Originally announced in March by DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson and publisher Jim Lee during a presentation in Japan, the Batman and Justice League manga has finally been given a release date.
The new series, which will be written by Shiori Teshirogi, will launch on June 19th in Champion RED magazine. This will be the first DC Comics project for Teshirogi. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern, and Aquaman are confirmed to appear in the series to take on the Joker and an alliance of super-villains.
Other manga that has included Batman in the past include a short story in Batman: Black & White, Batman: Child of Dreams that featured a very Keaton-esque Batman, Batman: Death Mask, and Bat-Manga!: A Secret History of Batman in Japan.
DC Comics is trying to reach a wider audience with these manga outings, and it comes at a great time with the feature film Justice League hitting later this year to help prep overseas fans who might not buy the traditional American comics.
Fans of Japanese animation should also check out Batman: Gotham Knights (2008), which was a direct-to-DVD film consisting of six anime shorts intended to fill the gaps between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
