Summary
DC Comics’huge crossover events are already somewhat horrifying: entire dimensions being wiped out, zombie heroes raised from the dead —the New 52. However, DC is upping the ante this Halloween with an anthology collection of new horror stories set during events likeInfinite Crisis,Zero Hour,Flashpoint, and more. See a sneak preview of the covers and teases of the stories below.
In its September solicitations, DC Comics has revealedDC’s I Know What You Did Last Crisis#1, a new horror anthology featuring in-continuity stories “set during the events of crises past.“The cover by artist Dan Hipp lends a funny, campfire story vibe to the collection, but the teaser info promises that the tales inside will be true horror.
October 2nd, 2024
Writers:
Dan DiDio, Rex Ogle, Dave Wielgosz, Rachel Pinnelas, Matthew Levine, and others
Artists:
M.L. Sanapo, Adam Graphite, Sid Kotian, Will Robson, Jordi Tarragona, and others
Variant Covers:
Ejikure, Nicola Scott
In the blackest night, when the darkness feels infinite, the very fabric of the universe begins to tear…as every major crisis in DCU history rises once again! These eight chilling tales, set during the events of crises past, serve to warn you, dear reader: when in crisis, watch your back. In the fractured world of Flashpoint, Professor Pyg is stalking Gotham City’s nightclubs, sniffing out victims! During Blackest Night, Scarecrow lurks outside a movie theater, recruiting new test subjects to perfect his fear toxin! Even heroes like Nightwing aren’t safe when his death might just have the power to reverse the damage of Infinite Crisis! All these, plus new stories from Crisis on Infinite Earths, Millennium, Zero Hour, The Final Night, and Final Crisis are collected in DC’s I Know What You Did Last Crisis, a deadly new horror anthology coming to haunt you this fall!
The cover features Nightwing and other DC characters like Batgirl, Scarecrow, and Superman looking into the comic itself, which features a cascading mirror of them reading the comic with them on the cover. The art is fun and colorful, but the concept itself is a little horrific and ties into DC’s many multiverses, including comic characters discovering the real world and their place in it.
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Variant Cover by Ejikure
DC has organized a Justice League of writers and artists for the collection. Dan DiDio, Rachel Pinnelas, Rex Ogle, and more will create terrifying tales such as the Scarecrow making Gotham even more horrifying duringBlackest Night. Artists like M.L. Sanapo, Sid Kotain, and Jordi Tarragona will add dark shadows and tense layouts to those stories teased here, like Nightwing discovering he can undo theCrisis on Infinite Earths— all he has to do is die.These events already have huge stakes for everyone involved, so horror side stories mean the scares are turned up, too.
Readers can check out Crisis-level events — such as the iconicCrisis on Infinite Earthsby legends Marv Wolfman and George Pérez — in collected editions from DC Comics as well as digitally on DC Universe Infinite.
This collection builds off ofDC’s other successes with holiday anthologies.DC PowerandDC Pridehave been smash hitsduring Black History Month and Pride Month, respectively. DC also published a fan-favorite Valentine’s Day anthology in 2024, which similarly referenced a movie from the early aughts:DC’s How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days#1. The stories collected in this romance-themed anthology were definitely inspired by rom-coms from the ’90s and 2000s, which meansI Know What You Did Last Crisiscould continue the trend, pulling some of its inspiration from movies likeScreamandFinal Destination.
Variant Cover by Nicola Scott
The stunning variant covers released by Eijikure and Nicola Scott are beautiful, but don’t lend much of a horror vibe. DC may be planning more variants, and holding them back to jump scare readers closer to Halloween. While waiting for this collection, readers could stand to re-read some of these classic events to get the full horror these new side stories will provide. As DC isre-releasingCrisis on Infinite Earths, it may be the best place to start. Paired with the resurrection of Elseworlds,DC Comicsis going all-in on alternate universe stories with its heroes, so knowing their histories is more important than ever.
DC’s I Know What You Did Last Crisis#1is available October 2nd, 2024 from DC Comics.
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths dates back to 1985 when DC Comics published the first 12-issue arc. The original crossover event features Anti-Monitor and Brainiac trying to conquer the remaining Earths. Ultimately their plan fails, which creates a single Earth in the Multiverse. Crisis on Infinite Earths has also been used as the basis for several story arcs in The CW’s Arrowverse shows like The Flash and Arrow.
