for the Family of Steel in 2023

‘Action Comics’ will expand to three stories while Clark headlines a new ‘Superman’ title and Jon stars in ‘Adventures of Superman.’

DC’s plans for Superman and the Superfamily became clearer at New York Comic Con this weekend, as the publisher revealed a new format for Action Comics, a new Superman title starring Clark Kent and an Adventures of Superman title featuring his son, Jon.

Following Action Comics #1050, a special oversized issue that comes out on the last Tuesday of 2022, the comic will see a format change with Action Comics #1051. It’ll feature three stories — one focused on Clark, one focused on Jon and one focused on Power Girl that spins out of Lazarus Planet.

“My one-word mission statement for Action Comics in 2023 is ‘Super-Family,’ and I draw inspiration from the 100-page Giant ‘Superman Family issues,” said writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson. “We’re giving everyone in the House of El their own role and personal journey while still keeping Superman at the forefront, and tying all the Super-titles together in a way that’s reminiscent of the Triangle Era. I couldn’t be more excited to be part of this new era of Action Comics, and doing it alongside such a consummate artist as Rafa Sandoval and comics titan Dan Jurgens truly makes it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

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‘Action’ #1050 kicks off a new era for Superman

Lex Luthor targets the Superfamily in this oversized anniversary issue.

With Clark Kent returning to Earth to reunite with Jon and Lois, DC has announced that Action Comics #1050 will be an oversized issue featuring the creative teams of Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Mike Perkins, Tom Taylor and Clayton Henry, and Joshua Williamson and Nick Dragotta.

The comic will come out on the last Tuesday of the year and will introduce a new era for the Superfamily, following the events of Warworld, Dark Crisis and everything else that’s been going on in the DCU over the past few years. Also, Lex Luthor seems to be retaking his rightful place as Superman’s no. 1 villain.

“Writing Action Comics for the past two years has been one of the most rewarding writing experiences I’ve ever had, and everything that’s happened in that time—Future State, Superman: Son of Kal-El, The Warworld Saga, and Kal-El Returns—has all been building to Action Comics #1050,” said Johnson. “Clark Kent has returned to Earth stronger than ever, Jon has fully come into his own, and the Superfamily is poised to make Metropolis the true City of Tomorrow. It’s no overstatement to say Action Comics #1050 is a NEW BEGINNING for Superman, and the era that’s about to begin is as bright and fun and exciting as anything fans have ever seen at DC Comics.”

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Maines + Hickman team for ‘Dreamer’ graphic novel

The character from The CW’s Supergirl will be written by the actress who portrayed her in an upcoming graphic novel.

DC confirmed on Twitter plans for Dreamer, the character first introduced on The CW’s Supergirl and played by trans actress Nicole Maines, to appear in her own graphic novel. Rye Hickman will provide the art.

Maines revealed the project to the website Them. The character previously appeared in last year’s DC Pride special and will appear in an upcoming issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El, which Maines will co-write with Tom Taylor and featuring art by Clayton Henry.

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What Are You Reading? | World’s Finest, Shadow War Zone, Grim and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has been reading lately.

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, our look at what the Smash Pages crew has been checking off their “to read” list lately. Today’s edition includes thoughts on Batman: Killing Time and a new Shaolin Cowboy miniseries coming this week.

Let us know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments or on social media.

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Taylor + Hairsine pit DC’s heroes against an undead Darkseid in ‘DCeased: War of the Undead Gods’

The finale of the ‘DCeased’ saga will rise in August.

Writer Tom Taylor and artist Trevor Hairsine will reunite one more time for the final chapter in the DCeased storyline — DCeased: War of the Undead Gods.

The eight-issue monthly limited series will take the action into the cosmos, as the Anti-Life Equation spreads among the stars and the surviving heroes from Earth prepare to battle a reborn, undead Darkseid — who has also infected the New Gods. Taylor and Hairsine talk about the new series in a launch trailer:

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Batman villains steal the spotlight in ‘One Bad Day’ one-shots

Tom King, Mitch Gerads, G. Willow Wilson, Jamie McKelvie and more tell new stories about Riddler, Catwoman, Bane and more.

DC Comics spent the day on social media revealing a series of eight one-shots starring Batman’s villains by a variety of comics’ finest.

The 64-page one-shots will feature The Riddler, Two-Face, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Bane, Clayface and Ra’s al Ghul, by the likes of Tom King, Mitch Gerads, John Ridley and more. They’ll be released monthly starting in August.

Here’s a rundown of who is doing what, along with cover art for six of the projects:

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DC reveals Jonathan Kent is bisexual

The new Superman will share a kiss with another man in an issue coming out next month.

According to the New York Times and IGN, Jonathan Kent, the son of Superman who recently took over for his dad, is bisexual. He and Jay Nakamua will share a kiss in an issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El being published next month.

“The idea of replacing Clark Kent with another straight white savior felt like a missed opportunity,” writer Tom Taylor told the New York Times. He said that a “new Superman had to have new fights — real world problems — that he could stand up to as one of the most powerful people in the world.”

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Taylor + Putri bend the knee for ‘Dark Knights of Steel’

The 12-issue series from DC re-imagines the DC heroes in a medieval setting.

Tom Taylor has spent a lot of time in alternate realities, from DCeased to the Injustice titles to Marvel’s upcoming Dark Ages. Now he and artist Yasmine Putri will draw swords, literally, in Dark Knights of Steel.

The new DC maxi-series arrives in November, introducing a world where a certain spaceship carrying a certain Kryptonian baby landed in a medieval world.

“Combining two of my favorite things, DC superheroes and high fantasy, is my absolute happy place,” Taylor said on Twitter. “I grew up reading Lord of the Rings alongside Superman. Terry Pratchett alongside Garth Ennis. Robin Hobb and Mark Waid. Dragonlance and Justice League…”

The 12-issue title will feature new origins for Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, as well as Black Lightning, Harley Quinn, John Constantine and more.

“This is for the fans of Game of Thrones and Critical Role,” Taylor said. “This is for the kids who took dice to school, who chose their own adventure, and dreamed of flying in a cape. This… is Dark Knights of Steel.”

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‘The Dark Ages’ by Taylor + Coello shines in September

The six-issue miniseries will feature the Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man and more.

After being teased in one of Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day titles last year, The Dark Ages miniseries by Tom Taylor and Iban Coello will see the light of day in September.

The six-issue series will feature the Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Watcher and more, as they fail to stop a huge threat to the Marvel Universe.

“I’m excited to team up with the brilliant Iban Coello on one of the most epic stories I’ve ever been involved in,” Taylor told Marvel.com. “Marvel’s Dark Ages is a story unlike any we’ve told before. And it all begins with the shocking revelation of what the Watcher has been watching for. A danger older than the Earth threatens everything. And for once, the heroes who have saved the planet time and again find themselves almost completely powerless in the face of it. X-Men and Avengers will assemble. Spider-people and the Fantastic Four will come together. Heroes for Hire will fight alongside Champions. But none of it will be enough. The lights are about to go out…forever.”

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