No matter how you feel about this past year, there’s no arguing that it brought us plenty of exciting, entertaining, and at times, powerfully impactful new work from DC. From the end of a remarkable era of films—featuring the first big screen shared universe in DC’s history—to the dawning of a spectacular new age in comics, it was a great year to be a DC fan. So, as we say goodbye to 2023, we thought we’d share a few of our recent DC favorites. Look for a new DC.com writer’s 2023 Top Three every day this week!
2023 has been a banner year for DC, across a multitude of different media. Filmgoers worldwide were introduced to Mexican-American hero Blue Beetle in his big screen debut. The Man of Steel thrived in television both live action and animated with the continued success of Superman & Lois, as well as the debut of My Adventures with Superman. In comics, Dawn of DC revitalized classic heroes such as Green Lantern and Green Arrow with new titles honoring the legacy of their careers. It’s also this initiative that brought us some of my favorite DC projects this year. Here’s my personal top three from DC in 2023!
Batgirls #14, “The Rest is Silence”
While the Bat-Family has been appearing regularly in Ram V’s Detective Comics and Chip Zdarsky’s Batman, Batgirls by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and a variety of gifted artists has been the series to follow if you’re a fan of the modern Batgirls—Barbara Gordon (Oracle), Cassandra Cain (Orphan) and Stephanie Brown (Spoiler). The series chronicles Cass and Steph’s adventures in crimefighting, as they build their reputation as heroes of Gotham City’s suburban districts under the watchful eye of Babs—who runs point on their intel as Oracle and occasionally steps into the field to assist as Batgirl.
This year began with by far my favorite single issue of 2023, Batgirls #14. After having their bodies temporarily switched, the Batgirls are kidnapped by their respective parents, Shiva and Cluemaster. When their bodies are put back in their proper place, Cass races after Steph, determined to save her from her evil father. Batgirls #14 is notable for being an almost entirely silent issue, with hardly any written dialogue save for a letter Cass reads from Steph. The artwork by Jonathan Case is a masterclass of mood and action, with sublime linework and wonderful warm colors set across a midnight skyline.
Cass rides a motorcycle, takes on ninjas and gets a deadly assist from her violent momma Shiva in a wordless display of bloodshed that is both shocking and stunning. This issue is a showcase as to why Cassandra Cain has her fanbase, evoking her classic 2000 series by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, relying largely on artwork to display the very best of her character.
Static: Shadows of Dakota
In 2021, fans of the Milestone super-teen Static were greeted with a revamp of the character in Static: Season One by Vita Ayala, Chriscross and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. This year, the duo of Ayala and Draper-Ivey continued to place their modern stamp on the character of Virgil Hawkins in Static: Shadows of Dakota, combining elements of the Static Shock animated series with the darker aspects of the hero’s Milestone series from the late 1990s.
With those latter elements, Shadows of Dakota was able to develop into a far stronger, starker tale of corruption, oppression and heroism that’s likely to resonate with many young readers today. The miniseries features the comic book debut of Ebon, Static’s most dangerous enemy from the animated series. Armed with the all-encompassing powers of darkness and shadow, this version of Ebon is straight out of a horror movie and shows zero compunction for killing to get what he’s after, which puts him in direct conflict with Static.
Though he mockingly refers to Static as “Hero” (a term Static expresses offense at in one of my personal favorite lines), this Ebon isn’t simply a villain for the electro-charged Bang Baby to zap away. The notion of Vengeance vs. Justice is weighed, with both ideologies given their toughest workout in issue #6. If you’re a fan of Static—either the animated series or Milestone comics—or just great, relevant storytelling in general, you owe it to yourself to read Shadows of Dakota.
Titans
DC’s premiere team of former sidekicks-turned-superheroes gets a welcomed revamp in a gorgeously rendered Titans series led by DCeased, Dark Knights of Steel and Nightwing author Tom Taylor, with typically beautiful artwork by award-winning penciller Nicola Scott. Spinning out of their appearances in Taylor’s current Nightwing series, the Titans have reformed and are currently stationed in Blüdhaven, with a new Titans Tower erected at the heart of the city. While encountering threats such as Brother Blood, as well as government sanctioned rogues like Task Force X, the Titans begin to question the limits of their abilities to truly make the world a better place, with Beast Boy also firmly determined to help the environment and wildlife. Meanwhile, the body of Wally West a.k.a. the Flash is found on the floor of the Titans’ living room, yet Wally himself shows up from the past minutes later to prevent his own murder.
An ongoing series of threats and a current mystery calls for the very best of Nightwing, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, Donna Troy, Flash and Beast Boy’s abilities to resolve these conflicts and put the world on a better course of action so the needs of the planet won’t be solely reduced to punching super-villains in the face. With warm characterization and glamorous artwork, Titans is fast becoming one of DC’s premiere team comics, and one of 2023’s very best series!
Be sure to read the rest of our 2023 Top Three lists!
Donovan Morgan Grant writes about comics, graphic novels and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Twitter at @donoDMG1.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Donovan Morgan Grant and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
