DC goes back to school in Saved by the Belle Reve preview
The anthology-style one-shot hits shelves in August
DC is going back to school this August 30 with a new 80-page anthology one-shot featuring several of its youngest teams, which takes its title from cult favorite '90s teen sitcom Saved by the Bell - but with a Suicide Squad pun.
Saved by the Belle Reve #1 will include eight stories about fan-favorite characters and teams: Gotham Academy, the Super-Sons (Damian Wayne and Jon Kent), and Tiny Titans, as well as Task Force X, Green Arrow and Speedy, Black Lightning, and even young Jean-Paul Valley.
There's also a story 'A Night Off' where Nightwing and Batgirl go to prom by two new-to-DC creators, Andrew Aydin and Nelson Dániel, who join a roster of seasoned DC talent.
Saved by the Belle Reve #1 reunites the original Gotham Academy creative team – Becky Cloonan, Brendan Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl and Msassyk in a story called 'Sophomore Year.'
"With Olive Silverlock M.I.A. and Mia 'Maps' Mizoguchi entering her sophomore year, what hijinks can DC's Jr. Detective Club get into?" reads DC'd description.
Tiny Titans creators Art Baltazar and Franco also reunite in a story called 'Piece Making.'
The Super-Sons story 'Back to School' will be written by Peter Tomasi, who penned their original adventures, and illustrated by Max Raynor. Tim Seeley and Scott Kolins team up for the Task Force X story 'High School Lows' in which The Suicide Squad is sent to an international prep school to protect a dignitary's son, while Dave Wielgosz and Mike Norton tackle Green Arrow and Speedy in 'Earn It Back.'
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The list goes on. Brandon Thomas and Craig Cermak are credited for Saved by the Belle Reve's Black Lightning story 'This Is Why,' and upcoming Sword of Azrael team Dan Watters and Juan Ferreyra explore young Jean-Paul Valley's world in 'How Angels Are Made,' in which Jean-Paul returns to the school that made him into Azrael.
Here is a preview page from each of the eight stories:
Saved by the Belle Reve #1 features main cover art by Juni Ba and a variant cover by Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascencia.
Perhaps one day, a young team of heroes will have the same legacy as the possibly irreplaceable Justice League.
Samantha Puc (she/they) is an editor at Newsarama and an avid comics fan. Their writing has been featured on Refinery29, Bitch Media, them., The Beat, The Mary Sue, and elsewhere. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction at The New School.