Next week is the 16th new comic book day of 2025! This post covers DC Comics April 16 2025 new releases. Missed this week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering DC Comics April 9 2025 new releases.
This week in DC Comics: Superman Day kicks off the Summer of Superman, Absolute Rogues, Waid’s “We Are Yesterday” begins in the past, a Five Years Later reprint five years later, the sharp edges of Zatanna’s mystery, the Sonic League, conflicts explode in The New Gods, and more!
The Krisis Pick of the Week: There are a lot of heavyweight issues out this week that I considered. Last month, picking Detective Comics gave me a surefire winner because Taylor & Janin’s run has just been that damn good. And, I’m very tempted to pick Christopher Cantwell’s Challengers of the Unknown (2024) #5 (of 5… or 6). But, I’m going with Jamal Campbell’s Zatanna (2025) #3. Last issue was wildly entertaining and gave us terrific contrast from the debut issue. Plus, there’s no one else in comics who draws quite like Campbell.
This post includes every comic out from DC Comics April 16 2025, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats.
This isn’t the typical comic releases post you can find on other sites. Why? I explain each collection and review every in-continuity series with a new issue out this week. Plus, for most new releases, I’ll point you to a personally-curated guide within the Crushing Comics Guide to DC Comics to find out how to collect that title in full!
There’s no other website on the internet that can claim that.
And now, onto DC Comics April 16 2025 new releases!
DC Comics April 16 2025 Collected Editions
DC collected editions tend to hit the bookmarket on the same day as the Direct Market (or one day prior), so all of these DC Comics April 16 2025 collected editions should also be available from your local bookseller next week!
All-Star Superman: The Deluxe Edition
(2025 “Superman Day” oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1799506959)
See Guide to DC Elseworlds & Alternate Earths. A special Superman Day deluxe hardcover recollection of the non-continuity All-Star Superman (2005) #1-12, a beloved Grant Morrison & All-Star Superman series I controversially hate with a fiery passion. Here’s your chance to decide just how wrong I am!
Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later Omnibus Vol. 1
(2025 hardcover, ISBN 978-1799501114)
See Guide to Legion of Super-Heroes. A fresh printing of the first of two “Five Years Later” omnis picking up Post-Crisis Legion continuity. Hopefully this is setting the stage for a reprint of Volume 2 and then finally continuing to an omnibus of Post-Zero-Hour Legion!
Superman Unchained Deluxe Edition
(2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1779526236 / 2025 “Superman Day” oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1799506966 / digital)
See Guide to Superman (1986 – Present). Another special Direct Market Superman Day deluxe hardcover, this time of Scott Snyder & Jim Lee’s New 52 era 2013-2014 maxi-series. This appears to be an alternate dust jacket version of the same contents as the 2023 printing, allegedly with the ISBN of 978-1799506966.
Read on for a summary of all of the DC Comics April 16 2025 single issue releases!
DC Comics April 16 2025 Physical Comic Releases
Want to see each one of these DC Comics April 16 2025 single issues reviewed in one minute or less? Check out my weekly live stream “The Pull List” on YouTube!
Absolute Flash (2025) #2 (digital) – See Guide to DC Absolute Universe. Issue one of this Jeff Lemire, Nick Robles, Adriano Lucas, & Tom Napolitano jam was yet another heart-stoppingly gorgeous debut for the Absolute line. I don’t feel like Nick Robles is worshipped enough for the versatility and expressiveness of his art, but I’ve been on that train for at least seven years now.
As for the story? Meh. Lemire delivered some warmed over father figure / big brother stuff from the past 15 years of his comics that yielded a pretty plain new origin for Wally West. Honestly, I was too busy staring at Adriano Lucas’s color choices to care too much about the script.
The thing that worries me is that the end of last issue and the cover of this issue leans heavily into introducing Absolute version of the Rogues and I just. don’t. care. No hate to big Flash fans, but there is only so excited you can make me with the introductions of flashy alternate version of characters like Captain Cold, Boomerang, and the Trickster.
