A huge day for Brian Michael Bendis fans at Emerald City Comicon in Seattle. The acclaimed writer moderated the DC Comics Writers panel and teased big announcements at his spotlight panel.
Bendis will reunite with longtime collaborators Michael Gaydos and David Mack for two new Jinxworld comic title.
The writer’s exclusive deal with DC Comics will begin with Bendis taking over SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS and a new home for his Jinxworld books including POWERS, SCARLET and THE UNITED STATES OF MURDER, INC.
Here are the new books:
PEARL
For the first time since creating Jessica Jones, Bendis teams up with artist and co-creator Michael Gaydos on Pearl, a story about finding out and embracing who you are, not what you were born to be. This sweeping, epic romance is set against the violent backdrop of warring Yakuza factions in modern-day San Francisco.
Pearl is a very special tattoo artist and accidental assassin whose life is turned upside down when she falls for her counterpart from a rival faction. Realizing that they’re both products of a hellish environment with few prospects for real happiness, Pearl and her new lover are determined to escape this life and chart their own fates together.
As complicated and topical as Jessica Jones but with a completely different flavor and voice, Pearl will debut this summer.
COVER
The award-winning creative team of Bendis and artist David Mack reunite for another all-new Jinxworld series, Cover. Debuting this fall and based on a true story, the intelligence community figures out that the traveling band of social misfits who make comic books are an exact match to the profiles of candidates recruited for intelligence and counterintelligence gathering. A very well-known comics creator is recruited by the agency to live a double life as a spy. And convention season is upon us. With a nod to films like Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and The In-Laws, this comic celebrates comics, comic creators, readers and of course, spies.
“I’m BEYOND excited to announce these new titles at Emerald City Comic Con,” said Bendis. “The show has always stayed true to its comics roots and that makes it a perfect place to talk anything Jinxworld, especially new titles I’m working on with creators like Michael and David whom I value and respect so highly.”
About that DC Custom Imprint…
Part of the Bendis deal will include the writer curating a line starring more DC characters. When asked “who is his Luke Cage of DC?” meaning which under the radar character does he want to elevate to a greater role.
Bendis revealed the new imprint is “all the Luke Cages of DC Comics” and revealed Green Lantern is the character he’s surprised by how much he loved writing. The writer followed up with yes, Green Lantern shows up in MAN OF STEEL, the series the sets up his run on SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS.
In the spotlight panel the writer thanked fans for their support of his shift from Marvel to DC and his recent health scare. Bendis has a near-death experience after a major illness in December. The writer announced that more than 150 Jinxworld periodicals and collected editions, covering Jinxworld favorites like Brilliant, Fire, Fortune & Glory, Goldfish, Jinx and Torso, plus the full run of Bendis and artist Michael Avon Oeming’s landmark series Powers (spanning 100 individual issues and 17 collected editions), are available now for digital purchase and download through platforms including readdc.com.
In celebration of the DC/Jinxworld partnership, several titles from the Jinxworld catalog will have their #1 issues downloadable for free until March 7: Powers, Scarlet, United States of Murder Inc., Brilliant and Takio. Many of these series will be relaunched with all new stories
“Making our catalog available for purchase digitally has been a tremendous undertaking, one that might not have been possible without Comixology and the support of our partners at DC,” said Bendis. “Now, old fans and new have the opportunity to experience and re-visit some of the great characters and stories that formed the foundation of the Jinxworld publishing lineup and set the stage for more exciting titles to come.”