Kodansha have announced that it will begin serializing the Machibura JOKER (Joker Walking Around Town) manga in the next issue of Morning, releasing on July 2. The series will be drawn by Masa Ichikawa and feature The Joker from DC.
The news was announced in Morning issue 30 (2026) and credited DC for supervision and the creation of the Joker, and Fortuna for cooperation with international rights. The manga will focus on Joker looking for a new base of operations within Japan. This will be the fourth collaboration between Kodansha and DC. Batman: Justice Buster by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi released in January 2020. Later, Wanope Joker (Joker: The One-Man Operation) by Satoshi Miyakawa and Keisuke Goto released in January 2021.
Meanwhile, Superman vs. Meshi: Superman no Hitori Meshi (Superman vs. Food: Superman Dining Alone) by Miyakawa and Kai Kitagō released in June 2021 in Kodansha’s Evening magazine. All three were published in English by DC Comics. Ichikawa previously created the manga A-bout!, first releasing in November 2009, and Boku wa Doko kara (Where do I come from?), first releasing in January 2018. A-bout! was followed by the sequel series A-bout!!: Asagiri Daikatsuyaku-hen, which released in June 2013, and A-Bout! Surf, released in July 2013.
Last year, DC created an anime film with Kamikaze Douga and YamatoWorks, titled Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League. A two-film digital collection that includes both the original and new film is also available, alongside the physical UHD and Blu-ray versions of Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League. It is also available to stream on HBO Max.
