DC Announces Phase One Of Its Multiverse Series Reboot 'Elseworlds' At NYCC

DC Comics hit the ground running on the first day of New York Comic Con 2023 by announcing the return of one of their most beloved imprints: DC Elseworlds.

The inaugural six-series slate — described as "Phase One" by DC Executive Editor Ben Abernathy at a panel on Thursday — will feature the continuation of titles from the previous iteration of Elseworlds and contemporary titles that fit into the Elseworlds brand, as well as new series created specifically for this initiative. Behind the launch is an all-star line-up of artists and writers doing what Abernathy called their "career-best work."

Among those involved are DC veterans, like Tom Taylor ("DCeased," "Injustice"), and complete newcomers, like acclaimed fantasy author Jay Kristoff ("Empire of the Vampire"). In a press release, Abernathy stated, "Out-of-continuity stories have always been a pillar of DC publishing, granting creators the ability to explore all the wild corners of the DC Universe. We're excited to bring a whole new slate of titles under the ELSEWORLDS banner in 2024, combining some all-new titles from top storytellers, as well as sequels from the current DC line that fit that same out-of-continuity aesthetic." 

For 12 issues, writer Andy Diggle ("Green Arrow," "The Losers") and artist Leandro Fernández ("The Old Guard") will return to the world of "Gotham by Gaslight," originally created in 1989 by Bryan Augustyn and Mike Mignola. This time, however, the story will have a much wider scope, extending beyond the Gotham city limits to explore reimagined DC Comics environments — as well as the iconic characters that inhabit them.

Though Diggle was not in attendance for the reveal, Fernández expressed enough excitement for the both of them, recalling that all he needed was one line of the proposal from DC to be interested in the series. He went on to say that "The Kryptonian Age" will explore historical locations and events while expressing alternate iterations of DC characters through different cultures.

"Obviously, Batman is a part of it," teased Ben Abernathy as he moderated Thursday's panel. "But we'll start to see the larger world because we'll... explore what amounts to the 'Justice League' characters, so we'll see what's going on in Kansas in the late 19th-century, or... this version of [the Amazons]." In the aforementioned press release, DC explained that these heroes will unite to form a "19th-century Justice League," as they uncover their world's "secret Kryptonian history."

Spinning out of the pages of Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri's "Dark Knights of Steel" is "Dark Knights of Steel: All Winter," an obviously brutal fantasy series heavily inspired by Norse mythology. The series boasts the talents of Tirso Cons and New York Times best-selling fantasy author Jay Kristoff. The six-issue series will follow Deathstroke, here a Viking assassin "killing for coin among a nation of ever-warring jarls" before taking on "the role of reluctant guardian" (per DC Comics).

Kristoff, who couldn't attend the panel at NYCC, wrote all six issues of the series in one sitting, which he owed to his career writing prose. His jump to the comic book medium was apparently so seamless, Taylor's response upon reading the first script was an incredulous, "Aw, screw you, man." Though Kristoff previously collaborated with Taylor on an annual issue of "Nightwing," this will be his first solo credit with DC Comics.

Taylor was equally in awe of Tirso Cons, a Spanish comic book artist whom he feels has a natural gift for the genre in question. "[Tirso] just gets fantasy," gushed Taylor to the packed hall at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. "He just gets epic scale..." He went on to compare the work Cons did on "All Winter" to the visuals from the "Lord of the Rings" series.

The first wholly original series to be announced, "Batman the Barbarian" is a six-issue series that will be written and drawn by 2023 Eisner award-winning comic book artist Greg Smallwood ("The Human Target"). DC states that the series will be "a brutal and remarkable retelling of Batman's origin set against a rugged, medieval Earth."

"When I asked [Smallwood] what he wanted to do after 'The Human Target,'" Ben Abernathy recalled, "He was like, 'I wanna do some book like 'Batman the Barbarian'... A brutal, ancient retelling of the mythology of 'Batman.'" Abernathy compared it fondly to the tone of the story to the 2022 historical thriller "The Northman."

