DC Comics is launching a huge new initiative for 2023: Dawn of DC, a year long series of events spinnings out of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and DC Universe: Lazarus Planet that will include 20 new titles, new creative teams and more new and interesting things. The line-wide, multi-event narrative initiative kicks off with January’s Action Comics #1051.
Dawn of DC promises to be a jumping on point for new readers – spotlighting the classic characters, new faves and old faves that haven’t been seen in a while – both heroic and villainous. And to help you along it even has a timeline – well known icons in a swirling spacey backdrop that leads…somewhere! And what is that squiggly thing near the bottom? That can’t be good.
Among the new titles:
- Superboy, Man of Tomorrow – Kenny Porter & Jahnoy Lindsay
- Unstoppable Doom Patrol – by Dennis Culver and Chris Burnham
- Green Lantern: Hal Jordan – Mariko Tamaki, Artist TBA
- Green Lantern: John Stewart – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Artist TBA
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Guillem March, Gabriel Hardman, Dan Mora, Rob Williams and more.
- Green Arrow – Joshua Williamson Sean Izaakse
- Shazam! – Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora
- The Penguin – Tom King and artist Stefano Gaudiano
You can read all the news at the DC blog, and below but Dawn of DC definitely marks a hopeful rebound for a publisher that has been hanging tough despite the tumultuous landscape at parent company Warner Bros Discovery. Fittingly, Dawn of DC promise that “DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains Will Step out of the Shadows and Into the Light” – and you can make your own interpretations of that.
“After the near-Multiverse-ending events in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and DC Universe: Lazarus Planet, the DC Universe will be heading toward the light,” said DC publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee. “With brand-new series and story arcs from some of the top creative members in comics, Dawn of DC is one of our most ambitious initiatives ever and is a chance for us to tell bigger and bolder stories across our line.”
As a shake-up and new reader friendly starting point, Dawn of DC is reminiscent of the Relaunch Era of comics in the Teens: past initiatives like The New 52 and Marvel’s plethora of revamps. As far as we can tell, this isn’t so much the kind of seismic, universe changing, limb-removing relaunch that DC did with New 52 and Rebirth. More like going away for a bit and coming back looking “refreshed.”
Anyway let’s get to the lineup!
Superman group
(Action Comics #1051 Cover by Dan Mora, Superman #1 Cover by Jamal Campbell, Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 Cover by Rafa Sarmento)
Officially kicking off in January with the previously announced Action Comics #1051, Dawn of DC features an exciting new era for the Man of Steel. Action Comics #1051 is the start of a format change that will see three new stories included in each issue from writers Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Dan Jurgens (The Death of Superman), and Leah Williams (Amazing Mary Jane). In Superman #1 out in February, from writer Joshua Williamson (Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths) and artist Jamal Campbell (Naomi), Clark Kent is settling back into his life on Earth while iconic and new enemies erupt from the shadows to take him on. Jon Kent will also get to forge his own path and will take on the man responsible for his kidnap and torture, Ultraman, in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 by Tom Taylor (Dark Knights of Steel) and Clayton Henry (Worlds without a Justice League: Green Arrow) available at local comic shops in March.
(Unstoppable Doom Patrol #1 Cover and In-Progress Artwork by Chris Burnham)
Unstoppable Doom Patrol
Spinning directly out of Lazarus Planet, the world’s strangest superheroes are saving the world by saving its monsters! In the team’s first main line series in over a decade, the Doom Patrol returns in Unstoppable Doom Patrol by Dennis Culver (Justice League Incarnate) and Chris Burnham (Batman Incorporated), available in March.
(Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow Cover by Jahnoy Lindsay)
Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow
Clark and Jon won’t be the only Kent family members with their own series. The 2022 DC Round Robin-winning Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow by Kenny Porter (Flash: The Fastest Man Alive) and Jahnoy Lindsay (DC Power: A Celebration) will launch in April. Determined to find his place in a strange universe, Conner Kent/Superboy leaves Earth behind. But his journey of self-discovery brings him face-to-face with a group of freedom fighters who challenge not just everything Conner stands for but what it means to bear the Superman crest.
Green Lantern
Green Lantern fans will have their pick of Green Lanterns in 2023 when both Green Lantern: Hal Jordan and Green Lantern: John Stewart fly into comic book shops! Green Lantern: Hal Jordan by Mariko Tamaki (Crush & Lobo) and an artist yet to be announced will be available in April. Fan favorite Hal Jordan returns to Earth and to his blockbuster superhero action storytelling roots. Spinning out of that series and launching later in the year, Green Lantern: John Stewart is by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and an artist to be announced at a later date. The beloved John Stewart gets back to basics as the military-trained, gritty, but heroic Green Lantern.
