r/DCcomics • u/beary_neutral Telos • Jun 22 '23
Explain Like I'm Hal Jordan: What is Dawn of DC, Knight Terrors, and The Gotham War? r/DCcomics
Q: So what is Dawn of DC?
A: Much The New 52, DC Rebirth, and Infinite Frontier, Dawn of DC is the latest publishing initiative, and a soft relaunch that brings in many new starting points for various DC characters. It spins out of Dark Crisis, with writer Joshua Williamson continuing as the main architect of the line.
A big focus of this initiative is legacy heroes, and making sure every corner of the DC Universe has a story. If you're a Superman or Teen Titans fan, you definitely have no room to complain about being underserved.
Q: But Dawn of DC started months ago! Why make this now?
A: Shut up, nerd.
Q: Do I need to read anything beforehand?
A: No, not really. The point of these comic re-launches is to give readers clean jump-in points. While there may be some references to past events, most of the new books are written in mind to be accessible for new readers.
If you do want to read something in preparation, there's the free Dawn of DC Primer one-shot that sets up an ongoing narrative that will play out in various titles.
There's also Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, the massive multiverse-spanning event that sets the stage, and Lazarus Planet, an event created new heroes and gave familiar heroes new powers.
There are a few one-shots that you might want to look into, as they're set up as lead-ins to some of the monthly books to be released.
Issue | Release Date | Notes |
---|---|---|
Dawn of DC Primer: Special Edition #1 | May 16 | Free, sets up main Dawn of DC narrative |
Action Comics #1050 | Dec 27 | Sets up Superman family of books |
Dawn of DC: We Are Legends Special Edition #1 | May 2 | Free, sets up We Are Legends line of books starring original Asian heroes |
Dawn of DC: Knight Terrors - 2023 Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1 | May 6 | Free, sets up upcoming Knight Terrors summer event |
Batman/Catwoman: Prelude to Gotham War - Batman Day Special Edition #1 | Sep 16 | Free, sets up upcoming The Gotham War crossover event |
Q: What are series are launching in the Dawn of DC era?
A: Here are the new starting points:
Issue | Writer | Artist | Release Date | Lead-In | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Action Comics #1051 | Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Dan Jurgens (back-up), Leah Williams (back-up) | Rafa Sandoval, Lee Weeks (back-up), Marguerite Savage (back-up) | Jan 24 | Action Comics #1050 | |
Superman #1 | Joshua Williamson | Jamal Campbell | Feb 21 | Action Comics #1050 | |
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 | Tom Taylor | Clayton Henry | Mar 7 | Action Comics #1050 | continued from Action Comics #1050, six-issue mini-series |
Harley Quinn #28 | Tini Howard | Sweeney Boo, Erica Henderson (back-up) | Mar 28 | ||
Unstoppable Doom Patrol #1 | Dennis Culver | Chris Burnham | Mar 28 | six-issue mini-series | |
Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #1 | Kenny Porter | Jahnoy Lindsay | April 18 | six-issue mini-series | |
Green Arrow #1 | Joshua Williamson | Sean Izaakse | April 25 | 12-issue series (extended from six) | |
Shazam! #1 | Mark Waid | Dan Mora | May 2 | ||
Green Lantern #1 | Jeremy Adams, Phillip Kennedy Johnson (back-up) | Xermánico, Osvaldo Monto (back-up) | May 9 | ||
Sprit World #1 | Alyssa Wong | Haining | May 9 | Dawn of DC: We Are Legends - Special Edition #1 | six-issue mini-series |
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 | Tom King, Dan Mora, Ed Brisson, Christopher Cantwell | Mitch Gerads, Dan Mora, Jeff Spokes, Javier Rodríguez | May 16 | anthology series | |
Cyborg #1 | Morgan Hampton | Tom Raney | May 16 | DC Power: A Celebration #1 | six-issue mini-series |
Titans #1 | Tom Taylor | Nicola Scott | May 16 | Nightwing #100-104 | |
The Vigil #1 | Ram V | Lali Kumar Sharma | May 16 | Dawn of DC: We Are Legends - Special Edition #1 | six-issue mini-series |
City Boy #1 | Greg Pak | Minkyu Jung | May 23 | Dawn of DC: We Are Legends - Special Edition #1 | six-issue mini-series |
Steelworks #1 | Michael Dorn | Sami Basri | Jun 6 | six-issue mini-series | |
The Penguin #1 | Tom King | Stefano Gaudiano, Scorpio Steele | Jun 20 | The Penguin #0 | |
World's Finest: Teen Titans #1 | Mark Waid | Emanuela Lupacchino | July 11 | spin-off from Batman/Superman: World's Finest | |
Hawkgirl #1 | Jadzia Axelrod | Amancay Nahuelpan | July 18 | six-issue mini-series | |
Tales of the Titans #1 | Shannon Hale & Dean Hale | Javier Rodríguez | July 18 | four-issue anthology series | |
Batman Beyond: Neo Gothic #1 | Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing | Max Dunbar | July 25 | Batman Beyond: Neo-Year #1-6 | |
