DC Comics revives Elseworlds with six new titles (including more DC vs. Vampires and Dark Knights of Steel)
Who needs continuity when you have top-level creators reimagining classic DC icons?
It’s been more than three decades since DC launched its Elseworlds imprint, intended to feature out-of-continuity reimaginings of DC’s iconic characters. After publishing fan-favorite titles including Superman: Red Son, Batman & Dracula: Red Rain, Justice League: The Nail, and Kingdom Come, the imprint was retired in 2003… until now. As announced at New York Comic Con, 2024 will see the return of Elseworlds in a very big way.
No fewer than six new Elseworlds titles were announced at NYCC — including two sequels to recent DC out-of-continuity series, with both Dark Knights of Steel and DC vs. Vampires returning for all-new runs, and a 12-issue follow-up to the very first Elseworlds title, Gotham by Gaslight. (Technically, 1991’s Batman: Holy Terror was the first title to feature the Elseworlds logo, but 1989’s Gotham by Gaslight was retroactively declared an Elseworlds title, making it “the first.” It’s complicated.) Those titles are:
- Gotham by Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age: Extending beyond the confines of the original, the Victorian-era Batman discovers other heroes as a 19th century Justice League is formed in time to uncover the unknown Kryptonian history of Earth. 12 issues by Andy Diggle and Leandro Fernandez.
- Batman the Barbarian: Exactly what it sounds like — a reimagining of the Dark Knight as a medieval warrior, the selling point of this one might be that it’s written and drawn by The Human Target’s Greg Smallwood. 6 issues.
- Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter: Set in the world of Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri’s hit series, this new series sees Deathstroke attempting to deal with a curse that has plunged the world into a permanent winter. 6 issues by Jay Kristoff and Tirso Cons.
- Green Lantern: Dark: In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by monsters, humanity has one hope to survive — but the Green Lantern has been missing for years. 7 issues by Tate Brombal and Werther Dell’Edera.
- Batman: Nightfire: When Gotham City is destroyed in an all-encompassing blaze, Bruce Wayne decides to do something he’s never done before — prevent the tragedy by traveling back in time. Of course, things don’t go well. 6 issues by Clay and Seth Mann.
- DC vs. Vampires: World War V: Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt return for a new yearlong series that sees Barbara Gordon installed as the Queen of the Undead… which is bad news for humanity, all things considered.
Click below for a gallery of artwork from the titles.
Speaking about the return of the classic imprint, DC executive editor Ben Abernathy said, “Out-of-continuity stories have always been a pillar of DC publishing, granting creators the ability to explore all the wild corners of the DC Universe. We’re excited to bring a whole new slate of titles under the ELSEWORLDS banner in 2024, combining some all-new titles from top storytellers, as well as sequels from the current DC line that fit that same out-of-continuity aesthetic.”
More information about the new Elseworlds books will be released in the coming months, according to DC.
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