During the ComicsPRO Comic Industry Conference, DC dished on some of its upcoming publishing tentpoles — starting with the Absolute Power event.
According to DC, Absolute Power is this year’s “big summer blockbuster.” Following up on the Dawn of DC initiative, Absolute Power will center on a four-issue limited series by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. In the upcoming event series, Amanda Waller will “use the strategic and military might of Failsafe and the otherworldly technology of the Brainiac Queen to steal all metahuman abilities from every super hero and super-villain around the globe, a threat so dire it will take the combined efforts of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Super Heroes of the DC Universe to defeat it.”
Absolute Power #1 kickstarts the main series in July. In the meantime, DC will put out an Absolute Power special for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 4. Additionally, June sees the release of a prelude one-shot titled Absolute Power: Ground Zero. Ground Zero will “bridge the shocking conclusion of the Superman story ‘House of Brainiac’ with Amanda Waller’s machinations in Absolute Power.”
Check out Dan Mora’s cover art for 2024 Absolute Power Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1 and Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1 below:
The DC Finest graphic collection line features seminal stories
At ComicsPro, DC also announced DC Finest — a new line of graphic collections featuring some of the “most in-demand periods, genres, and characters from across DC history.” Launching in November, these large-size, character-focused paperback collections will “take full advantage of DC’s extensive backlist and appeal to casual and completist fans alike.”
The publisher further explains that “focusing on characters and storytelling genres instead of creators or prior series will give casual fans the chance to discover full continuities for their favorite characters, while offering completist readers an affordable option to build out their ultimate collection of stories based on their favorite DC Super Hero or genre.”
At this time, DC has announced five books as part of the first wave of DC Finest collections — which focus on the Flash, Batman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and Superman, respectively. Check out the full details below:
- DC Finest – The Flash: The Human Thunderbolt: Collects classic adventures of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, including 1956’s iconic Showcase #4. Also includes Silver Age Flash stories that include the first appearances of famous Flash rogues, including Captain Cold, Mirror Master, and Gorilla Grodd.
- DC Finest – Batman: Year One & Two: Collects the Dark Knight’s adventures following the game-changing crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths, including Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli and Batman: Year Two by Mike W. Barr and Todd McFarlane, plus more mid-to-late-’80s Batman stories from Barr, Max Allan Collins, Norm Breyfogle, and others.
- DC Finest – Wonder Woman: Origins & Omens: This collection spotlights fan-favorite writer Gail Simone’s run on Wonder Woman, starting with 2007’s “The Circle,” with artist Terry Dodson, plus celebrated story arcs “Ends of the Earth,” “Rise of the Olympian,” and “Warkiller,” featuring art by Aaron Lopresti.
- DC Finest – Catwoman: Life Lines: Selina Kyle steps out of Batman’s shadow and becomes a protagonist in her own right in this collection featuring Catwoman’s 1989 solo debut by Mindy Newell and J.J. Birch, Peter Milligan and Tom Grindberg’s Catwoman Defiant from 1992, and the first year of DC’s Catwoman ongoing series, by writer Jo Duffy and artist Jim Balent.
- DC Finest – Superman: The Coming of Superman: Features the Man of Steel’s earliest and most iconic adventures, starting with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s groundbreaking Action Comics #1. This collection includes Action Comics #1-25, Superman #1-5, and New York World’s Fair Comics #1.
The rebooted Elseworlds line kicks off in June
Last October, DC revealed that it would be reviving its Elseworlds imprint for a new line of out-of-continuity series launching this year. The publisher has now revealed when readers can expect to see each new title hit comic shops.
Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age by Andy Diggle and Leandro Fernandez launches in June to kick things off. Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter by Jay Kristoff and Tirso Cons launches in July, followed by DC vs. Vampires: World War V by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt in August.
Things continue in September with the debut of Batman the Barbarian by Greg Smallwood. Finally, Green Lantern Dark by Tate Brombal and Werther Dell’Edera launches in October, while Batman: Nightfire by Clay Mann gets started in November. Check out cover art for some of the new Elseworlds titles below:
DC battles Marvel in two new omnibus editions
Lastly, DC revealed the direct market-exclusive cover art for it and Marvel’s new crossover omnibus editions — which hails from Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair.
Check out the covers for DC Versus Marvel Omnibus and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus below:
The DC Versus Marvel Omnibus is due for release early this coming August. It collects Batman/Captain America #1, Batman/Daredevil #1, Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1, Batman/Spider-Man #1, Daredevil/Batman #1, DC Special Series #27, Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1, Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1, Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1, Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1, Marvel Treasury Edition #28, Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1, Silver Surfer/Superman #1, Spider-Man and Batman #1, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1, and Superman/Fantastic Four #1.
Meanwhile, DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus collects DC Versus Marvel #1-4, DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4, Unlimited Access #1-4, Bat-Thing #1, Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Bullets and Bracelets #1, Challengers of the Fantastic #1, Doctor Strangefate #1, Iron Lantern #1, Legends of the Dark Claw #1, Lobo the Duck #1, Speed Demon #1, Spider-Boy #1, Super Soldier #1, Thorion of the New Asgods #1, and X-Patrol #1 — plus more.
To cap all this off, DC has announced that — starting on Wednesday, July 3 — it will once again begin publishing its weekly comics on Wednesdays. The Burbank-based publisher has been publishing its books on Tuesdays since 2020.
