The Dawn of DC relaunch is about to include a beloved team — but with a bit of a twist. On Thursday, during DC’s Gotham City panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, it was announced that a new The Outsiders series will be launching in November of 2023. The twelve-issue series will be written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, who have worked with DC on titles like Green Arrow and Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic, with art from Robert Carey. As the new covers for The Outsiders #1 reveal, the team will be led by Kate Kane / Batwoman and Luke Fox, both of whom become disillusioned with crimefighting in Gotham in the aftermath of the forthcoming Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War event. Instead, the duo will begin operating as “super-archeologists” who look into the history of the DC Universe.
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“DC has had so many crisises, but that is universes that have fallen apart,” Kelly said during the panel. “But what could have survived? What could have fallen in the cracks?”
Who Are DC’s The Outsiders?
Created by Mike Barr and Jim Aparo in The Brave and the Bold #200, The Outsiders are formed out of Batman’s efforts to do more grounded, black-ops superhero missions than the cosmic fare of the Justice League. The team became a home for a number of new or lesser-known DC characters, including Black Lightning, Katana, Halo, and Metamorpho.
The Outsiders have had multiple comic iterations in the years that have followed, including the most recent Batman and the Outsiders, which was canceled in late 2018.
What Is The Gotham War About?
A coordinated effort in Gotham City has led to a reduction in violent crime, but at what cost? Villains scatter as their lives begin to crumble under a new regime. And as Batman recovers from his epic battle through the Multiverse and the horrors of Knight Terrors, one name runs through his mind. One name at the heart of this new, safer Gotham: Catwoman. A conflict that’s been brewing for well over a year finally hits the streets, and it will fracture the Bat-Family as war erupts! From bestselling writers Chip Zdarsky and Tini Howard and artists Mike Hawthorne and Adriano Di Benedetto comes the opening shot of the Gotham War in Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Battle Lines #1, available at comic shops on August 29!
“From the moment Tini and I started working on these titles, we realized we had a huge opportunity to build toward something that would shake up the power structure of Gotham City,” Batman writer Chip Zdarsky said in a statement. “The Gotham War is just that: relationships explode, relationships are formed, and it all leads to massive changes! Being able to take these kinds of big swings together has been extremely exciting.”
“Comics thrive on team-ups. Whether it’s a team of creators or a heroic partnership, all of my favorite stories are about two strong personalities and the space between them,” Catwoman writer Tini Howard echoed. “On the page, we’ve got one of comics’ greatest love stories: the world’s greatest detective and the world’s greatest criminal. And they both love Gotham City. But the course of true love never did run smooth.”
What do you think of DC relaunching The Outsiders? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
The Outsiders #1 is set to be released on November 14th wherever comics are sold.