Green Arrow
Oliver Queen has been lost since Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, and his family is determined to find him—but there are dangerous forces just as determined to keep them apart at any cost. Green Arrow by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Sean Izaakse (Thunderbolts), which launches in April, is an action-packed adventure across the DC Universe that sets the stage for major stories in 2023.
(Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 Variant Cover by Simone Di Meo)
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
A classic title returns with tales of the Dark Knight and core stories building out Dawn of DC! Coming in May, Batman: The Brave and the Bold features top writers and artists, including Tom King (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow), Mitch Gerads (Mister Miracle), Guillem March (Catwoman), Gabriel Hardman (Green Lantern: Earth One), Dan Mora (Batman/Superman: World’s Finest), Rob Williams (Suicide Squad) and more.
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths forever changed Victor Stone, and now, as Dawn of DC rises, he might just hold the secret to Earth’s future! He gets his own series, Cyborg, in May from a talent team that will be revealed at a later date.
(In progress artwork from Shazam #1 by Dan Mora)
Shazam!
The creative team behind the smash-hit Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora, is reunited once again on Shazam!, available in June. Billy Batson is back as the champion in the action-comedy comic about a boy with powers that rival Superman’s and a whole lot of growing up left to do. We’ll see Shazam hanging out at the Rock of Eternity, his secret clubhouse that can travel through space and time, as well as punching dinosaurs in the face, seeing how long he can hold his breath on the moon, and getting into wild and fun adventures with his tiger, Tawky Tawny, by his side.
The Penguin
After escaping Gotham City and his criminal past to happily retire to Metropolis, the Penguin is forced back into organized crime by the U.S. government! The feathered felon, and Gotham City, will never be the same. Spinning out of the pages of Batman, The Penguin (working title) will be available in June from writer Tom King and artist Stefano Gaudiano (The Walking Dead).
Steelworks
Just in time for his 30th anniversary, John Henry Irons must bring Metropolis into the future while trusting his niece Natasha to carry the mantle of Steel. Steelworks will be available in June from a talent team that will be revealed at a later date.
More Dawn of DC titles and plans for the second half of 2023 will be revealed at a future date.
However there is a lot more Superman preview art so here you go – what do you think? Are you going to pick up Dawn of DC? Let us know in the comments!
I’m sad if World’s Finest is ending, but if it means we’ll get a monthly Shazam! title, count me in. Geoff and his gang of last-minute fill-in artists made a mess of the previous Shazam! ongoing (was it quarterly?), but I have high hopes for Waid and Mora.
Doom Patrol with Chris Burnham sounds amazing. Is Chris able to produce that many pages a month?
And the return of Brave and the Bold is a no-brainer. Weird to think the Batman team-up book has been MIA since 1983.
“Dawn of DC promises to be a jumping on point for new readers…” As someone with boots on the ground for nearly 20 years, where are these new readers coming from? How will DC market this new initiative outside of comic book shops to drive traffic into comic book shops? Without a plan, “new readers” will likely translate to existing readers dropping titles (from DC and other publishers) to pick up these new titles. This won’t grow the readership or the industry, just cannibalize it. I hope that doesn’t happen, but history has a nasty habit of repeating itself.
Have to admit that a quick scan of the titles already announced, Only Unstoppable Doom Patrol has my interest. It’s not even the creative team, but the fact that I’ve followed these heroes since they were originally introduced way back when. Not even going to wish anyone the best of luck, since I frankly don’t care. I only pick up a couple of in continuity DC books now and I don’t see this changing that by very much.
Shrug.
Killer lineup, our store(s) will be going in big on these books. New books selling breakdown like this : DC 50% , Marvel 30% , Image, etc 20%. With these titles I could easily see DC bumping up to 60% of our sales , maybe 65%. Jim Lee has done an impressive job. So Thank You , from your friends in PA
Let’s be honest. Long-time fans have seen this with both DC & Marvel over and over. That ‘jumping on point’ is also the jumping off point for a lot of us who have been buying a particular title out of habit, rather than that we are still enjoying the book. Can’t ruin our complete run after all. As with New 52 and “Age of Heroes” (or whatever Marvel called it) we’re going to see 50% percent or more of these titles barely able to get through issue #6 before DC announces its cancellation. We can also make bets on which creative teams are going to bail within the year. Been here, done this.
The thing Steve is missing , we know the Superboy series is a mini-series. The other 8 titles announced , we don’t know yet. But these 8 books, are all titles, that should have been published all along.
My main point holds, BWG. I’m just not going to go through this again. Best to seat it out and see what happens. We all know these will be collected at some point in TBP editions. Of course, as I mentioned I’m only getting a couple of the current in-continuity DC titles, to begin with. Be easy to jump ship if this new timeline screws with the books I’m reading now.
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