Following up on the extra-length Future State anthologies, DC has announced an ongoing anthology series anchored around Gotham City’s most famous son and his friends (and enemies) launching in March, titled Batman: Urban Legends.
The 64-page monthly series will feature four stories, by a creative line-up including Chip Zdarsky, Eddy Barrows, Matthew Rosenberg, Ryan Benjamin, Stephanie Phillips, Laura Braga, Brandon Thomas, and Max Dunbar, with serials including Harley Quinn, Outsiders, Grifter, and a team-up between Batman and the Red Hood that promises to change the latter character’s life forever — and set him on a collision course with the Dark Knight in the process.
Anthology titles have traditionally had a rough time in the U.S. market in recent years, despite their popularity internationally; outside of seasonal one-off releases and the two-issue Future State minis, DC’s last anthology series was 2016’s Legends of Tomorrow, which lasted six monthly issues. Previous anthology titles include 1988’s Action Comics Weekly, which only survived for 36 issues.
Despite that, the anthology title plays an important part in U.S. comics history: Superman, Batman, and a number of the most iconic characters in the medium debuted as part of anthologies, and up through the 1970s, anthology titles like Adventure Comics, House of Mystery, and Time Warp were a mainstay of the industry, acting as both a home to lesser-known characters and a venue for new creators to learn their trade. The debut of Batman: Urban Legends might act as a sign that DC intends to explore the potential of reviving that idea.
Batman: Urban Legends will debut in print and digital March 16, 2021, retailing for $7.99.
