'Batman' #1 by new Ongoing Creative Team Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez to Publish in September

DC’s “Summer of Superman” Publishing Initiative Expands to Include 'Supergirl', 'Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton', a New 'Action Comics' Creative Team, and More

Today at ComicsPro, DC revealed the publisher’s continuing plans for DC’s “Summer of Superman” initiative and the start of a new era of Batman with the announcements of Supergirl in May, Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton in June, a new creative team for Action Comics in June, and a new creative team for Batman when the series renumbers back to #1 in September.
 

Supergirl

 

Supergirl #1 main cover by Sophie Campbell (L); variant cover by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau (R)
 

DC’s “Summer of Superman” publishing initiative welcomes (back) the Maiden of Might to the publisher’s roster of DC All In titles with the debut of Supergirl, an all-new DC All In series launching on May 13, written and illustrated by celebrated storyteller Sophie Campbell.

“I came up in the comics industry doing mostly graphic novels that I wrote and drew myself, so doing the same with Supergirl feels like I’m returning to my storytelling roots,” said Campbell. “My main touchstones to Kara Zor-El were the stories and the wild costumes from the 70’s, the 1984 Supergirl movie, and The CW show, which I was a huge fan of. In creating this version of Supergirl, I’ll be drawing on some of those influences as the series unfolds.”

Kara Zor-El has always been a key member of the Super-Family in Metropolis, but Campbell is taking Supergirl in a new direction among familiar surroundings, as she returns to the town of Midvale. With a new series, Supergirl also gets a new costume, designed by best-selling cover artist, Stanley “Artgerm” Lau. Supergirl’s fresh look will be spotlighted on the Supergirl #1 main cover by series writer/Campbell, a cardstock and foil variant by Artgerm, as well as variant covers by Bilquis Evely, Pablo Villalobos, Joshua Middleton and W. Scott Forbes.
 

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 main cover by Jae Lee and June Chung (L); variant cover by Dustin Nguyen (R)

DC “Summer of Superman” plan also includes a new five-issue DC All In comic book series, Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton by writer Ryan North and artist Mike Norton. Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton is set to debut on June 18, and delivers a heartfelt and moving view of humanity, good and bad, through the empathic eyes of the ultimate outsider: a poor, lost dog, who just happens to have superpowers.

“Krypto's origin has always been done at kind of a high level," said North. "The little guy starts out on Krypton, ends up on Earth, and helps Superman fight crime. The chance to really define Krypto—to show what a little lost dog would go through if he landed all alone on a strange alien world named Earth—was really enticing. And I also fell in love with the idea of treating Krypto as the actual dog he is: he doesn't talk, and we don't cheat by reading his thoughts in balloons either. Mike Norton’s art captures exactly what needs to be ‘said’ in every scene.”

Through the five issues of Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton, Krypto explores Earth in search of his family. Finding himself lost and alone on our alien world—and with strange new superpowers quickly coming in—Krypto begins traveling the strange planet he finds himself in the middle of, always on the trail of his lost friend: Kal-El, a being now better known as Superman. Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 will have a main cover by Jae Lee and a variant cover by Dustin Nguyen.
 

Action Comics

Action Comics #1087 variant cover by Skylar Patridge (L); variant cover by David Talaski (R)

Acclaimed writer Mark Waid returns to Superman this summer with artist Skylar Patridge (in her DC ongoing series debut) as the new creative team on one of DC’s flagship titles, Action Comics. Beginning with June’s Action Comics #1087, this new team also takes the series in a new direction, spotlighting Clark Kent as Superboy, in his hometown of Smallville on the Kent family farm.

"I start the book with Clark as a 15-year-old boy, learning to be a superhero for the first time,” said Waid. “What is that like, learning to use your powers at that age? What kind of challenges are you facing? Skylar and I are also bringing Smallville a little more up to date—it still has that rustic feel to it, but farms don’t look like that anymore."

This can’t-miss story, with ties to the present storylines in DC’s comic books, takes the Boy of Steel to unexpected heights as he figures out what being a hero truly means. First stop, Metropolis’s Expo of Tomorrow! Will Clark be able to blend into the crowd? Or is Superboy about to make his public debut?! Action Comics #1087 will have a main cover by Ryan Sook, plus variants by Skylar Patridge, David Talaski, and Lesley “Leirix” Le.
 

Batman

Batman #1 cover by Jorge Jiménez; interior art by Jiménez and Tomeu Morey

To close out the presentation, DC surprise-announced a new Batman #1 comic book, launching in September by the creative team of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez. Fraction delighted the comic book retailers with an in-person appearance to help make the announcement.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Batman. It was the first comic I ever read,” said Fraction. “Jorge and I have a very superhero-forward kind of take on Batman. We’ve got a new Batmobile, we’ve got a new costume, we’ve got new characters, and we’ve got a lot of old ones too—good and bad; all the stuff that makes Batman the coolest character in comics. We want to celebrate it all.”

DC’s new Batman #1 becomes only the fourth renumbering for DC’s Batman comic book series in the title’s 85-year history. Under Fraction and Jiménez, Batman will have a new blue and gray costume, a new Batmobile, and the series will usher in a new look for Gotham City.