Scott Snyder outlined the overall philosophy and approach for the upcoming DC Next Level line in an Oct. 21 post on Our Best Jackett Press Substack. Snyder teased some of the new titles announced and provided an early outline of the lineup of creators taking over.
In explaining his approach to creating the new DC Next Level line, which will launch in March 2026, Snyder explained:
“So over the last eight or nine months, we’ve been building a series of books that focus on fan-favorite characters, from Deathstroke to Damon to Zatanna, characters that don’t often get the bright spotlight that Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman do, but that fans love and that we love.
So we wanted to do something with them similar to what we tried to do with the characters in Absolute. There, these books, unlike Absolute, are in continuity, so rather than reinventing a career rather than reinventing it, these books give you as much freedom as possible within that context. Therefore, you are welcome to participate as long as it does not break continuity. And we want you to create incredibly user-friendly books that don’t rely on people knowing anything about these characters and get people hooked on these characters the way you want them to. ”
From Beat’s previous bold on-the-ground report at NYCC ’25, we’ve got a list of the books and creators announced.
Greg Rucka & Dani – Batwoman Joshua Williamson – Legion of Super Heroes Scotty Young & Jorge Corona – Robbo Mariko Tamaki Denise Camp James Harren Jeff Lemire Tony Freaks Jamal Campbell
And the other books are:
Deathstroke Terminator Firestorm: Nuclear Man Batman: Shadow of the Bat Zatanna the Demon Barbara Gordon: Breakout
Batwoman and the Legion of Super Heroes and their corresponding creative teams were announced at New York CC, and Snyder went on to give insight into how the new Lobo book by Scottie Young and Jorge Corona came to be.
“Young was one of the first people to sign on to do ‘Robo with Corona,’ and his pitch was really great. This is exactly the kind of Lobo book you want. He’s the perfect creator for this book. He has an incredible passion for the character and he wants to make you fall in love with Lobo as much as he loves Lobo,” Snyder explained.
Snyder used this example to highlight his editorial approach to the DC Next Level line. This doesn’t just appoint creators, it also gives them more creative freedom as long as it stays within the larger DC continuity.
“It’s a really simple idea. Instead of going to a creator and saying, ‘We have this slot and we want you to fill it,’ or ‘Here’s this proposal we’ve come up with and we want you to do it,’ we go to the creators that we love and say, ‘What character story do you have?’ What’s your passion project?’ That’s what we did with Absolute, and we want to replicate that in mainline while staying a little closer to the model.
But we wanted each book to have a palpable energy, where you could feel that the creators loved what they were doing. That’s what Next Level is all about. This is a carefully selected line of books within the main line of continuity, but one that is especially approachable for new readers, gives a feel for the creators, hits number one, reintroduces these characters in a big way, and brings excitement and fun. ”
That leaves Deathstroke: The Terminator, Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, Batman: Shadow of the Bat, Zatanna, Barbara Gordon: Breakout, and The Demon. Snyder provided information about Demon and Deathstroke in a Substack post.
The pitch for Deathstroke came from a creator who said, “I really want to do Deathstroke, and I want Deathstroke to just be a badass assassin. I wanted to do something that separates him from all the other superheroes and this work and shows the world of assassins within DC in this really dark, fun, brutal way.” We said, “You know what? That’s great. We don’t have a crime book like that.’ So we really tried to give you something that you don’t have, but let the creators lead the charge.
Speaking about The Demon, Snyder said:
The Demon was a similar project. I went up to someone I loved and said, “Look, I think you’re great. What do you want to do?” And they wanted to make a horror book. And they started talking about The Demon, and the pitch was incredible. We just built it together. Their pitch was basically a book where you could just walk in without knowing anything about The Demon and be completely enveloped in this wonderful mythology about Etrigan the Demon, a man who is cursed with another demonic being within himself. Etrigan the Demon comes out when you don’t want him to and fights other demons, which is really cool. It’s truly a horror book.
In a newsletter last September, Jeff Lemire said, “This is the first glimpse at the art for a top-secret DC project scheduled for 2026. The book will be written by me, illustrated by Rafael De Latorre, and colored by my old Green Arrow collaborator Marcleo Maiolo.”
Some speculated that the red-haired character was Agent Cameron Chase, thus linking Lemire to Barbara Gordon: Breakout, but he quickly removed the Agent Chase speculation.
Last but not least, Absolute fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Snyder assured fans that the Absolute Batman title will continue for at least the next two years.
“Me and Nick Dragotta have a 35-plus issue deal right now, and that’s going to take us over two more years. So don’t worry there’s no end in sight. There’s no end in sight. We’re just trying to expand and build and streamline so that we can read all the books and not explode into 20 or so books.”
So who do you think will work on which book? Will Jamal Campbell or Mariko Tamaki continue working on Zatanna? Who is the mysterious creator of The Demon? My gut feeling for the Eisner Award winner is James Harren, but his cover in Absolute Batman was great, so Batman: Shadow Of The Bat might be the best choice.
For more DC Next Level news, be sure to keep reading The Beat. Also, comment which creator you want for Deathstroke the Terminator, Firestorm: Nuclear Man, Batman: Shadow of the Bat, Zatanna, Barbara Gordon: Breakout, and The Demon.
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