DC came to New York Comic Con 2026 with five publishing panels and zero DC Studios news. The comics side more than made up for it: a new Absolute event, a Starfire ongoing, a third round of Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong and the first look at the Absolute Batman cartoon. Here’s the full list, sorted by what was new at the show and what DC had already told us.
A sourcing note: as of Friday, Oct. 16, DC hasn’t published a post-show wrap-up on dc.com, so the announcements below are confirmed through panel reports from Comics Beat, AIPT, Bleeding Cool and Gizmodo, linked inline. We’ll swap in official listings as DC posts them.
Absolute Universe panel (Friday, Oct. 9)
Absolute Justice — NEW
The big one. Absolute Justice is a five-issue event miniseries from Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra launching in April 2027, with Absolute Martian Manhunter as the connective tissue pulling the line’s heroes together. DC showed a trailer in the room that frames this universe’s Justice League as something to be afraid of, and told attendees there won’t be tie-in crossover issues. Reports: Comics Beat, Gizmodo. We covered the room-side reaction in our Friday comics report.
Absolute Batman #25–26 — NEW details
Scott Snyder described issue #25 as the moment that “spins the series,” with Barbara Gordon stepping up as the Bat. Issue #26 arrives in January with guest artist Cliff Chiang before Nick Dragotta returns in February, per Comics Beat and AIPT. The book also picked up Book of the Year at the Harvey Awards the next night, which we noted in the Day 3 roundup.
Absolute Superman and Absolute Wonder Woman — NEW story teases
Aaron said Absolute Superman heads to space after his own #25. On Absolute Wonder Woman, artist Hayden Sherman revealed the design for the Absolute Silver Swan and teased an Absolute Cheetah, describing the Swan with “a ballet quality, a theatrical quality” (Comics Beat).
AIPT’s panel report also lists an Absolute Black Canary one-shot, an Absolute Evil one-shot, Absolute Catwoman by Che Grayson and Bengal, Rafa Sandoval’s next Absolute Green Arrow arc and Al Ewing confirming Kyle Rayner for Absolute Green Lantern. We’ve only seen those in one report so far, so treat them as pending DC’s confirmation.
Next Level & Beyond panel (Saturday, Oct. 10)
Starfire — NEW
Alyssa Wong and Belén Ortega are launching a Starfire series in April 2027, which Wong pitched as “Red Sonja meets One Piece.” That is a sentence we would like tattooed somewhere. Report: Comics Beat.
Superboy-Prime Special #1 — NEW
Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora closed the panel with a Superboy-Prime Special, no date yet (Comics Beat). Williamson and Bruno Redondo’s six-issue Batman: Justice Year also got a first look at the same panel.
Swamp Thing: Hallowed Ground — NEW
Steve Foxe and Riccardo Federici take Swamp Thing out for a 2027 series, per the same Comics Beat deep dive.
Shadow of the Bat, Vixen, Static — PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
These three Next Level titles were announced at San Diego back in July (ICv2, July 24; creative teams July 28): Shadow of the Bat from Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez, Vixen from Stephanie Williams and Khary Randolph, and Static from Cody Ziglar. NYCC added preview pages and covers, not new titles. Likewise, Walsh’s The Demon and Jonah Hex was an SDCC announcement that launched Oct. 7, so Saturday was a victory lap.
Ongoing-title teases
Per Comics Beat’s deep dive: Matt Fraction’s Batman has Bruce Wayne publicly “assassinated” so he can go undercover as Matches Malone, with new books spinning out of that story; Superman is heading into a “Nightshift” arc with Marilyn Moonlight; Legion of Super-Heroes adds Timber Wolf and Kid Quantum; and Jamal Campbell is on Zatanna.
Vertigo + Black Label panel (Thursday, Oct. 8)
Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent — BACK FROM THE DEAD
Kami Garcia’s four-issue Black Label miniseries, with art from Mico Suayan, Jason Badower and Cat Staggs, was first solicited for 2024 and then had its orders cancelled. It’s now set for 2027, per Bleeding Cool. Garcia framed it as a story about “how thin the line is between the two.”
Hide Nor Hair — NEW
Adam Smith and Bob Quinn’s new Vertigo series follows a noir-era Hollywood makeup artist whose masks come alive. No date yet; attendees got a free ashcan (Bleeding Cool).
Jim Lee & Friends (Saturday, Oct. 10)
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong Vol. 3 — NEW
Jim Lee, with Legendary and Toho International reps on hand, announced a third volume for spring 2027. The hook this time: the Crime Syndicate bring their own kaiju. No creative team named yet (AIPT).
Absolute Batman animated series — FIRST LOOK (series previously announced)
The Warner Bros. Animation series was announced at Annecy in June with Snyder as showrunner and Dragotta producing. NYCC got the first rough character designs and an animated sequence, per Comics Beat, which notes the room barred recording. No network or date yet. The panel also showed new Creature Commandos season 2 art and reiterated that the Mister Miracle animated project is still coming, with no dates for either.
Collectibles
Mattel unveiled a DC Premium Batman: Hush Rooftop Bat-Signal Diorama Set ($100, pre-order via Mattel Creations) at the DC booth on Oct. 8, and said it will livestream its spring 2027 DC figure reveals on Jan. 1, 2027, the same day its DC Collector line launches globally (Mattel release). The booth exclusives DC previewed before the show, including the Lanterns replica ring and the first Clayface merch, were announced Sept. 30.
What DC Studios didn’t bring
No Supergirl, Man of Tomorrow, The Batman Part II or Peacemaker panel, and no new DC Studios reveals at the show. Clayface still opens Oct. 23, and Lanterns wrapped its first season on HBO Max Oct. 4; our Lanterns hub has the finale explainer.
Sources
- DC: NYCC 2026 panel schedule (Sept. 28, 2026)
- DC: NYCC 2026 convention exclusives (Sept. 30, 2026)
- Comics Beat: Absolute Justice (Oct. 9, 2026)
- Comics Beat: Absolute Universe panel (Oct. 9, 2026)
- AIPT: Absolute Universe panel (Oct. 9, 2026)
- Gizmodo: Absolute Justice (Oct. 10, 2026)
- Comics Beat: Next Level & Beyond panel (Oct. 10, 2026)
- Comics Beat: Next Level deep dive (Oct. 10, 2026)
- Bleeding Cool: Joker/Harley: Malicious Intent (Oct. 8, 2026)
- Bleeding Cool: Hide Nor Hair (Oct. 8, 2026)
- AIPT: Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong Vol. 3 (Oct. 10, 2026)
- Comics Beat: Jim Lee & Friends (Oct. 10, 2026)
- ICv2: SDCC Next Level titles (July 24, 2026)
- Mattel press release: Batman: Hush diorama (Oct. 8, 2026)
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