DC Celebrates Joe Kubert’s 100th Birthday With Sgt. Rock, DC Special #5 and New Centennial Releases

DC is celebrating the 100th birthday of legendary comic book artist, writer, and educator Joe Kubert with a special lineup of September releases honoring one of the most influential creators in comics history.

The centennial celebration will include Sgt. Rock by Joe Kubert: Deluxe Edition, Joe Kubert: 100 Years – A Life in Covers #1, and a new DC Special #5 Facsimile Edition, complete with a massive artist-jam homage variant featuring members of the Kubert family and graduates of the Kubert School.

Joe Kubert’s influence reaches across generations of comic book storytelling. His work helped define characters including Sgt. Rock, Hawkman, Enemy Ace, Ragman, and Tarzan, while his dedication to teaching helped shape generations of professional artists through the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.

Readers can see DC’s complete announcement at the official Joe Kubert centennial page and explore more DC Comics news and coverage here at Comic Book Addicts.

DC Special #5 Returns as a Facsimile Edition

One of the centerpieces of DC’s celebration is DC Special #5 Facsimile Edition, scheduled for September 16, 2026.

The original issue was curated by Joe Kubert himself and collected four stories he personally selected as favorites. For the centennial release, DC is pairing the facsimile with a newly commissioned artist-jam homage cover celebrating Kubert’s extraordinary impact on comic book art.

The impressive contributor lineup includes Adam Kubert, Andy Kubert, Emma Kubert, Jan Duursema, Tom Mandrake, Ron Wagner, Amanda Conner, Rick Veitch, Stephen R. Bissette, Lee Weeks, Ron Randall, Steve Lieber, and colorist Brad Anderson.

The cover is especially fitting because it brings together Kubert family members and artists whose careers connect directly to the artistic tradition he helped build.

DC will also offer foil and blank sketch cover variants for the facsimile edition.

Joe Kubert: 100 Years – A Life in Covers

Also arriving September 16 is Joe Kubert: 100 Years – A Life in Covers #1, a gallery-style one-shot spotlighting memorable covers from across Kubert’s long career.

The collection reaches across decades of DC publishing and includes work associated with titles such as The Brave and the Bold, House of Mystery, Sgt. Rock, Ragman, and more.

Kubert’s covers were rarely just character poses. They often functioned as complete visual stories, immediately establishing danger, emotion, or conflict before a reader ever opened the book.

The one-shot also includes a foreword from DC group editor Katie Kubert, offering a personal perspective on her grandfather and the enormous artistic legacy he left behind.

Sgt. Rock by Joe Kubert Gets the Deluxe Treatment

For many readers, Joe Kubert will forever be connected to Sgt. Rock, and DC is giving that work a major spotlight with Sgt. Rock by Joe Kubert: Deluxe Edition.

Arriving September 15, the hardcover collects many of Kubert’s defining Sgt. Rock stories and presents them in fully restored color.

Kubert’s war comics remain powerful because the battles were never simply about gunfire and explosions. His pages emphasized fear, exhaustion, sacrifice, friendship, and the human cost of combat.

That combination helped make Sgt. Rock and Easy Company some of the most enduring characters in DC’s war-comics history.

DC Celebrates Joe Kubert’s 100th Birthday With Sgt. Rock and Centennial Releases

Joe Kubert’s Influence Is Still Everywhere

Joe Kubert’s legacy extends far beyond the pages he personally drew.

His storytelling influenced generations of artists, while the school he founded helped turn comic book art into a discipline that could be formally studied, practiced, and passed on.

That makes DC’s centennial releases more than commemorative reprints.

They serve as a reminder of how one creator helped influence both the history of DC Comics and the broader development of the American comic book industry.

A century after his birth, Kubert’s work still looks powerful, direct, and immediately recognizable.

Final Thoughts

DC’s Joe Kubert centennial celebration offers several different ways to revisit the work of a comic book master.

DC Special #5 Facsimile Edition recreates a piece of Kubert history while introducing a remarkable multi-artist tribute cover.

Joe Kubert: 100 Years – A Life in Covers #1 puts his extraordinary cover work front and center.

And Sgt. Rock by Joe Kubert: Deluxe Edition returns readers to one of the defining creative partnerships of his career.

For longtime collectors, Kubert fans, comic art students, and readers interested in the history of the medium, September is shaping up to be a major month for celebrating one of comics’ true legends.