Earlier today, DC Comics held a panel at Wondercon and rolled out details for the upcoming slate of comics following May's 80-page Rebirth special. And boy, are there a lot of Bat-family titles.
Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, and Dan DiDio took the stage to give details of the upcoming totally not a reboot, and in doing so confirmed the creative teams who will be handling each book.
The Batman-related titles, launching in June, are:
- Batman: Written by Tom King, Illustrated by David Finch and Mikel Janín
- Detective Comics: Written by James Tynion IV, Illustrated by Eddy Barrows
- Nightwing: Written by Tim Seeley, Illustrated by Javi Fernandez and Marcus To
- Titans: Written by Dan Abnett, Illustrated by Brett Booth
- Teen Titans: Written by Ben Percy, Illustrated by Jonboy Meyers
- Batgirl: Written by Hope Larson, Illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque
- Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Written by Julie Benson and Shawna Benson, Illustrated by Claire Roe
- All Star Batman: Written by Scott Snyder, Illustrated by John Romita, Jr., Paul Pope, Sean Gordon Murphy, Tula Lotay, and Jock
- Trinity: Written by Francis Manapul, Illustrated by Francis Manapul and Clay Mann
- Super-Sons: Written by Chris Burns and Dennis Culver, Illustrated by
Jorge Jimenez - Red Hood and the Outlaws: Written by Scott Lobdell, Illustrated by Dexter Soy
- Batman Beyond: Written by Dan Jurgens, Illustrated by Bernard Chang
- Harley Quinn: Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, Illustrated by Chad Hardin and John Timms
- Suicide Squad: Written by Rob Williams, Illustrated by Jim Lee and Philip Tan
- Justice League: Written by Bryan Hitch, Illustrated by Tony Daniel and Fernando Pasarin
- Deathstroke: Written by Christopher Priest, Illustrated by Carlo Pagulayan, Igor Vitorina and Felipe Watanebe
- JLA
That's a lot of books, and I may very well have missed a few.
Quite a few things to note here:
-Tynion's spot on 'Tec is surprising, considering Scott Snyder's name was tossed around for a bit. The book will serve as a "team-up" book with Batman and Batwoman leading Red Robin (who has a mercifully redesigned costume), Spoiler, Cassie Cain, and... Clayface.
-Speaking of Snyder, it was revealed that he signed an exclusivity contract with the publisher, and the resurrection of the All Star Batman title came as a surprise as well.
-While no creative team for it was announced, Super-Sons will focus on Damian Wayne and Jonathan Kent. Young Jonathan is the son of the Pre-Flashpoint Lois Lane and Superman (the latter of whom will headline Action Comics), whose story is being told in Superman: Lois & Clark. He just recently discovered he has super-powers, so seeing him interact with the more seasoned (and arrogant) Damian should lead to some interesting chemistry.
-Damian will also lead the team in Teen Titans, against the others' wishes. As it should be.
-Seeley's first arc on Nightwing will be titled "Better Than Batman," and the events of Grayson will lead into the series and influence Dick as he dons the mask once more.
-Batman Beyond will feature the return of Terry McGinnis.
-No mention of any digital-first books. It seems they're trying to push print issues, which is always a good thing, and the new $2.99 across the board price tag is a great start. However, those $.99 books have had some of the best DC stories in years and have allowed creators to write accessible books that aren't chained to continuity. At the very least give us some more Batman '66.
We'll keep you updated as we hear more. In the meantime, check out the gallery below and let us know what you think.
