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Superman ’78 and Batman ’89 Are Headed to The Comics

By Reggie's Take on February 21, 2021

Before Christian Bale or Ben Affleck dawned the cape and cowl as Batman, before Henry Cavill became the Man of Steel, before there was an MCU or DCEU two men took to the big screen to bring us two iconic interpretations and both will get another chance to live on.

If you are a fan of Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman: The Movie and Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, you are going to get the chance to revisit both worlds as DC Comics have announced new digital first series runs of both Superman ’78 and Batman ’89.

Both Superman ’78 and Batman ’89 will debut with six digital chapters each on July 27^th with new chapters for each comic book debuting for the next six weeks that follow. Each series will then print all twelve chapters as six printed comics between August and October of this year. Hardcover editions will then become available in October for Batman ’89 and November for Superman ’78.

Rob Venditti (Hawkman) and Wilfredo Torres (Batman ’66) will collaborate on Superman ’78 to tell stories set within the world Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve created in Superman: The Movie. In Superman ’78, bystanders are surprised and delighted by Superman’s abilities, and Lois Lane doesn’t (yet!) know that Clark Kent is secretly Superman. The sheer thrill of seeing a man fly, leap, or stop a bullet will be reflected in this environment where Superman has just been introduced! Inspired by Donner’s classic, timeless style of superhero storytelling, in Superman ’78 Venditti and Torres will show fans that a man can truly fly.

Continuing the twisted adventures of DC’s Dark Knight from Tim Burton’s seminal classic Batman movies, Batman ’89 brings in screenwriter Sam Hamm (Batman, Batman Returns) and artist Joe Quinones (Dial H for Hero) to pull on a number of threads left dangling by the prolific director. The gothic mentality behind the world, while still rooted in a sense of realism, helped inform many of DC’s global fans’ first impressions on the Dark Knight’s Gotham. In the new Batman ’89 comic, Hamm and Quinones will help usher in the return of Selina Kyle/Catwoman and will debut a new Robin! Plus, Quinones has a vision for Harvey Dent/Two-Face that is as close to movie magic as a comic can get!