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If there’s one man who could reliably be considered to have the history of the DC Universe at his fingertips, it’d be Barry Allen — the former Flash who was the first hero to travel the multiverse and uncover the secrets behind DC’s reality. If there were two, then the other would be real-life comic book writer Mark Waid, long-time DC expert and writer of everything from The Flash and Kingdom Come to Action Comics and Justice League Unlimited. Starting this June, the two will be collaborating (well, kind of) to make fans’ dreams come true with the four-issue comic book series New History of the DC Universe.

Written by Waid and starring the erstwhile Mr. Allen, the series is intended to reveal the truth behind the DCU — including some secrets even longtime fans might be surprised by.

“This is my dream project,” Waid said in a statement about the series. “It’s a chance to realign all of DC's sprawling continuity into one master timeline, and to be joined by some of comics’ greatest artists to make it shine. With new information for even longtime fans, plus Easter eggs galore, this series will be an essential read for DC fans.”

The first issue will feature art from Jerry Ordway and Todd Nauck, and will cover everything from the beginnings of the DCU through the origins of the Justice Society of America. Future issues will see an “all-star line-up of interior artists” contribute, according to DC, with an equally impressive group of cover artists working on the title throughout. The first issue alone will feature covers from Chris Samnee, Dan Mora, Ryan Sook, and Michael Cho — all of which can be seen in the gallery below.

This isn't the first time DC has released an official version of its comic book canon: in 1986, the company published History of the DC Universe by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, the two creators who had just rebooted everything in the previous year's Crisis on Infinite Earths series. It's also not the first time that Mark Waid has worked on a project of this scope; in 2019, he wrote the six-issue History of the Marvel Universe, illustrated by Javier Rodriguez. We should also note that New History of the DC Universe will debut just weeks before the theatrical release of DC Studios' Superman, the most high-profile DC movie in recent memory — and a movie that will restart DC's movie canon and likely send fans looking for a guide to what happened in the original comic book source material. 

Given the admittedly confusing state of DC history after the numerous reboots of reality in comics like Crisis on Infinite Earths, Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, Dark Nights: Death Metal, and more, just actually laying out what the canonical history of the current DCU looks like would be a victory in and of itself — but to have Waid, Ordway, et al laying it all out for readers across four issues (and to get to see Waid write the Flash again, in the process) feels like DC fans are getting a victory lap or two in the process. This fan, at least, is very, very excited to see what lies ahead.

New History of the DC Universe #1 (of 4) will launch June 25.

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU.