DC Comics is making its presence known at New York Comic Con with a slate of panels across the weekend. Kicking it off Thursday, DC Executive Editor Chris Conroy moderated a Vertigo and Black Label panel. Four groups of panelists came up one after the other to chat with Conroy about titles like 100 Bullets: The US of Anger and Fanatic, and to give the audience exclusive first looks at titles yet to be released.
The first group of panelists covered DC Black Label with Conroy hosting creators Jason Aaron, Kami Garcia, Terry Dodson, Amy Reeder and Denys Cowan. HBO’s Lanterns is hot off its season finale, and Aaron is keeping the power ring charged with Green Lantern: The Dying of the Light, a gritty five-issue story with artist Tirso, centered on a beleaguered Hal Jordan who’s spent two decades imprisoned before narrowly escaping. He’s on a quest to prove his innocence to the world, but is hampered by a cruddy power ring that can only generate the simplest constructs — think “brass knuckles,” to quote Aaron. The mini is slated for release in March 2027.
Fans of Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity will be happy to hear that Garcia has announced a sequel called Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent. Garcia assured fans of the original that the sequel will be a satisfying continuation, while also promising new fans an experience they can hop right into. Garcia is collaborating with artists Mico Suayan, Cat Staggs and Jason Badower and bragged on their behalf about their ability to bring her writing to life. Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent is set to release in February 2027.
Conroy then took the opportunity, along with Dodson, Reeder and Cowan, to announce DC Black Label Presents, an anthology title centered on stories about various characters across the DC universe. Don’t worry, though! Fans with Batman fatigue can rest easy, as none of the stories (as stressed by Conroy) feature the caped crusader. Instead, Dodson is writing and penciling a Zatanna story with his wife, Rachel Dodson, doing inks; Amy Reeder is writing and drawing a Poison Ivy story, and Denys Cowan, with Ho Che Anderson, is taking on OMAC.
DC Black Label Presents, in its initial stories, wants to allow artists to write the characters. Creators involved spoke about the strange-ish nature of going from artist to writer/artist, the blank-check feeling of the project, and how they were able to finally see the ideas that have long lived in their heads come to life.
The next squadron of panelists talked about what’s current and what’s to come for DC Vertigo. Despite not being able to attend in person, Adam Smith and Bob Quinn made a surprise video appearance to announce their upcoming book, Hide Nor Hair. It’s set in 1950s Hollywood and follows a costume designer as she discovers that the masks she makes for films have magically come to life. Attendees of the panel got a free ashcan of the series featuring original art and a preview of the story to come. Hide Nor Hair is set for release in January.
Creators like Deniz Camp, Stipan Morian and Ram V then took the time to chat about their current Vertigo projects, Bleeding Hearts and Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy, respectively. Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso spoke about 100 Bullets: The US of Anger, their sequel series to the original 100 Bullets run. However, fans of that book may be outraged or overjoyed, depending on their viewpoint, to learn that it will be ending at issue #7 to make room for a new run, 100 Bullets: Enemigos, which is set to release sometime in late 2027.
After that, Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell announced The Crying Doll, set to release in spring 2027. The book takes place in the queer community of New York City in the 1980s in a mystery thriller about a girl who will do anything it takes to protect her best friend, even if that friend has dark, even incriminating, secrets.
Then suddenly, as Tamaki and Valero-O’Connell were leaving the stage, a mysterious fan with pink hair rushed up, insisting she was friends with one of the panelists. Fans in the audience were left murmuring to themselves before Conroy revealed the entire thing was a bit to announce a new Webtoon series, Dreambound by Ro Stein and Ted Brandt, a tie-in to the yet-to-be-released Fanatic by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer. Fanatic was announced last year and re-announced this year alongside Dreambound.
Fanatic centers on a woman who is obsessed with a comic book and its creator. Dreambound centers on a girl who is haunted by a prince in her dreams, before discovering her dream prince is in fact real. It also is the comic the main character of Fanatic will be reading by the in-universe character Sadie Wilson-Finley. Fanatic takes place in the “real” world, and real-world events and trends in the comics world will affect the story of Fanatic and Dreambound. Dreambound already has episodes available on Webtoon, and fans were treated to an ashcan of the book after the panel.
Vertigo ended a years-long hiatus in February, and with the current slate of ongoings and announcements, fans are sure to be excited about the future of the line, along with Black Label.
