DC Comics to Relaunch Batman With New #1 Issue and New Costume

2025 is shaping up to be a monumental year for DC's Batman. Chip Zdarsky's run concludes with Batman #157, making way for Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's Hush 2 in March. Following Hush 2, a rebooted Batman #1 launches with a new writer, artist, costume, and Batmobile.

Matt Fraction (Uncanny X-Men, The Invincible Iron Man) takes the writing reins, joined by returning artist Jorge Jimenez. They've crafted a vintage-inspired blue and gray Batsuit, a departure from the classic black and gray. Fraction states, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Batman. It was the first comic I ever read…Jorge and I have a very superhero-forward kind of take on Batman. We’ve got a new Batmobile, we’ve got a new costume, we’ve got new characters, and we’ve got a lot of old ones too—good and bad; all the stuff that makes Batman the coolest character in comics. We want to celebrate it all.” Batman #1 arrives in September 2025.

DC also unveiled plans for its Superman titles. Supergirl gets a new series and costume (designed by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau), written and drawn by Sophie Campbell (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). The series returns Kara to Midvale. Campbell comments, “I came up in the comics industry doing mostly graphic novels that I wrote and drew myself, so doing the same with Supergirl feels like I’m returning to my storytelling roots…My main touchstones to Kara Zor-El were the stories and the wild costumes from the 70’s, the 1984 Supergirl movie, and The CW show, which I was a huge fan of. In creating this version of Supergirl, I’ll be drawing on some of those influences as the series unfolds.” Supergirl #1 releases May 14th.

Action Comics welcomes Mark Waid (Justice League Unlimited) and artist Skylar Patridge, focusing on Clark Kent's teenage years in Smallville. Waid explains, "I start the book with Clark as a 15-year-old boy, learning to be a superhero for the first time…What is that like, learning to use your powers at that age? What kind of challenges are you facing? Skylar and I are also bringing Smallville a little more up to date—it still has that rustic feel to it, but farms don’t look like that anymore." Their run begins with Action Comics #1087 in June.

Krypto gets his own five-issue miniseries, Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton, as part of the DC All In initiative. Written by Ryan North (Fantastic Four) and drawn by Mike Norton (Revival), it delves deeper into Krypto's origin story. North shares, “Krypto's origin has always been done at kind of a high level…The chance to really define Krypto—to show what a little lost dog would go through if he landed all alone on a strange alien world named Earth—was really enticing. And I also fell in love with the idea of treating Krypto as the actual dog he is: he doesn't talk, and we don't cheat by reading his thoughts in balloons either. Mike Norton’s art captures exactly what needs to be ‘said’ in every scene.” Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #1 launches June 18th.

ComicsPro also revealed Marvel's summer relaunch of Captain America, written by Zdarsky and drawn by Valerio Schiti, and a sneak peek at Godzilla's new interconnected comic book universe.