From 52 to Countdown to Trinity, there was a three year period in which weekly comics were a staple of DC Comics' publishing initiativeNow the publisher is returning to the format, as today DC Comics announced Batman: Eternal, a year long weekly series focusing on the Dark Knight and Gotham City. The title will feature a writing team led by current Batman scribe Scott Snyder, and its launch will coincide with the character's 75th anniversary.

Snyder's presence on the project will no doubt be welcome news to those who have enjoyed the writer's immensely popular Batman stories since the launch of the New 52, but he won't be alone. Joining him on the project is a team of writer's that includes James Tynion IV, Tim Seeley, Ray Fawkes and John Layman, and will feature art by Jason Fabok. Snyder will serve as the series' "showrunner," so to speak. Talking to USA Today, Snyder described Batman: Eternal as "a place for me to be able to work with good friends in terms of shaping Gotham in a bigger, grander and more game-changing way than ever before."

It's an interesting concept, and one that will likely be very successful. Batman's titles consistently top the sales charts for DC, so a weekly series focusing on the character and his city, in addition to the monthly titles he already stars in, will certainly grab the attention of readers. The comic will be similar to Gotham Central, in so far as it will feature a variety of peripheral characters as well as spotlighting both other heroes and villains alike, but the primary focus will be Batman.

In addition to the weekly series, DC announced big plans for next year's Detective Comics #27. The 96 page issue will celebrate the first appearance of Batman -- in the original Detective Comics #27, published in 1939 -- with guest contributions from an impressive lineup of creators, headlined by Frank Miller, whose work on the seminal Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are widely considered to be among the best, and most influential, Batman stories ever told. Miller will illustrate a two-page spread for the story, which will feature creative contributions from Neal Adams, Paul Dini, Brad Meltzer, Gregg Hurwitz, Peter Tomasi, Dustin Nguyen and Francesco Francavilla. Variant covers for the issue will be provided by Jim Lee, Greg Capullo, Chris Burnham, Kelley Jones, Patrick Gleason and Mike Allred.

Batman: Eternal #1 and Detective Comics #27 are both due out next spring.

Detective Comics #27 Chris Burnham Variant
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