DC Announces Phase One Of Its Multiverse Series Reboot 'Elseworlds' At NYCC

DC Comics hit the ground running on the first day of New York Comic Con 2023 by announcing the return of one of their most beloved imprints: DC Elseworlds.

The inaugural six-series slate — described as "Phase One" by DC Executive Editor Ben Abernathy at a panel on Thursday — will feature the continuation of titles from the previous iteration of Elseworlds and contemporary titles that fit into the Elseworlds brand, as well as new series created specifically for this initiative. Behind the launch is an all-star line-up of artists and writers doing what Abernathy called their "career-best work."

Among those involved are DC veterans, like Tom Taylor ("DCeased," "Injustice"), and complete newcomers, like acclaimed fantasy author Jay Kristoff ("Empire of the Vampire"). In a press release, Abernathy stated, "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." 

Spinning out of the pages of Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri's "Dark Knights of Steel" is "Dark Knights of Steel: All Winter," an obviously brutal fantasy series heavily inspired by Norse mythology. The series boasts the talents of Tirso Cons and New York Times best-selling fantasy author Jay Kristoff. The six-issue series will follow Deathstroke, here a Viking assassin "killing for coin among a nation of ever-warring jarls" before taking on "the role of reluctant guardian" (per DC Comics).

Kristoff, who couldn't attend the panel at NYCC, wrote all six issues of the series in one sitting, which he owed to his career writing prose. His jump to the comic book medium was apparently so seamless, Taylor's response upon reading the first script was an incredulous, "Aw, screw you, man." Though Kristoff previously collaborated with Taylor on an annual issue of "Nightwing," this will be his first solo credit with DC Comics.

Taylor was equally in awe of Tirso Cons, a Spanish comic book artist whom he feels has a natural gift for the genre in question. "[Tirso] just gets fantasy," gushed Taylor to the packed hall at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. "He just gets epic scale..." He went on to compare the work Cons did on "All Winter" to the visuals from the "Lord of the Rings" series.

Another entirely original world created for the newly revived DC Elseworlds is "Green Lantern: Dark," a fantasy reimagining of the Emerald Guardian that strips away cosmic science fiction for magic and gothic horror. It will follow a new Green Lantern (who wields an actual lantern, rather than a ring) as she combats hordes of monsters on a post-apocalyptic Earth.

Penning the seven-issue series is Tate Brombal, who previously wrote the "Black Hammer" series "Barbalian: Red Planet," as well as "House of Slaughter," a spin-off of the popular Boom! Studios series "Something is Killing the Children." Brombal explained the idea's inception (which was originally for a one-shot), "Basically, we thought, 'What if we take 'Green Lantern' and do dark-fantasy?'"

Joining Brombal from "House of Slaughter" is Italian comic book artist Werther Dell'Edera (Brombal likened his work on the series to a "horror manga" during the panel). Dell'Edera recounted how when Brombal shared the idea with him in passing, he instantly felt a connection to the concept. "'I can't say that I want to do it,'" he told Brombal at the time, "'But I want you to ask me to do it.'"

Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt are set to resurrect the "DC vs. Vampires" world with a behemoth 12-issue series titled "DC vs. Vampires: World War Z." Billed as a direct sequel to the original series, "World War Z" will pick up six months after Supergirl succeeded in returning the Sun to its rightful place in the sky — though its movement still confronts humanity with another ice age.

Barbara Gordon will serve as the series' major antagonist, having risen to the status of Vampire Queen with the support of superhumans like Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Little does she know that none other than Damien Wayne — now a blood-sucker himself — is hatching a plan to usurp her throne.

Rosenberg said Thursday that there would be a Cold War between the vampires and surviving humans, one of whom is the sole Wonder Twin (in a brilliantly disgusting move, she can still use her powers via the severed thumb of her recently-blendered brother, which she wears around her neck like a crucifix). Many other familiar faces will be returning for the sequel, as well — including Batman and Green Lantern, who were previously presumed dead.