"Greg is a phenomenal storyteller," Abernathy said, before going on to call "Batman the Barbarian" "mind-blowing." Unfortunately, not much is known about the series' plot, as Smallwood couldn't attend the NYCC panel — though, based on the art released by DC, it looks to be the most ferocious take on the Dark Knight that we've seen yet.

Another entirely original world created for the newly revived DC Elseworlds is "Green Lantern: Dark," a fantasy reimagining of the Emerald Guardian that strips away cosmic science fiction for magic and gothic horror. It will follow a new Green Lantern (who wields an actual lantern, rather than a ring) as she combats hordes of monsters on a post-apocalyptic Earth.

Penning the seven-issue series is Tate Brombal, who previously wrote the "Black Hammer" series "Barbalian: Red Planet," as well as "House of Slaughter," a spin-off of the popular Boom! Studios series "Something is Killing the Children." Brombal explained the idea's inception (which was originally for a one-shot), "Basically, we thought, 'What if we take 'Green Lantern' and do dark-fantasy?'"

Joining Brombal from "House of Slaughter" is Italian comic book artist Werther Dell'Edera (Brombal likened his work on the series to a "horror manga" during the panel). Dell'Edera recounted how when Brombal shared the idea with him in passing, he instantly felt a connection to the concept. "'I can't say that I want to do it,'" he told Brombal at the time, "'But I want you to ask me to do it.'"

After making waves with his work on Tom King's "Batman/Catwoman" series, Clay Mann is teaming up with his brother Seth Mann to deliver a mystery focused on the Caped Crusader in the six-issue series "Batman: Knightfire." The story, which seemingly unearths an uglier side of Batman's psyche, will explore themes of "obligation and the ultimate burden that promises to set the Batman world ablaze." (Per DC Comics).

At the panel, the brothers — professionally known as "The Mann Boyz" — were relatively tight-lipped about what the series had in store for fans, expressing that they found it difficult to allow more than one image of "Knightfire" to be seen at NYCC presumably for fear of spoiling the narrative. "It's not hyperbole to say it's not a Batman you've ever seen," Clay said.

When asked by Ben Abernathy what his goals for returning to Batman were, Clay joked, "I just wanted to do the opposite of what Tom King does." Once the laughter died down, he admitted that his ambitions for creating "Knightfire" were simple: "I just want to draw cool stuff and work with my brother."

Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt are set to resurrect the "DC vs. Vampires" world with a behemoth 12-issue series titled "DC vs. Vampires: World War Z." Billed as a direct sequel to the original series, "World War Z" will pick up six months after Supergirl succeeded in returning the Sun to its rightful place in the sky — though its movement still confronts humanity with another ice age.

Barbara Gordon will serve as the series' major antagonist, having risen to the status of Vampire Queen with the support of superhumans like Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Little does she know that none other than Damien Wayne — now a blood-sucker himself — is hatching a plan to usurp her throne.

Rosenberg said Thursday that there would be a Cold War between the vampires and surviving humans, one of whom is the sole Wonder Twin (in a brilliantly disgusting move, she can still use her powers via the severed thumb of her recently-blendered brother, which she wears around her neck like a crucifix). Many other familiar faces will be returning for the sequel, as well — including Batman and Green Lantern, who were previously presumed dead.

Of course, the biggest surprise of the panel came in the reveal of a direct sequel to Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri's "Dark Knights of Steel." Until the very end of the event, it appeared as though Taylor had only been in attendance as a sort of godfather for the new era of DC Elseworlds, having been responsible for some of the most popular alternate universe titles created in the last decade.

Taylor's "DCeased" — which Ben Abernathy admitted Taylor initially almost turned down — has received critical acclaim from the comic book community at large, not to mention several spin-offs and sequels (and even a theme park attraction at Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia). His fantasy epic "Dark Knights of Steel" also seemingly influenced much of Elseworld's first slate, given that more than half of the titles are in some way related to the fantasy genre.

Taylor shared no details about what he had planned for "Dark Knights of Steel II," though the uncontainable smile on his face revealed that he relished his return to this world. As the never-before-seen title was displayed on the large screens in the hall, he could only shake his head and muse passionately, "I'm so happy."

"Dark Knights of Steel II" and the rest of the new DC Elseworlds slate are set to begin hitting comic book stores in 2024.