Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Absolute Batman, Clayface, sdcc

Everything Comes Up Clayface For DC Comics In July Ahead Of The Film

Everything's Coming Up Clayface for DC Comics in July ahead of the movie... where else can we spot him?

July is the month of Clayface for DC Comics, all over the place. The Clayface film is being released in October 2026 ahead of Hallowe'en, but DC Comics wants all Clayface all the time for San Diego Comic-Con. Expect previews and promos for the Clayface movie all over San Diego Comic Con, backed by the comics.

Bleeding Cool understands that Clayface will be teased in next week's Absolute Batman #21 ahead of his big story for July's Absolute Batman #22 and August's Absolute Batman #23, recreated as a tortured sculptor or a shape shifter who steals people's imprints who walk in his clay…

Then there's his own series, Clayface Celebrity Dirt #1 launching in July, issue 2 in August… The six-issue series by horror writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle, artist Fran Galán, colourist Patricio Delpeche, and letterer Tom Napolitano sees Clayface as he escapes Arkham Towers, ready to stage his comeback, only to discover that someone else has stolen his name, his face, and his long-lost stardom…

And also the main DC Universe Batman comic may be bringing him in…. here's a cover and solicitation for Batman #12 in early August but we m,ay get an earlier appearance in Batman #11 out in July… here is Ryan Sook's cover, promising "£Six of the world's deadliest killers have descended on Gotham City at once–but who hired them, and who's the target?"

Are these chess pieces? Or are they made of clay? Ryan Sook teased some other cover suggestions, which seem to have The Joker watching over them all from within his tank. And suggesting the killers may include Bane…

Okay maybe this is a stretch, but there is suddenly a lot of Clayface around, as DC doubles down…. might be worth checking out his very first appearance. Though that probably means you have to ask, which Clayface?

• The original Clayface was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in Detective Comics #40 in 1940 as a B-list actor who began a life of crime by assuming the identity of a villain he had portrayed in a horror film.
• In 1961, in Detective Comics #298, we met Matthew Hagen, created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, a treasure hunter who was given vast shapeshifting powers and resiliency by exposure to a pool of radioactive protoplasm and became the second Clayface.
• In 1978, in Detective Comics #478, Preston Payn, created by Len Wein and Marshall Rogers, became the third Clayface, as a scientist suffering from hyperpituitarism, and who used the second Clayface's blood to cure his condition. He then became a clay-like creature that needed to pass his new condition on to others to survive with his melting touch.
• In 1987, in The Outsiders #21, Sondra Fuller of Strike Force Kobra, created by Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo, used the terrorist group's technology to become the fourth Clayface, also known as Lady Clay. She would later form the Mud Pack team with Karlo and Payne.
• In 1994, in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #2, we met Payne and Fuller's son, Cassius "Clay" Payne, created by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones, who had metahuman shapeshifting powers.
• In 1997, in Batman #550, Dr Peter Malley, also created by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones, used a sample of Cassius Payne's skin to become Clay-Thing.
• In 2002, in Catwoman #4, we got the Todd Russell version of Clayface, created by Ed Brubaker and Darwyn Cooke
• In 2005, in Batman: Gotham Knights #60, we got the  Johnny Williams version of Clayface, created by A. J. Lieberman and Javier Pina

So there are a lot of first appearances you may want to track down….

• CLAYFACE CELEBRITY DIRT #1 (OF 6)
  (W) Jude Ellison S. Doyle (A) Fran Galan (CA) Dave Johnson
  AHEAD OF DC STUDIOS' CLAYFACE MOVIE, WITNESS BASIL KARLO BRING THE MUD AND THE PAIN BACK TO DC COMICS! Before he was Clayface, Basil Karlo was one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. As he breaks out of Arkham once again, he's ready to stage his comeback, but there's just one problem: Someone already beat him to it, and Basil Karlo is already a massive star. But if that's true, what's next for the real Basil? And what does his predicament have to do with young women disappearing in Los Angeles and a new supplement causing hideous transformations in its users? Acclaimed horror writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle and rising star artist Fran Galan join forces for a bold new miniseries that's equal parts body horror and Hollywood glamour. Retail: $4.99 7/8/2026
• CLAYFACE CELEBRITY DIRT #2 (OF 6) CVR A DAN MORA
  (W) Jude Ellison S. Doyle (A) Fran Galan (CA) Dan Mora
  BASIL KARLO MAKES HIS TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO HOLLYWOOD–AND BIG-SCREEN BODY HORROR! Basil Karlo tracks the man who stole his identity to the set of Hollywood's hottest new film production, but getting close to Basil Karlo means sneaking onto the studio lot via forgotten underground tunnels and discovering the nightmare waiting underneath. Meanwhile, a new supplement is causing grotesque transformations across Los Angeles. Clayface's comeback is about to become a horror show as acclaimed writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle and rising-star artist Fran Galan continue bending genres and bodies. Retail: $3.99 8/12/2026
• BATMAN #11
  (W) Matt Fraction (A/CA) Jorge Jimenez
  THE OJO RETURNS TO GOTHAM CITY WITH HER DEADLY SIGHTS SET ON UNFINISHED BUSINESS! The deadliest woman in the world wielding two blades is back, and her quest for blood puts her on a collision course with the Caped Crusader–and as chaos ensues, Vandal Savage's corrupt GCPD won't be far behind! If that weren't enough, the sinister Minotaur, squeezing Gotham's underworld, finds himself on a path to reckoning, courtesy of the Penguin! Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez deliver an action-packed chapter of their smash-hit series that critics are calling "a blockbuster reinvention" and "a perfect comic book." $4.99 7/1/2026
• BATMAN #12
  (W) Matt Fraction (A/CA) Jorge Jimenez
  SIX ASSASSINS. ONE CITY. COUNTLESS WAYS TO DIE! Six of the world's deadliest killers have descended on Gotham City at once–but who hired them, and who's the target? Surely, it can't be the Batman… As the Caped Crusader races to uncover who set this deadly plan in motion, the late Alfred Pennyworth provides a gift from beyond the grave with the arrival of a brilliant new ally to the Bat-Family at a time when it needs one most.
• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #21
  (W) Scott Snyder (A/CA) Nick Dragotta
  SCARECROW'S REIGN OF TERROR CONTINUES! Friends become enemies. Enemies become friends. Final forms are revealed, and Scarecrow's reign of terror threatens to upend everything. $4.99 6/17/2026
• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #22
  (W) Scott Snyder (A) Werther Dell'Edera (CA) Nick Dragotta
  THE ORIGIN OF HARLEY QUINN! As the Robins nest in Gotham's backyard, and Batman faces ultimate defeat, Harley Quinn's origin is revealed. How does Harley connect with Ark M, and how did the Robins fledge from hatchlings to birds of prey? The call of more than one predator will be answered in this issue. $4.99 7/8/2026
• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #23
  (W) Scott Snyder (A/CA) Nick Dragotta
  BATMAN VS. BATMAN! In a climactic showdown, Batman is forced to battle an unyielding enemy in not just the Robins but in himself. More than one dead character signals a call for help…and a symbol of hopelessness as more friends become enemies.
  $4.99 8/12/2026

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