1988 saw the publication of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's Batman: The Killing Joke. Superman and Wonder Woman have their first crossover, in the milestone issue Action Comics #600. The British Invasion continues with Neil Gaiman on Black Orchid (Volume 1), Grant Morrison on Animal Man (Volume 1) and Jamie Delano on Hellblazer (Volume 1).
Starting in 1988, DC Comics shifted sales focus from newsstands to the direct market. Because comics and magazines stay on direct market store shelves for a shorter time than newsstands, DC added two "extra" months (marked as "Winter" and "Holiday" on some issues) to their publication schedule to bring their comics' cover dates closer to the actual date. For the sake of indexing, issues with these cover dates are listed under December 1988.
Creators
The following creative talent are known to have been born in 1988:
- Diego Bernard
- Enrica Eren Angiolini
- Giannis Milonogiannis
- Kate Leth
- Kelly Fitzpatrick
- Noel Rodriguez
- Sam Loeb
- Sam Wolfe Connelly
The following creative talent passed away in the year 1988:
- Clem Gretter
- Elizabeth Kessler
- Frank Giacoia
- Hendrik Vollaerts
- Hollingsworth Morse
- Marianne Mosner
- Paul Reinman
- Richard Carr
- Robert Bernstein
Titles
The following comic titles debuted with a 1988 cover date:
- Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (Volume 1)
- Animal Man (Volume 1)
- Batman: The Cult (Volume 1)
- Best of the Brave and the Bold (Volume 1)
- Black Orchid (Volume 1)
- Blackhawk (Volume 2)
- COPS (Volume 1)
- Checkmate (Volume 1)
- Christmas with the Super-Heroes (Volume 1)
- Cinder and Ashe (Volume 1)
- Cosmic Odyssey (Volume 1)
- Crimson Avenger (Volume 1)
- Deadshot (Volume 1)
- Direct Currents (Volume 1)
- Doc Savage (Volume 2)
- Doctor Fate (Volume 2)
- Dragonlance (Volume 1)
- Flash Gordon (Volume 1)
- Forever People (Volume 2)
- Green Arrow (Volume 2)
- Green Lantern Special (Volume 1)
- Hawk and Dove (Volume 2)
- Haywire (Volume 1)
- Hellblazer (Volume 1)
- Manhunter (Volume 1)
- Martian Manhunter (Volume 1)
- Millennium (Volume 1)
- New Guardians (Volume 1)
- Peacemaker (Volume 2)
- Plastic Man (Volume 3)
- Power Girl (Volume 1)
- Power of the Atom (Volume 1)
- Saga of Ra's al Ghul (Volume 1)
- Spiral Zone (Volume 1)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (Volume 1)
- Starman (Volume 1)
- Tailgunner Jo (Volume 1)
- The Phantom (Volume 1)
- The Prisoner (Volume 1)
- The Weird (Volume 1)
- Unknown Soldier (Volume 2)
- V for Vendetta (Volume 1)
- Wanderers (Volume 1)
- Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 1)
- Who's Who: Update '88 (Volume 1)
- World of Metropolis (Volume 1)
- World of Smallville (Volume 1)
- Wrath of the Spectre (Volume 1)
The following Comic titles were last published with a 1988 cover date:
- Amethyst (Volume 3)
- Batman: The Cult (Volume 1)
- Blackhawk (Volume 2)
- Blue Beetle (Volume 6)
- Booster Gold (Volume 1)
- Cinder and Ashe (Volume 1)
- Crimson Avenger (Volume 1)
- Doc Savage (Volume 1)
- Flash Gordon (Volume 1)
- Forever People (Volume 2)
- Green Lantern Corps (Volume 1)
- Infinity Inc. (Volume 1)
