DC Announces Year of the Villain Preview Comic Coming this Summer

DC Comics announced plans to release an exclusive original comic, DC’s Year of the Villain, on Wednesday, May 1, kicking off the Free Comic Book Day celebrations early. The publisher has ambitious plans for its most iconic villains this year with dark times ahead for a lot of superheroes, as the special comic book kicks off the next year’s worth of stories in the biggest books in DC’s stable.

The issue will cost the bargain-basement price of 25 cents and include stories by acclaimed writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Brian Michael Bendis, which will feature breathtaking art from Eisner Award-winning illustrator Alex Maleev, Jim Cheung and Francis Manapul. The main cover for the issue comes from Dark Nights: Metal celebrated artist Greg Capullo, with variant covers available by Maleev, Cheung and Stanley “Artgerm” Lau. Each of them will focus on a different DC villain including Lex Luthor, the Batman Who Laughs, and Cheetah.

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The creative roster will set the stage for the next year of storylines involving Superman, Batman and the Justice League. Following the events of Snyder and Tynion’s Justice League, Lex Luthor takes a major step forward. He assembles his Legion of Doom for the final push to replace Superman and the rest of the League. Luthor aims for becoming the rightful leaders of not only mankind, but the universe itself. He also hopes to harness the power of Perpetua, as she breaks free from the Source Wall in the events of Justice League Annual #1. Perpetua’s and Luthor’s storyline will continue to escalate throughout 2019.

Fans of Action Comics and Superman will also have plenty to expect in this issue. Maleev and Bendis and will inaugurate a new status quo in DC’s dark world of terrorism and espionage with repercussions of this new order set to have major ramifications for the Man of Steel this Summer.

DC’s Year of the Villain will also contain clues to the Dark Knight’s upcoming battle with the bad guys of Gotham in “City of Bane,” also scheduled to come out this summer.

How do you feel about DC’s Year of the Villain? Let us know what you’re thinking in the comment section below!