DC Reveals 2023 Batman Plans

Over the weekend, DC made a bunch of announcements — some bigger than others, with names like Joe Quesada, Joshua Williamson, and Dan Jurgens drawing some pretty significant headlines .The world of Superman is going to get a new status quo with a new Superman #1, a new title for Jon Kent, and some backup stories featuring Power Girl and the Superman: Lois and Clark timeline by Jurgens and Lee Weeks. And, of course, the world of Batman is due for a bit of a refresh, too. In addition to big plans for a Riddler: Year One comic co-written by actor Paul Dano, new titles will feature Tim Drake and Batman, Incorporated.

DC’s blog broke down the Gotham City panel from New York Comic Con, giving us a chance to get caught up on some of the stuff we missed while we were so excited about the Harley Screws Up the DCU special and Joe Quesada’s variant Batman covers.

Here’s how they broke it down:

The Riddler: Year One

Paul Dano’s portrayal of The Riddler in Warner Bros. Pictures blockbuster film The Batman showed fans that the DC super-villain is a force to be reckoned with and a worthy match for The Dark Knight. Dano made a surprise appearance at today’s panel to talk to fans about the upcoming DC Black Label series, The Riddler: Year One (October 25). Abernathy and Dano talked about what made this character so compelling that his backstory should be explored, how the project came about, working on his first ever comic book series and why he hand-picked Serbian artist Stevan Subic to be the artist for this six-issue limited series. Although he was unable to attend the convention, Dano shared a special video greeting from Subic, who enthusiastically talked about his excitement at making his U.S. comic book debut on such highly anticipated series. The audience also was shown a series of covers and interiors from the first issue, including the final version of the variant cover by DC Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee.

Tim Drake: Robin

From her stories in Batman: Urban Legends and the DC PRIDE anthology, writer Meghan Fitzmartin is taking Tim Drake in a bold new direction and she’s keeping the train rolling with artist Riley Rossmo in their new series, Tim Drake: Robin. Meghan shared with fans her passion for Tim as a character, the opportunity to create a new world for him (including a move to the Gotham Marina from Wayne Manor), continuing to explore his relationship with Bernard, and how Rossmo’s art captures the spirit of her scripts so well, in the series debut (issue #1 available now), and onward with issue #2 (on sale October 14).

Face it, you can’t have a Gotham panel without some mention of Batman. Fortunately for the fans in attendance today, they got their fix, as Abernathy brought two talented Bat-storytellers to the panel, plus shared some exciting news.

Batman Incorporated

From the debuts of Ghost-Maker and Clownhunter in “Fear State,” to the “Abyss” storyline in Batman, to the Batman 2021 Annual, DC has been planting the seeds for the return of the Batmen of All Nations, and on October 11, writer Ed Brisson (Batman & Robin Eternal, Deathstroke Inc.) and artist John Timms (Superman, Superman: Son of Kal-El) are creating all new adventures featuring this international cast of super heroes in Batman Incorporated. Brisson appeared on the panel to discuss creating the series with Timms, the influence that Grant Morrison’s acclaimed series had on putting this series together and even what the costume might look like for a Batman of Nova Scotia (Brisson’s home province in Canada).      

Ram V’s and Rafael Alburquerque’s Detective Comics

Writer Ram V and artist Rafael Albuquerque are taking Batman on a trip into the weird and spooky with their “Gotham Nocturne” story in Detective Comics. Ram shared some great updates with Abernathy and the audience; using this series to add depth and context to the lore and history of Gotham City, his continued collaboration with Alburquerque, the growing role of Two-Face in the story (nope, he’s not the big bad this time) and what fans can expect in future issues. Fans in the audience also received a free copy of Detective Comics #1062, the first chapter of Ram and Rafael’s arc.   

Upcoming Batman Art From Mike Hawthorne

Superstar artist Jorge Jiménez is briefly stepping away from Batman beginning in January, but Abernathy ended the panel by ensuring that while Jorge was gone, both the series and writer Chip Zdarsky are in good hands, introducing artist Mike Hawthorne, who will fill in for Jorge on issues #131 to #134.