One of the advantages of DC Comics being around for over 85 years is its deep roster of characters. While characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman receive the spotlight, there are dozens of fan-favourite characters that are underutilised. The publisher is changing that with a new publishing initiative known as DC Next Level, which will feature some lesser-used characters highlighted in a way that appeals to longtime fans and those new to them.
This DC Next Level guide will give you everything you need to know about this DC Comics project. Read on to find out more about what this publishing initiative is, the creative philosophy, the comics and characters involved, and heaps more.
What is DC Next Level?
Spinning out of the DC K.O. comic book event, DC Next Level is a publishing initiative featuring comic book series underutilised and fan-favourite characters curated by writer Scott Snyder. Though characters like Lobo, Batwoman, and Etrigan the Demon, DC Comics aims to publish creator-driven comics that operate within the main DC Universe but are not bogged down by continuity.
The result is that this isn’t a line-wide initiative that will cover big characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Instead, it’s about digging deeper to cover figures of the DC Universe that don’t get the spotlight.
The DC Next Level creative philosophy
DC Next Level curator (and one of the masterminds behind the DC’s Absolute Universe) Scott Snyder has been working with DC Comics to craft the line. In his newsletter, he discussed the creative philosophy behind this publishing initiative at length.
So for a long time now, for the last eight to nine months, we’ve been building a line of books that’s focused on some fan favorite characters. Everybody from Deathstroke to The Demon to Zatanna, characters that don’t often get quite the brightest spotlight that’s taken up by Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman, but characters that fans love and we love. And so we wanted to kind of do with them what we tried to do with characters in Absolute, where we give careers a lot of leeway to come in and not reinvent them because these books, unlike Absolute, are in continuity, but give them as much latitude as we could within that context. So you can come in, as long as you’re not breaking continuity and we want you to make an incredibly user-friendly book that doesn’t rely on anyone knowing anything about these characters whatsoever, and make people fall in love with these characters on your terms.
And the biggest thing about these books is that they’re really creator forward. That’s this ether that we’ve adopted at DC since All In that we’ve been getting more and more, I think, aggressive about. And editorial has been wonderfully supportive as well. But it’s a really simple idea. It’s the idea that instead of going to creators and saying, “we have this slot and we need you to fill it,” or “we have this pitch that we made up and we need you to execute it,” we go to creators that we love and say, “what character do you have a story for? What’s your passion project?” That’s what we did with Absolute and we want to replicate that in the main line while still being in continuity and a little bit closer to model.
Some of the best periods in superhero comics have been when there has been a creator-driven approach. There tends to be more creativity and, as a result, end up being very enjoyable reads. So here’s hoping the DC Next Level can capture some of that magic.
Are these comics new-reader friendly?
As Scott Snyder alluded to in the passage above, the DC Next Level comics will be new-reader-friendly. It certainly helps that many of the characters involved have been underutilised in recent years, meaning that you don’t need to know about what they’ve been up to. It’ll be a clean start for these characters, with a forward-thinking approach – something DC Comics has been doing a lot more of since the All In publishing initiative.
Additionally, while I mentioned that DC Next Level will spin out of the conclusion of the DC K.O. comic book event, it won’t be a necessary read to understand what’s going on. I see it more as the conclusion of that big story, creating the conditions for these stories to exist within the DC Universe, than any required reading or homework.
DC Next Level comics
Find out more about all the comics that are part of the DC Next Level publishing initiative, including premises, creative teams, and other useful information for each title.
Please note: DC Comics has announced some comics but have revealed very little information about them. These details will be added when more is known.
Lobo (2026 series) #1 cover by Jorge Corona.Lobo
Written by Skottie Young. Art by Jorge Corona.
Lobo, DC Comics’ chaotic space-bound bounty hunter is back in a new series. This time around, he’s on a gust-soaked journey to the end of the universe. Expect plenty on mayhem in this one.
Skottie Young is a great choice for a Lobo series, with the writer/artist making a name for himself with wild comics like I Hate Fairyland and Rocket Racoon.
Lobo (2026 series) #1 will available 4th March.
Batwoman (2026 series) #1 cover by DaNi.Batwoman
Written by Greg Rucka. Art by DaNi.
Batwoman (Kate Kane) is on a mission to stop a religion devoted to ending the world. However, that will involve facing demons both figurative and literal.
Greg Rucka returns to the character he co-created back in 2006. I highly recommend reading Batwoman: Elegy (with artist J.H Williams III) if you want get a taste of how he writes the character.
Batwoman (2026 series) #1 will available 11th March.
Deathstroke: The Terminator (2026 series) #1 cover by Carmine Di Giandomenico.Deathstroke: The Terminator
Written by Tony Fleecs. Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico.
The latest Deathstroke series sees him go deep into the world of contract killers as one of his hundreds of enemies puts a hit on him.
Deathstroke: Terminator (2026 series) #1 will available 18th March.
Firestorm: The Nuclear Man
Written by TBA. Art by TBA.
Nothing is known about this new Firestorm: The Nuclear Man series at the moment. This section will be updated when DC Comics share more details.
Firestorm: The Nuclear Man (2026 series) #1 will available in April at the earliest.
Shadow of the Bat
Written by TBA. Art by TBA.
Nothing is known about this new Shadow of the Bat series at the moment. This section will be updated when DC Comics share more details.
Batman: Shadow of the Bat was a series that originally ran for 96 issues between 1992 and 2000 and delved into the psyche of various Batman cast members. It’s likely that this new series will do that too – especially for characters who don’t have their own title presently.
Shadow of the Bat (2026 series) #1 will be available in April at the earliest.
Zatanna
Written by TBA. Art by TBA.
Nothing is known about this new Zatanna series at the moment. This section will be updated when DC Comics share more details.
Zatanna (2026 series) #1 will be available in April at the earliest.
The Demon
Written by TBA. Art by TBA.
Nothing is known about this new The Demon series at the moment. This section will be updated when DC Comics share more details.
The Demon (2026 series) #1 will be available in April at the earliest.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout
Written by TBA. Art by TBA.
DC Comics has not revealed any information about Barbara Gordon: Breakout yet. I will update this section when more is known.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 will be available in April at the earliest.
Do you need to read them all?
No. There’s no requirement to read all of these series if you don’t want to.
Each one is self-contained and set in their own corner of the DC Universe. Titles like Batwoman and Barbara Gordon: Breakout are part of the wider portfolio of Batman themed comics, but you won’t need to read Batman or Detective Comics in order to understand them.
DC Next Level Sampler Free Comic Book Day 2026 cover.How to get a taste of DC Next Level
Do you want to sample DC Next Level before diving in? DC Comics will be giving away a DC Next Level sampler as part of Free Comic Book Day 2026. This will feature previews for Lobo (2026 series) #1, Batwoman (2026 series) #1, and Deathstroke: Terminator (2026 series) #1, as well as some teases for future series.
This will be given away for free in comic book shops on Saturday 2nd May, 2026 as part of the special event. It will also be made available digitally on DC Universe Infinite.
Will there be more comics?
It’s possible there will be more comics published under the DC Next Level banner. What they will be is unclear presently. However, Scott Snyder alluded to in his newsletter that the publishing initiative will have eight to twelve comics at any given time, with future titles replacing ones that don’t work sales-wise/financially.
The publisher is on a creative high at the moment – having had an awesome 2025 – so it’s very possible future DC Next Level series will dig a little deeper into obscure corners and take some creative risks.
Have your say
Which of these comics will you be reading? Share your thoughts in the comments below or via Bluesky, Facebook, or Mastodon.
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