I’m still excited for more Robles/Lucas art, but Lemire better have more than “Revised Rogues hunt disaffected teen Wally” up his sleeve for an Absolute relaunch of one of DC’s biggest anchoring heroes.
Batman / Superman: World’s Finest (2022) #38 (digital) – This issue kicks off a crossover between this Mark Waid retcon book and Mark Waid’s present day DC flagship, Justice League Unlimited (2024)! “We Are Yesterday” promises to link a past encounter with Gorilla Grodd to the present day threat of the mysterious League villains Inferno.
I’m pretty excited for this as long as I pretend I didn’t see the super-dumb final reveal in last month’s issue of Justice League Unlimited (2024). Waid is very good at weaving together storylines from multiple books to change present day status quo, so even if the setup of this one causes me to roll my eyes it might lead to some interesting outcomes – just like Absolute Power (2024) did last year.
Catwoman (2018) #75 (digital) – See Guide to Catwoman. This run from Torunn Grønbekk feels like it’s stalling out after a series of plot-lite issues that have been style over substance. They’re all mildly fine with brief bursts of tension and lovely art.
Grønbekk’s run started with some perfect voicing for Selina Kyle with issue #69, but we’re dragging into a seventh issue of a meandering plot about one of Selina’s past identities being reported dead. People from an old crew are getting killed and she wants to know who and why? I guess that’s fine, but it’s hard to defend just how boring it has become just on the strength of stylish art that nods to Tim Sale and Darwyn Cooke.
This issues promises to connect that identity to the origins of Catwoman, and… no thanks, you can keep it.
Challengers of the Unknown (2024) #5 (of 5… or 6?) (digital) – See Guide to Justice League (for now). This is it – the finale of Christopher Cantwell’s compelling and occasionally creepy Challengers mini-series suggesting these regular human heroes have a secret connection to Darkseid and his anti-life energy in the wake of the DC All-In Special.
Or, is it? This series was initially announced as six issues, but there’s no sixth issue solicited for the next two months of DC releases. Are Cantwell & Co. just running late, was the series cut short, or did the story intended for the final issue morph into… something different.
I’ve really enjoyed the one-shot nature of each of the issues so far, but here is the real test. Can Cantwell link all of those one-shots together into a satisfying conclusion? And, where will it lead next? Back into Mark Waid’s Justice League Unlimited (2024)? Into another Cantwell mini-series?
I absolutely cannot wait to find out. This one has done the work to hook me over the past four months so I’m psyched for what this issue holds in store… and if it winds up being the ending or just the penultimate installment.
DC x Sonic the Hedgehog (2025) #2 (digital) – See Guide to DC Elseworlds & Alternate Earths. Y’all, social media word of mouth works, because between writing about the #1 of this series last month and my Pull show I saw enough people raving about this series that I read it. And, I found it entirely delightful!
Even as a non-Sonic-fan, seeing the match-ups between DC’s modern Justice League line-up and the various Sonic cast members was pure joy, and I loved the depiction of Darkseid and his plans intruding on Sonic’s idyllic world.
Detective Comics (1937 / 2016) #1096 (digital) – See Guide to Detective Comics (1987 – Present). Tom Taylor’s run on Detective Comics with Mikel Janín has gone from a solid mystery to one of my most-anticipated comics of every month!
Last month was an issue about the line between Bruce and Batman. Does it connect them or divide them? It gave us one of my favorite subtle scenes between Bruce and Clark without them even being in the same room. And, it featured Bruce doubting his motivations as Batman and his fitness as a father.
I could read it over and over again. It was truly an issue that understood Batman as a person and as a hero – a nuance many authors can’t nail down. Also, when it comes to artwork, it’s wild how much an outside inker and colorist changes the surreal tone of Janin’s art. Who knows if it was a deliberate choice or just a deadline issue, but it was a perfect shift for a more grounded script.