- Martian Manhunter (Volume 1)
- Millennium (Volume 1)
- Outcasts (Volume 1)
- Outsiders (Volume 1)
- Peacemaker (Volume 2)
- Power Girl (Volume 1)
- Saga of Ra's al Ghul (Volume 1)
- Sgt. Rock (Volume 1)
- Silverblade (Volume 1)
- Slash Maraud (Volume 1)
- Sonic Disruptors (Volume 1)
- Spiral Zone (Volume 1)
- Star Trek (Volume 1)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (Volume 1)
- Sword of the Atom Special (Volume 1)
- Tales of the Teen Titans (Volume 1)
- Teen Titans Spotlight (Volume 1)
- The Phantom Stranger (Volume 3)
- The Phantom (Volume 1)
- The Weird (Volume 1)
- Underworld (Volume 1)
- Vigilante (Volume 1)
- Warlord (Volume 1)
- Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 1)
- Who's Who: Update '88 (Volume 1)
- World of Krypton (Volume 2)
- World of Metropolis (Volume 1)
- World of Smallville (Volume 1)
- Wrath of the Spectre (Volume 1)
The following One Shots were published with a 1988 cover date:
- Alien Nation #1
- Aquaman Special #1
- Batgirl Special #1
- Batman: The Killing Joke
- Daily Planet Invasion Special #1
- Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1
- Justice League International Postcards
- Superman: The Earth Stealers #1
- Superman: This Island Bradman
Characters
Selected 1988 character debuts. See all.
- Circe (New Earth)
- Clifford Zmeck (New Earth)
- Arnold Wesker (New Earth)
- Edward Nashton (New Earth)
- Patrick O'Brian (New Earth)
- Alec Rois (New Earth)
- Vril Dox I (New Earth)
- Dawn Granger (New Earth)
- Dorothy Spinner (New Earth)
- First of the Fallen (New Earth)
- Winslow Schott (New Earth)
- Anatoli Knyazev (New Earth)
- Tora Olafsdotter (New Earth)
- Mnemoth (New Earth)
- Gary Lester (New Earth)
- Lord Malvolio (New Earth)
- Hugo Danner (New Earth)
- Queen Bee II (New Earth)
- Valerie Beaudry (New Earth)
- Death Mayhew (New Earth)
- Chester Runk (New Earth)
- Manga Khan (New Earth)
- Frederick Rhino (New Earth)
- Saul Erdel (New Earth)
- Matango (New Earth)
- Max Castle (New Earth)
- Katherine Webb (New Earth)
- Garryn Bek (New Earth)
- Mabel Waxahachie (New Earth)
- Priest (New Earth)
- Eliot Shaw (New Earth)
- Peter Ross (New Earth)
- Seyg-El (New Earth)
- Aleister Hook (New Earth)
- Weird (New Earth)
- Sylvia Kandrey (New Earth)
- Gregorio de la Vega (New Earth)
- Frank Chandler (New Earth)
- Bree'mill (New Earth)
- Cornelius Stirk (New Earth)
- Clyde Phillips (New Earth)
- Oswald Loomis (New Earth)
- Strata (New Earth)
- Joseph Blackfire (New Earth)
- Jewelee (New Earth)
- G'nort (New Earth)
- James Shaw (New Earth)
- Natalie Gurdin (New Earth)
- Psi-Phon (New Earth)
- Arthur Gordon Pym (New Earth)
Teams
Selected 1988 team debuts. See all.
- Checkmate (New Earth)
- L.E.G.I.O.N. (New Earth)
- Blasters (New Earth)
- Miagani
- Homo Magi
- Alien Alliance
- Dai-Ichi Doku
- Damnation Army
- Blackhawk Squadron (New Earth)
- Hammer Organization
- Soyuz (New Earth)
- Freak Show
- American Supremacist Party
- Blue Boys II (New Earth)
- Project Peacemaker
- New Guardians (Millennium)
- L.O.A.
- Secret Six II (New Earth)
- White Lions
- Black Zero Organization
- British Boys
- Power Elite
- Techno-Chiefs