DC has announced its lineup for Comic-Con International: San Diego, and the publisher is turning the clock back to the 1950s as it continues its decade-by-decade countdown to DC Comics’ 100th anniversary.
The expanded DC Booth (#4544) will be on the convention floor from Preview Night on Wednesday, July 22 through Sunday, July 26, with full booth programming kicking off Thursday.
On tap: a 1950s-inspired Daily Planet newsstand handing out a free MAD Magazine #1 facsimile, the annual Jim Lee & Friends panel, a full slate of publishing panels and animation screenings, convention-exclusive foil covers across the Absolute Universe line, and a new citywide “Unlock DC” rewards program.
DC Booth Goes Full Silver Age
Following last year’s spotlight on DC’s earliest publishing era, the 2026 booth celebrates the decade that reinvented the company. The 1950s gave us Showcase #4, which introduced Barry Allen and kicked off the Silver Age; Action Comics #252, the debut of Supergirl; Action Comics #241, which revealed Superman’s Fortress of Solitude; and Showcase #22, which reimagined Green Lantern with Hal Jordan. It was also the decade DC expanded well beyond capes into science fiction, mystery, romance, Westerns, humor, and suspense.
MAD Magazine, which debuted in 1952 under Harvey Kurtzman and the legendary “Usual Gang of Idiots,” gets its own celebration. Fans can stop by the booth’s Daily Planet newsstand and grab a free MAD Magazine #1 facsimile featuring classic ads pulled from DC’s archives and a blank Daily Planet back cover designed for creator signatures.
Jim Lee & Friends Leads The Panel Slate
Thursday, July 23 kicks off with DC’s Jim Lee & Friends at 11:30am in Room 6DE, where the DC President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer brings out surprise guests for what DC promises are “discussions and reveals that will have everyone talking long after the Con is over.” Later that day at 3:30pm in Room 6BCF, Warner Bros. Animation hosts the world-premiere screening of the first episode of Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2, followed by a cast and crew Q&A ahead of the series’ July 31 return on Prime Video. The noir animated series hails from Warner Bros. Animation, DC Studios, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho, with Bruce Timm among the executive producers.
Friday, July 24 brings DC’s Gotham City at 11:15am in Room 6DE, with G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy), Matt Fraction (Batman), Tom Taylor (Detective Comics), Tate Brombal (Batgirl), Christopher Cantwell (Batman: Bad Seeds – Gotham Central), and Scott Snyder (Absolute Batman) — plus an early look at this fall and what DC teases as “a major reveal fans won’t want to miss.” DC’s Next Level follows at 12:30pm in the same room with Joshua Williamson and Hayden Sherman (Legion of Super-Heroes), Kyle Higgins (Teen Titans), Michael Walsh, and Gerry Duggan (Next Level: One Shot). At 2:00pm, the My Adventures with Superman Season 3 panel takes over the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront with showrunners Jake Wyatt and Brendan Clogher and voice cast including Jack Quaid and Alice Lee.
Saturday, July 25 opens at 10:00am in Room 6A with a special presentation and Q&A for Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall, the multi-part animated event adapting the iconic Bane saga, featuring Michael Mando (voice of Bane) alongside the creative team. DC’s Metropolis and Beyond follows at 11:15am in Room 6DE with Joshua Williamson (Superman), Mark Waid (Action Comics, Justice League Unlimited), Tom King (Wonder Woman), Stephanie Williams (Wonder War: The Matriarch), Jeremy Adams (Green Lantern, Emperor Aquaman), Morgan Hampton (Green Lantern Corps), and Nicole Maines (Justice League: Dream Girls). Then at 12:30pm, DC’s Absolute Universe panel gathers Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Hayden Sherman (Absolute Wonder Woman), Jeff Lemire (Absolute Flash), Che Grayson (Absolute Catwoman), and Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque (Absolute Green Arrow) to tease “the first hints of the justice closing in on Absolute Batman.”
Related: 2026 Eisner Awards: Comic-Con Nominations For DC’s Absolute Line
Convention Exclusives: Absolute Foils, Frank Miller, Sienkiewicz Connecting Covers
On the exclusives front, DC will offer limited-printing foil covers while supplies last, including Absolute Catwoman #1 by Jay Anacleto and Romulo Fajardo Jr., Absolute Green Arrow #1 by Rafael Albuquerque, Absolute Batman #1 by J. Scott Campbell and Tanya Lehoux, Absolute Superman #1 by Terry and Rachel Dodson, Absolute Wonder Woman #1 by Mark Brooks, Batman #1 by Kyuyong Eom, Bleeding Hearts #1 by Eric Zawadzki, Lobo #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1 by Leirix, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley, and DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: Metal Legion #1 by Min Ho Kim.
Convention-exclusive editions of collected trades will also debut, including Batman Vol. 1: Daylight (Jorge Jimenez cover), Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Last Amazon, Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo, and Absolute Superman Vol. 1: The Last Dust of Krypton (Dan Mora covers), plus DC K.O.: A DC Comics Event (Javi Fernández and Alejandro Sánchez cover).
Shoe Palace, Upper Deck, and DC team for an Absolute Batman #1 Bundle Set featuring a foil variant of Absolute Batman #1, an individually numbered Upper Deck trading card, and an Absolute Batman t-shirt, all showcasing Nick Dragotta’s artwork. eBay gets convention-exclusive variants of Absolute Batman #22 and Absolute Catwoman #2 with a connecting cover by Bill Sienkiewicz, who will sign at the DC Booth for fans who purchase the exclusives. And the U.S. Mint’s comic art coin and medal program brings a custom convention-exclusive reprint of The Brave and the Bold #28 (1960) with art by Dan Jurgens — the first half of a connecting cover, with the second half releasing later this year.
DC Shop: Silver Age Hoodies, Lanterns Power Rings, Clayface Merch
The DC Shop’s Silver Age collection includes a premium DC Silver Age Zip Hoodie plus Johnny DC, Bat-Mite, and Spy vs. Spy tees. Fans of HBO’s Lanterns can grab the Oath Bomber Jacket and a collector’s Power Ring (sizes 9–12), and DC Studios’ upcoming Clayface film gets its own apparel line. The Absolute Universe expands with heavyweight tees for Absolute Green Arrow and Absolute Catwoman, plus an Absolute Batman puff tee and cap, alongside Batman: The Animated Series, Nightwing, and Lobo merchandise. For those staying home, DC Shop will run a special online collection covering the Silver Age, Lanterns, Clayface, Absolute Green Arrow, Absolute Catwoman, Zatanna, and more.
LEGO Batman, The Superman Experience, And Krypto’s Litter
The booth features playable stations for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, the recently released action-adventure game from TT Games and Warner Bros. Games, with giveaways for attendees who play. The game is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with the Nintendo Switch 2 version and the Mayhem Collection DLC — adding a new Story Mission plus Joker and Harley Quinn as playable characters in Mayhem Mode — both landing September 18.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood extends its Superman experience to the booth, where fans can pose with Superman and Krypto in front of a Fortress of Solitude backdrop and receive a limited-edition Superman Experience #1 custom comic written by Josh Trujillo with art by Bruno Abdias and a cover by Bernard Chang.
Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines returns with DC’s sponsored litter of future service dogs — Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Kara Zor-El, Krypto, and Lobo — marking the first time the full DC-named litter appears at SDCC. Meet the pups Saturday from 4:00pm–6:00pm, and again Sunday from 10:00am–11:00am alongside a Chrissie Zullo signing of Krypto: Home Sweet Krypto.
The DC Community team celebrates the DC Official Discord Server’s one-year anniversary with a free poster giveaway: show proof of Discord membership for an SDCC-exclusive poster of Scottie Young’s Lobo #1 variant cover, DC GO! pins, and a Jon Kent press badge, while supplies last (Thursday 2:00pm–3:00pm, Friday through Sunday 1:00pm–2:00pm). A 1950s/Silver Age cosplay photo meetup hits the booth Thursday at 6:00pm.
Rounding things out is Unlock DC, a web-based mobile hub connecting fans to DC activations across the convention and the city. Registered users get an interactive map, exclusive discounts, and photo ops, and can scan QR codes at DC checkpoints to earn stars and unlock reward tiers — redeemable at a DC Reward Truck appearing at a surprise location Thursday and Friday.
Creator Signings All Weekend
DC Booth signings include Jim Lee, Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Che Grayson, Mark Waid, G. Willow Wilson, Matt Fraction, Joshua Williamson, Tom Taylor, Rafael Grampá (Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham), Pornsak Pichetshote, Rafael Albuquerque, Stephanie Williams, Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton, Kyle Higgins, Nicole Maines, Belén Ortega (Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman), Javi Fernández, and more. Some signings will require wristbands, with the full schedule dropping via dc.com and @DCOfficial ahead of the show.
More details on DC’s Booth #4544 activations will be revealed in the coming weeks. Cosmic Book News will be covering DC’s panels and news live from the show floor at SDCC 2026.
