DC's All-in Summer Belongs to Its Ongoings

The most interesting thing about DC right now is not a single blockbuster. It is that the ongoings are so strong the line barely needs one — and the summer's biggest event is happening inside them.

Superman Comes Home to Kingdom of Zod

Superman returns from his post-KO disappearance straight into Kingdom of Zod, a crossover threaded across the Super-titles rather than siloed in its own miniseries. The absence had a purpose — the Man of Steel walked away from godlike power at the close of KO to handle something bigger — and the payoff is his reintroduction against a Zod finally given room to dominate. A long-planted Time Trapper line about Superman still having his right eye "means Zod hasn't come back yet" suggests this has been on the board for a while. The Reign of the Superboys stretch that filled the gap was genuinely fun, with Superboy Prime and his fourth-wall antics carrying more charm than expected, but the main event is Clark back in his own book.

Poison Ivy Runs Gotham

The Batman corner kicks off Bad Seeds, and its hook is delicious: Poison Ivy is the mayor, with Vandal Savage installed as police commissioner. It is a nightmare scenario that raises an obvious question — how did the world's greatest planner not see this coming? Either Batman genuinely missed it, or letting Ivy and Savage seize the levers is itself part of a longer play. Both readings are fun, and the book seems happy to let you wonder.

The Elseworlds and Indie Swings

Supergirl Survive is the quiet standout — an Elseworlds concept so clean it is a wonder no one ran with it sooner. Krypton is dying, and a young Kara is handed baby Kal to protect and deliver to safety, a protect-the-package story with real emotional stakes and a Blue Lantern ring twist that pays off fast. On the Vertigo side, Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy reads like occult X-Files by way of Department of Truth, with Ram V — whose Detective Comics work has been a highlight — bringing his voice to a genre that suits him. DC deserves credit for keeping the Vertigo flame lit, even if the imprint's real breakouts remain rare.

The Green Lantern and Flash Corners

Beyond the events, the connective health of the line shows. The Hal-and-Kyle-Rayner Green Lantern material is loose, fun, and stuffed with cosmic sidekicks. Ryan North's Flash is a clear improvement on what came before, leaning into Wally, Linda, and the Flash family — the register these characters play best in. And World's Finest keeps delivering the warm, classic Superman-and-Batman energy, most recently a Justice League baseball game for the souls of humanity, exactly the kind of gloriously old-school premise the book was built to celebrate.

The Takeaway

DC's strength this summer is distribution. The Kingdom of Zod crossover lives across the ongoings, the Batman event grows out of its own titles, and the deep bench — from Elseworlds to Vertigo to the cosmic corners — is firing at once. A publisher does not need a line-wide catastrophe when its monthly books are this good.

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