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

2025 is definitely shaping up to be a huge year for DC's flagship Batman comic. Current writer Chip Zdarsky just ended his run with Batman #157, paving the way for Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee's Hush 2 storyline in March. And once Hush 2 is over, DC will be relaunching Batman with a new #1 issue, new writer, and new costume.

As revealed at the ComicsPro retailer event, the new volume of Batman will be written by Matt Fraction (Uncanny X-Men, The Invincible Iron Man). Current Batman artist Jorge Jimenez is remaining on board, though as mentioned, he and Fraction have designed a new costume and new Batmobile to ring in the new series. Batman is trading in the black and gray suit for a more vintage-inspired blue and gray costume. Check out the new Batsuit below:

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Batman. It was the first comic I ever read,” said Fraction. “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 will be released in September 2025.

Alongside the Batman news, DC also shed more light on the future of the Superman line at ComicsPro, as DC's "Summer of Superman" event continues. First, Supergirl is getting a new series and a new costume (designed by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau) of her own. Sophie Campbell (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) will write and draw the new book, which brings Kara back to the city of Midvale.

“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,” said Campbell. “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 will be released on May 14.

Next, Action Comics is getting a new creative team, as Justice League Unlimited writer Mark Waid teams with Resonant artist Skylar Patridge. The series will shift focus to Clark Kent's teenage years in Smallville, exploring how he came to terms with his burgeoning powers as Superboy.

"I start the book with Clark as a 15-year-old boy, learning to be a superhero for the first time,” said Waid. “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."

Waid and Patridge's run kicks off with Action Comics #1087 in June.

Finally, DC has decreed that Krypto is A Very Good Boy and will be getting his own five-issue miniseries as part of the DC All In initiative. Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton is written by Ryan North (Fantastic Four) and drawn by Mike Norton (Revival). The series will explore Krypto's origin story in greater depth than ever before.

“Krypto's origin has always been done at kind of a high level," said North. "The little guy starts out on Krypton, ends up on Earth, and helps Superman fight crime. 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 will be released on June 18.

Also at ComicsPro, we learned that Marvel is relaunching Captain America this summer, with Zdarsky writing and Valerio Schiti drawing the book. You can also check out our early look at Godzilla's new interconnected comic book universe.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.