As announced at NYCC today, a new line up of Elseworlds comics is on the way from DC with Batman and Green Lantern getting new out-of-continuity tales in 2024. Dark Knights of Steel and DC vs. Vampires are also set to get sequels.
The Elseworlds line started back in 1991 with Batman: Holy Terror. The label publishes stories about iconic DC heroes outside the constraints of regular continuity - hence titles like Superman: Red Son, which imagined what it would be like if Kal-El landed in the Soviet Union, rather than Kansas.
"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," said DC executive editor Ben Abernathy. "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."
The six new titles are as follows:
Gotham By Gaslight: The Kryptonian Age
Andy Diggle and Leandro Fernandez write and draw this 12-issue sequel to the famous 1989 one-shot. According to DC, the new series "expands the mysterious and gothic world created by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola beyond the confines of Gotham City, introducing DC's greatest heroes as they come together for the first time to form a 19th-century Justice League. As they unite against the greatest threat the world has ever known, they will learn their world's secret Kryptonian history."
Batman the Barbarian
The Human Target artist Greg Smallwood both writes and draws this six-issue miniseries, described as a "brutal and remarkable retelling of Batman's origin set against a rugged, medieval Earth."
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter
This six-issue fantasy series by Jay Kristoff and Tirso Cons is inspired by Norse mythology and is set in the same world as Tom Taylor's Dark Knights of Steel.
DC said: "The legendary assassin Deathstroke stalks a frozen wasteland, killing for coin among a nation of ever-warring jarls. But when our murderer for hire finds himself cast in the role of reluctant guardian, will he fight to end the icy curse destroying his land, or be consumed by the sins of his own dark past?"
Green Lantern Dark
Green Lantern Dark, by Tate Brombal and Werther Dell'Edera, reimagines the sci-fi series as a dark fantasy saga set on 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."
Batman: Nightfire
The six-issue Batman: Nightfire is written and drawn by the twin brother team of Seth and Clay Mann. Nightfire is described as "a mind-expanding mystery, beautifully counterbalanced with explosive action" that sees Bruce Wayne travel to the past to fix a devastating tragedy. But "what secrets does this Batman hold so tight that he would watch Gotham be reduced to ashes? What truths are exposed when there is nowhere left to hide?" Sounds intriguing.
DC vs. Vampires - World War V
This 12-issue series by Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt is a sequel to their DC vs. Vampires series, which ended earlier this year. "Sunlight is restored to the Earth, but was it too late? As a new Ice Age dawns, humanity faces their most deadly threat yet - Barbara Gordon Queen of the Vampires!" Sounds good, though it's not the first DC vs. Vampires spinoff.
We'll have more information on all of these comics as soon as it's available.
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