Several manga based on DC superheroes, including Batman and Superman, are set for an English release for the first time.
DC Comics has announced that three of their previously untranslated manga will finally be coming to the US, and the stories are absolutely wild.
At their panel at the ComicsPRO convention, DC Comics announced that three of the manga series published as part of their partnership with Japanese comics publisher Kodansha will be debuting in English for the first time. The series, which include Superman vs. Meshi, Batman: Justice Buster, and Joker: One Operation Joker, will see release digitally via DC’s DC Universe Infinite service first before getting a physical release later this year.
DC’s Wild New Manga Series
The stories of these DC manga are for the most part quite unlike anything seen in American comics. Superman vs. Meshi sees Superman indulging in Japanese cuisine, taking trips across the Pacific to try out new restaurants and delicious new dishes–even occasionally sharing them with his superpowered friends from the Justice League. Batman: Justice Buster sees a fresh young Batman at the start of his career forced to level up his crimefighting ability by developing the ROBIN supercomputer, a machine designed to analyze criminal behavior and help to get a massive crime wave under control. The oddest of all, however, is Joker: One Operation Joker, which sees Batman’s archnemesis forced into a role as a single father when the Dark Knight gets turned back into a baby. Joker decides he will raise Batman back into the formidable foe he once was, and takes the responsibility of caring for baby Bats into his own hands.
These series really highlight the benefit of having partnerships with creators in other countries, as these fresh new takes on DC’s iconic characters really feel as if they’re the kind of thing that could only be created in Japan. Superman, for example, doesn’t often get that sort of slice-of-life focus that Superman vs. Meshi offers, a chance to see him outside of fights with villains or Justice League meetings. The tech-savvy Batman of Batman: Justice Buster definitely has a Japanese feel to it from its premise alone, with shades of other crime-fighting anime series like Psycho Pass. And of course, the very idea of turning Batman into a baby that the Joker has to raise is simply so audacious that it’s likely to immediately pique the interest of anyone who’s ever even heard of the characters.
An exact date for the release of these three DC Comics manga hasn’t yet been announced, but the digital versions will debut first, and both digital and physical are meant to be out in 2023.