Pick this run up from issue #1090 right now to see how Tom Taylor is getting beneath the cowl while still introducing a mystery worthy of Detective.
The New Gods (2024) #5 (of 12) (digital) – See Guide to Mister Miracle. Last issue of this Ram V maxi-series got the balance right between mythology from a guest artist (Bernard Chang, looking good!) and present day plot from the extraordinary Evan Cagle.
Still, it barely went anywhere and it implied a lot with some sparsely scripted pages as we see a vaguely-defined invasion of New Genesis and the very exciting Earth action of Mister Miracle stopping a taxi cab. (/sarcasm)
After a strong start I’m questioning if this series has a clear direction and/or if it really needed 12 issues to get there. For me, it’s moving away from being a “mind-bending plot” book and more in the direction of a “just reading it for the art” book. This issue promises to bring the New Genesis and Earth plots deeper into conflict, but after two weak scripts in a row I’ve got my defenses up when it comes to getting excited about the solicits for this one.
Nightwing (2016) #125 (digital) – See Guide to Nightwing. I was slightly bored with the launch of Dan Watters & Dexter Soy’s run on Nightwing, but the past few issues have ticked further into a creepy direction that feels closer to Watters’ wheelhouse.
We’re hot off of body horror about literal human flies and Nightwing encountering his new big bad in the moment between life and death. And, we left off on a cliffhanger of a relatively dull corporate arms dealer being revealed to be… something.
This solicit feints at the issue being a conflict between Dick and Maggie Sawyer, but surely those other plots will be simmering in the background.
Summer of Superman Special (2025) #1 (digital) – See Guide to Superman (1986 – Present). Of course DC is about to celebrate a major season of Superman, with the new Superman film due out in July! Also, their big two Superman books have been consistently pretty darn great for several years running now (with some occasional dips), so it’s pretty easy to get excited about the line.
Here we have Mark Waid launching a summer full of plot threads for himself, Joshua Williamson, and professional internet troll and DC newcomer Dan Slott. If that’s not enough of a draw, this has art from Jorge Jimenez before he heads over to relaunch Batman with Matt Fraction!
I don’t stay too aware of future solicits, so I don’t know exactly what’s coming for Superman across his titles, but you better believe I’ll be seated for a preview in this issue.
DC celebrates Superman Day on April 18, when they’ll be issuing single issue excepts of three Superman stories with Superman Day 2025: All-Star Superman Special Edition #1, Superman Day 2025: Jimmy Olsen’s Supercylopedia Special Edition #1, and Superman Day 2025: Superman for All Seasons Special Edition #1.
Titans (2023) #22 (digital) – See Guide to Titans & Young Justice. After defeating mini-boss Psycho Pirate last issue after several issues of build-up, this issue reveals the real bad-guy to the Titans: their historical arch-nemesis Deathstroke, back from the dead!
I continue to find John Layman refreshing in his approach to team comics in general and Titans in specific. He’s really got that old-school Claremont/Wolfman energy of finding time to focus on every character in the team, and I think this run is stronger for it.
Wonder Woman (2023) #20 (digital) – See Guide to Wonder Woman. Tom King kicks off his second arc writing Diana, which seems as though it’s actually a collection of several mini-arcs beginning with a Batman team-up.
Zatanna (2025) #3 (of 5) (digital) – With issue #2, this Jamal Campbell in-continuity Zatanna series quickly leapt from “this is pretty cool” to “this is one of the best comics series of 2025.”
For me, that’s because it showed that it wasn’t just inventing entirely new magical problems for Zatanna, but it was also connecting her to magic in current DC continuity. Also, every panel of Jamal Cambpell’s art is exciting!
That’s for DC Comics April 16 2025 new releases! What were you already pulling? And, did I convince you to check out anything new? Sound off in the comments below.
Leave a Reply