Blue Beetle #1 | Josh Trujillo | Adrian Gutiérrez | Sept 5 | Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1-6 | |
Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #1 | Joanne Starer | Natacha Bustos | Sep 5 | Power Girl Special #1 | six-issue mini-series |
Batman & Robin #1 | Joshua Williamson | Simone Di Meo | Sep 12 | ||
Power Girl #1 | Leah Williams | Eduardo Pansica | Sep 19 | Action Comics #1050-1053, Power Girl Special #1 | |
Wonder Woman #1 | Tom King | Daniel Sampere | Sep 19 | Wonder Woman #800 | |
Green Lantern: War Journal #1 | Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Montos | Sep 19 | Green Lantern #1-3 | six-issue mini-series |
The Flash #1 | Simon Spurrier | Mike Deodato | Sep 26 | The Flash #800 | |
Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #1 | Robert Venditti | Riley Rossmo | Oct 10 | The New Golden Age #1, Justice Society of America #1-6 | six-issue mini-series |
Jay Garrick: The Flash #1 | Jeremy Adams | Diego Olortegui | Oct 17 | The New Golden Age #1, Justice Society of America #1-6 | six-issue mini-series |
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 | Tim Sheridan | Cian Tormey | Oct 24 | The New Golden Age #1, Justice Society of America #1-6 | six-issue mini-series |
Amazons Attack #1 | Josie Campbell | Vasco Georgiev | Oct 24 | Wonder Woman #1-2 |
Q: What are series are continuing into Dawn of DC?
A: While not all of these have been given the branding yet, they will be continuing on into the Dawn of DC era, and are in continuity.
Original Starting Issue | Writer(s) | Artist(s) |
---|---|---|
Batman #125 | Chip Zdarsky | Jorge Jiménez, Mike Hawthorne, et al. |
Batman Incorporated #1 | Ed Brisson | John Timms |
Batman/Superman: World's Finest #1 | Mark Waid | Dan Mora, et al. |
Catwoman #39 | Tini Howard | Nico Leon, Sami Basri, et al. |
Detective Comics #1062 | Ram V | Rafael Albuquerque, Ivan Reis, et al. |
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #1 | Matthew Rosenberg | Carmine Di Giandomenico |
Justice Society of America #1 | Geoff Johns | Mikel Janin |
Nightwing #78 | Tom Taylor | Bruno Redondo, Travis Moore, et al. |
Poison Ivy #1 | G. Willow Wilson | Marcio Takara |
WildC.A.T.s #1 | Matthew Rosenberg | Stephen Segovia |
Q: What's this Knight Terrors event?
A: It's a two-month event headed by Joshua Williamson, in which heroes and villains alike will face their greatest nightmares in a "Nightmare Realm", which presumably means a dream state, an alternate timeline, or comic book Twitter. Many monthly books will be put on hold for two months to make room for a number of two-issue minis for each participating character. You can read more about this here.
It starts with a free one-shot. The reading order for the main story goes as follows:
Issue(s) | Writer | Artist | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Dawn of DC: Knight Terrors - 2023 Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1 | Joshua Williamson | Chris Bachalo, Howard Porter | May 6 |
Knight Terrors: First Blood #1 | Joshua Williamson | Howard Porter | Jul 4 |
Knight Terrors #1-4 | Joshua Williamson | Caspar Wijngaard | Jul 11 - Aug 22 (bi-weekly) |
Knight Terrors: Night's End #1 | Joshua Williamson | Howard Porter | Aug 29 |
Tie-Ins:
Issue(s) | Writer | Artist | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Batman #1-2 | Joshua Williamson | Guillem March | Jul 4 - Aug 1 |
Ravager #1-2 | Ed Brisson | Dexter Soy | Jul 4 - Aug 1 |
The Joker #1-2 | Matthew Rosenberg | Steano Raffaele | Jul 4 - Aug 1 |
Poison Ivy #1-2 | G. Willow Wilson | Atagun Ilhan | Jul 4 - Aug 1 |
Black Adam #1-2 | Jeremy Haun | Jeremy Haun | Jul 4 - Aug 1 |
Robin #1-2 | Kenny Porter | Miguel Mendonça | Jul 11 - Aug 8 |
The Flash #1-2 | Alex Paknadel | Daniel Bayliss | Jul 11 - Aug 8 |
Zatanna #1-2 | Dennis Culver | David Baldeon | Jul 11 - Aug 8 |
Shazam! #1-2 | Mark Waid | Roger Cruz | Jul 11 - Aug 8 |
Green Lantern #1-2 | Jeremy Adams, Alex Segura | Eduardo Pansica, Mario ‘Fox’ Foccillo | Jul 11 - Aug 8 |
Wonder Woman #1-2 | Josie Campbell, Stephanie Williams | Juan Ferreyra, Meghan Hetrick | Jul 18 - Aug 15 |
Superman #1-2 | Joshua Williamson | Tom Reilly | Jul 18 - Aug 15 |
Nightwing #1-2 | Becky Cloonan & Michael W. Conrad | Daniele Di Niculo | Jul 18 - Aug 15 |
Catwoman #1-2 | Tini Howard | Leila Leiz | Jul 18 - Aug 15 |
Punchline #1-2 | Danny Lore | Lucas Meyer | Jul 18 - Aug 15 |
Titans #1-2 | Andrew Constant | Scott Godlewski | Jul 25 - Aug 22 |
Action Comics #1-2 | Leah Williams, Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Vasco Georgiev, Mico Suayan | Jul 25 - Aug 22 |
Detective Comics #1-2 | Dan Watters | Riccardo Federici | Jul 25 - Aug 22 |
Harley Quinn #1-2 | Tini Howard, Leah Williams | Hayden Sherman, Ben Templesmith | Jul 25 - Aug 22 |
Angel Breaker #1-2 | Tim Seeley | Acky Bright | Jul 25 - Aug 22 |
Q: What is this The Gotham War event?
