DC Is Finally Bringing Back Its Elseworld Comics
Batman Gotham by Gaslight Kryptonian Age key art
DC’s Elseworlds comics have always been popular among fans, offering a glimpse at familiar faces in strange new universes and contexts. The Elseworld imprint has come and gone over the years, occasionally getting revived but often not for very long. Now, DC is bringing it back in a big way.
DC has announced a brand-new slate of Elseworlds comics at New York Comic-Con, with six new series set to launch in 2024 showing alternate reality stories. Excitingly, it includes a sequel series to the very first proto-Elseworlds comic from 1989, Gotham by Gaslight, which has become a bit of a fan favorite in the years since.
Here are the six new Elseworlds series set to debut in 2024:
Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age
DC
The sequel to one of the greatest DC comics of all time, Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age will expand on its predecessor by bringing in a host of 19th-century versions of various heroes to form a Justice League. We don’t know which heroes are set to make an appearance, but given there’s a big focus on Kryptonians, we can probably expect a ye olde Superman.
Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age will run for 12 issues.
Batman the Barbarian
DC
DC describes Batman the Barbarian as a “brutal and remarkable retelling of Batman’s Origin set against a rugged, medieval Earth.” That sounds pretty cool, and the key art for it certainly delivers on that premise, with an armored-up barbarian Batman wielding a sword while wearing a very goofy fur hat.
Batman the Barbarian will run for six issues.
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter
DC
This actually sounds like one of the more interesting of the newly announced series, as it’s inspired by Norse mythology and features Deathstroke as a “reluctant guardian.” It’s set in the world of Tom Taylor’s Dark Knights of Steel, as the name suggests, and has Deathstroke fighting to end an icy curse that’s destroying his land.
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter will run for six issues.
Green Lantern: Dark
DC
As a Green Lantern megafan, I absolutely cannot tell you how excited I am for this new series. Just read this full description from DC and tell me you aren’t interested:
Green Lantern Dark reimagines the DC Universe as a dark fantasy wasteland where monsters overrun a post-apocalyptic earth. The battle between good and evil ended long ago.
Now, darkness prevails as humanity struggles to survive on a corrupted planet. Only one hero remains, the one who wields the green flame that can return light to a dark world — The Green Lantern. But she’s been missing for years, and, on the isolated island of New England, the horrors only get worse by the night.
Green Lantern: Dark will run for seven issues, but I sincerely hope it lasts forever.
Batman: Nightfire
DC
Created by twins Seth and Clay Mann, Batman: Nightfire is said to be a “mind-expanding mystery” which has Batman traveling to the past to stop a devastating tragedy. We don’t have a lot of details about this one, but Clay Mann’s work is always utterly fantastic so we expect the same to be true here.
Batman: Nightfire will run for six issues
DC vs. Vampires: World War V
DC
Honestly, when I saw this artwork I laughed a lot, but the premise sounds cool as heck. DC vs. Vampires was a great story, and this sequel series has it all: Barbara Gordon as a vampire queen, a vampire-slaying nun, an all-out war between good and evil. Honestly, the artwork is all you really need to get on board.
DC vs. Vampires: World War V will run for 12 issues.