Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: dark knight, frank miller, jim lee

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 40th Anniversary In Comics & Hoodies

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 40th Anniversary in comics and hoodies,

Published Fri, 20 Feb 2026 06:46:08 -0600

Article Summary

Celebrating 40 years of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns with new facsimile comics and exclusive variants
Jim Lee and Frank Miller deliver fresh cover art for anniversary reprints of the iconic Dark Knight series
DC launches collectible Dark Knight apparel and merchandise, including hoodies, jackets, and art prints
Anniversary festivities culminate on Batman Day 2026 with a deluxe remastered hardcover edition

Last month, Bleeding Cool scooped the news that DC Comics was getting Jim Lee and Frank Miller to draw new variant covers for facsimile editions of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns for the series' 40th anniversary. And with Frank Miller at ComicsPRO last night and today, talking about the series by Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynne Varley. DC Comics has also been heavily promoting the series' reprinting in as many ways as possible. Hmm, you know, Watchmen also came out forty years ago, right? Harder to get Alan Moore to Glendale, California, I guess. Bleeding Cool will be attending the Miller/Janson panel later today…

: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns / Jim Lee

: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns / Frank Miller

Beginning in February, DC will release monthly Facsimile Editions of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1–4, faithfully reproducing the original 1986 single issues as they first appeared. Complete with their original covers, ads, and back matter in the original single-issue format.
Later this summer, DC will publish a series of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 40th Anniversary variant covers, featuring artists from across the industry paying tribute to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: DC Compact Comics Edition, arriving April 7, 2026.
Beginning with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, DC Shop unveils the Artist Collection, from clothes to collectables, including a commemorative jacket, a limited, hand-numbered art print in partnership with Sideshow Collectables, washed-black graphics tees, a drop-shoulder hoodie, a duffel bag, and more.
DC's 40th anniversary celebration of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns culminates on Batman Day 2026, with the release of DC's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Deluxe Edition hardcover, a newly remastered, premium, volume collection.