"Dark Nights: Metal" is only the beginning of DC Comics' dark plans.

The publisher announced this morning at the Diamond Retailers Summit in Chicago that the August event, by former "Batman" collaborators Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, will kick off a new line called "Dark Matter," which teams superstar writers and artists on new titles featuring new characters.

dc dark matter

“What I love about 'Dark Matter' is it’s a return to bringing both the writer and artist to the fore,” DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee explained in a video that debuted on Entertainment Weekly. “At our talent summit, we brought together some of our key creators, writers, and artists, and we sat around and talked about what was missing in comics, what we could do to create something different that maybe fans of this generation hadn’t seen before.”

dc dark matter

"Metal" will be followed in September by "Sideways," written by DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio and Justin Jordan and drawn by Kenneth Rocafort, about a teleporting teen, and "The Silencer," by Dan Abnett and John Romita Jr., about the world's former deadliest assassin whose bid to lead a quiet life doesn't work out as she'd planned.

October brings "The Immortal Men," by James Tynion IV and Lee, about five immortal siblings who recruit the elite to oppose foes seeking to bring about Armageddon, and "Damage," by Robert Venditti and Tony S. Daniel, about any Army recruit who's given the ability to "unleash an unstoppable monster for one hour at a time.”

The "Dark Matter" line will be rounded out in December by "New Challengers," which brings together Snyder and Andy Kubert for a reboot of the classic Challengers of the Unknown, featuring a new cast and a new mission.

Follow CBR for more details about DC's "Dark Matter" line.