Black Lightning Celebrates 50 Years With New DC Power Anniversary Special

WEPAAAA! Fifty years of Jefferson Pierce, and DC is making sure Black Lightning’s milestone gets the electricity it deserves. The publisher has announced DC Power: Black Lightning 50th Anniversary Special, a 48-page one-shot hitting comic shops January 27, 2027.

Creators Jenny Isabella, Brandon Thomas and Fico Ossio team up for the main story, while writers Danny Lore, Greg Anderson Elysée and Al Letson contribute additional stories alongside artists Karen S. Darboe, Darryl Banks and Sedat Özgen. This isn’t just a nostalgia lap. DC says the special continues Jefferson’s story and examines the relationships that have defined him.

With Superman away, Black Lightning is tasked with protecting Metropolis, and an old enemy has other plans. Jefferson is also weighing his relationship with former wife Lynn Stewart while his responsibilities pull him in every direction. Saving a city is one thing. Keeping your family together while the whole universe needs you? That’s a different kind of fight.

The issue brings in the Outsiders, including Katana, the Signal and Cassandra Cain, along with Jefferson’s daughters Anissa and Jennifer, plus Mr. Terrific and Steel. DC also teases that Jefferson’s vision in DC K.O. may push him toward mentoring a young hero.

There’s some real history behind the creative lineup. Isabella returns to a character she helped create, and original artist Trevor Von Eeden contributes a variant cover. In the announcement, Isabella praised Thomas’s understanding of Jefferson Pierce, while Thomas described the special’s central theme as love for the hero’s family, history and place in the DC Universe.

The main cover is by Edwin Galmon and Andrew Dalhouse. Additional variants come from Fico Ossio and Tamra Bonvillain, Trevor Von Eeden and Chris Sotomayor, plus a glow-in-the-dark edition by Cully Hamner. The 48-page special is priced at $5.99.

Black Lightning has always been more than a guy who throws lightning bolts. He’s a teacher, a father and a community leader, and that combination is exactly why this anniversary deserves more than a flashy cover. Crusaders, which Black Lightning era is your favorite?