DC Comics Continues Its Impressive Run at New York Comic Con.

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Before we dive into the announcements and excitement that DC brought to New York Comic Con, let’s get this reminder out of the way. It’s a beautiful time to be a comic book fan, and this isn’t publisher versus publisher or putting anybody else down at the expense of raising up another, because when one wins, we, the fans, win, and so do the amazing creators who work hard to tell their stories.

Now, DC Comics had a huge presence in New York this past weekend, holding 4 panels for their Vertigo, Black Label, Absolute, Jim Lee, and Next Level runs. Having the chance to sit in the Vertigo/Black Label and Next Level panels, it was hard to deny the energy that filled the panel room from both the fans and the creators on the stage. Hearing cheers from the crowd with each announcement and seeing how excited each creator who had a chance to take the stage left me with goosebumps at times. It was also incredible to see how close all of these people at DC were and how much they looked out for one another and lifted each other’s projects as well. Let’s highlight some of the announcements for those who may have missed them!

DC Vertigo/Black Label:

Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan, Cat Staggs, and Jason Badower will be working on Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent. This run will feature Harley, who will be moonlighting for the GCPD in coordination to take down Joker. Jason Aaron and Tirso will be launching Green Lantern: The Dying of the Light in 2027. This story sees Hal Jordan having been locked in prison for 20 years, escaping and attempting to clear his name with a ring that barely has any power.

Other big announcements include artists getting their chance to shine as writers, as Terry and Rachel Dodson bring Zatanna to life, Ho Che Anderson and Denys Cowan work on O.M.A.C., and Amy Reeder does Poison Ivy. While Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez discuss what is to come for their thrilling zombie story Bleeding Hearts, Mariko Tamaki and Rosemay Valero-O’Connell are working on The Crying Doll, and Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso have a new 7-issue miniseries in the 100 Bullets world titled Enemigos.

DC Next Level:

Sadly, we missed the DC Absolute Panel (I know, fake fans), but we did make it to the highly anticipated DC Next Level panel! Kicking things off, we were treated to Swamp Thing: Hallowed Ground by Steve Foxe and Riccardo Federici. Swamp Thing is one of my favorite characters, and launching into this horror-style series has my anticipation for it through the roof!

Joshua Williamson and Bruno Redondo have Batman: Justice Year coming, which will take us on a journey through Batman’s first year in the Justice League. Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez cannot be stopped because they revealed that they have been working together on Batman: Shadow of the Bat! It will show the reader Batman’s struggle for humanity beginning after the Ace Chemical explosion, bringing forth martial law and new threats to Gotham City.

Stephanie Williams and Khary Randolph took to the stage, bringing Vixen, where Khary told Stephanie he would draw anything except a horse (sorry, horse fans). The duo teased a brand new villain and a new love interest from the Bat-family! There will be special guest cover artists, including David Nakayama, W. Scott Forbes, Jock, and a surprise announcement to come.

Cody Zigler took us home, discussing Static and how, despite Virgil only recently showing up, this new series will fix that. Perhaps the most important bit of information was that he made sure to mention that fans showing up for The Dakota Incident was a big driving factor behind this run being made!

We were then given a special surprise announcement from Alyssa Wong and Belen Ortego, who announced they were teaming up to bring Starfire to life in 2027! They teased the story as One Piece meeting Red Sonja and teased Blackfire coming into the mix as well. Just when we thought our minds were full and we couldn’t take another announcement without exploding in hype, Joshua Williamson told the crowd that Superboy Prime Special #1, with himself and artist Dan Mora, would also be coming to life.

As I mentioned, it feels like a truly incredible time to be a comic fan, and as a lifelong DC Comics fan myself, seeing how these creators truly felt like a close-knit family and oozing with excitement left me with so much to look forward to. If you love these announcements, we as fans can help by showing up to buy these books, and perhaps the biggest part fans play is that we can ensure we are pre-ordering them at our local comic shops as well. Pre-ordering prior to final order cutoffs allows your LCS to know how many books to order and lets the creatives and publishers know how popular a story may be and what they can expect, thus ensuring we get more of our favorite stories.

Which announcements were your favorite? Don’t forget to pre-order those books, and if you want to see more of Nerd Initiative’s New York Comic Con adventures, check out the website and YouTube channel!