Five decades of Jefferson Pierce are getting a proper birthday issue. DC announced DC Power: Black Lightning 50th Anniversary Special, a 48-page one-shot on sale January 27, 2027 for $5.99 at participating comic shops and digital retailers.
The story
In the main story, Black Lightning is protecting Metropolis while Superman is away, and an old enemy is plotting against him. Meanwhile, Jefferson weighs whether to repair his relationship with his ex-wife, Lynn Stewart.
The cast is deep: the Outsiders (Katana, the Signal and Cassandra Cain), his daughters Anissa and Jennifer, Mr. Terrific and Steel. A vision from DC K.O. pushes him toward mentoring a young hero.
Who’s making it
The main story is credited to Jenny Blake, whom DC identifies as Black Lightning’s creator, along with Brandon Thomas and Fico Ossio, who both worked on Black Lightning: The Standard. DC doesn’t break out who writes and who draws. Additional stories come from writers Danny Lore, Greg Anderson Elysée and Al Letson, and artists Karen S. Darboe, Darryl Banks and Sedat Özgen; DC hasn’t specified the pairings.
Blake calls Thomas her chosen successor on the character. She also calls Trevor Von Eeden the first artist to draw Black Lightning and says he’s justifiably considered a co-creator. Thomas says the theme is love, for family, history and the character’s 50 years in the DCU, and signs off with “Here’s to 50 more.”
The covers
The main cover is by Edwin Galmon and Andrew Dalhouse. Variants come from Ossio and Tamra Bonvillain, and from Von Eeden and Chris Sotomayor. A glow-in-the-dark variant is by Cully Hamner.
It’s not the only anniversary on DC’s slate: the publisher is also marking Wonder Woman’s milestone, which we covered in our look at DC’s Year of Wonder.
Sources: DC Publicity press release (Oct. 21, 2026); The Nerd Wire. Cover art: DC.
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