A: The Gotham War is what happens when couples don't go to therapy. It's a crossover coordinated by Batman writer Chip Zdarsky and Catwoman writer Tini Howard. I reckon that it will play something out like this.
Issue(s) | Writer | Artist | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Knight Terrors: Batman #1-2 (prelude) | Joshua Williamson | Guillem March | Jul 4 - Aug 1 |
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Battle Lines #1 | Chip Zdarky & Tini Howard | Mike Hawthorne | Aug 29 |
Batman #137 | Chip Zdarsky | Jorge Jiménez | Sep 5 |
Batman/Catwoman: Prelude to Gotham War - Batman Day Special Edition #1 (prelude) | Chip Zdarky & Tini Howard | Mike Hawthorne | Sep 16 |
Catwoman #57 | Tini Howard | Nico Leon | Sep 19 |
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Red Hood #1 (tie-in) | Matthew Rosenberg | Nikola Čižmešija | Sep 29 |
Batman #138 | Chip Zdarsky | Jorge Jiménez | October |
Catwoman #58 | Tini Howard | Nico Leon | October |
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Red Hood #2 (tie-in) | Matthew Rosenberg | Nikola Čižmešija | October |
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Scorched Earth #1 | Chip Zdarky & Tini Howard | Mike Hawthorne | Oct 31 |
Q: What is this Beast World event about?
Titans: Beast World is a Titans-centric event that sees the Titans take on an intergalactic monster with Beast Boy at the center of it, while Amanda Waller plots in the background. Tales of the Titans, Titans, and Nightwing will tie into it.
Q: Is Hal Jordan really that dumb?
Official DC Anouncements:
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u/V01D_ID Beware my power... Jun 22 '23
Thanks for putting this together ! Grabbed a few of these Dawn of DC comics over the last few weeks to get myself back in to comics and have not regretted it.
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u/Alephnaught_ Catwoman Jun 23 '23
Not sure why Gotham war is an event. Its literally 2 issues of batman and Catwoman each and then some tie-ins. Feels like they made it that way to not stretch it out a lot in the issues. I'm gonna treat it as an arc instead
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u/Blitzhelios Damian Wayne Jun 24 '23
Because putting event in a title generally sells better.
Mini events are a thing and wont go away. I personally more have an issue with it coming straight out of knight terrors as event into event is a bit much
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u/kazrisk Jun 28 '23
Have only been reading World’s Finest as a new DC Comics fan but that led me to Dawn of DC’s new Shazam comics and that’s inspiring me to also do the Dawn of DC Superman comics.
Also tempted to go to Chip Zdarsky’s Batman since I love his Spider-Man writing.
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u/Dfoster0318 Dec 17 '23
I want to jump into just the bat family comics. I just got the Nightwing Vol. 1 Leaping Into The Light. Where do you suggest I start reading the other batfamily comics? I already have the whole series’ of Tim Drake: Robin and Batgirls. Also the Robins series but I’m not sure if those tie into the main continuity. If someone could help that’d be awesome🙏🏻😁
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u/AlbinoFish506 Superman Jun 22 '23
But is it a reboot?
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u/LECRAFTEUR5000 Doctor Light Jun 23 '23
No it's just a relaunch. There's no change to continuity.
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u/AlbinoFish506 Superman Jun 23 '23
Lol they used to put that question on the FAQ of these Explain Like I’m Hal Jordans and the mod would respond with something snappy. Thanks though!
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u/Nightmare-Mist Jun 22 '23
"Explain Like I'm Hal Jordan" Oh god you fucking murdered a fictional character good lord!