DC Comics is bringing in their big guns with writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV along with artists Andy Kubert, Jim Lee, and John Romita Jr. for a massive summer event, Dark Days.
Dark Days will take place within two separate books, Dark Days: The Forge #1 and Dark Days: The Casting #1. These stories aim to reveal the dark underbelly of the DC Universe and break new ground in DC’s publishing line.
And one of the ways they aim to break new ground is by bringing artists to the forefront of the storytelling process. Kubert, Lee, and Romita Jr. will collaborate with Snyder and Tynion IV to develop new ideas and characters that will enrich the DC Universe.
“Art like this demands an epic story,” says Snyder. “DARK DAYS posits a mystery that traces all the way back to when I started on BATMAN. I’ve hinted at them over the years with Easter eggs and clues. This is a mystery that literally begins at the dawn of man and spans generations of heroes and villains and ultimately leads to huge revelations about the past, present and future of the cosmology of DC. I couldn’t be more excited for DARK DAYS. It’s the prelude to the event we’ve been developing for years.”
It’s quite possible this event may be the oft-rumored event that would reunite Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. While, Capullo isn’t mentioned in DC’s press release. These two issues do look to kick off a linewide event that could see the duo working together again. One thing is for sure – this looks to be a Batman-centric story.
Snyder told CBR the event he was working on would be different. “I want it built out of the stories happening now and creating new material and giving everybody a place to tell stories that fit what they’re doing on their books, and feels really modern and different and above all fun. I don’t want it to be grim. I don’t want it to be superheroes arguing over something. Superheroes won’t be fighting superheroes. I want it to be celebratory, and huge, and crazy. I am going for out of control dinosaurs and lasers.”
“We’re taking all the ethos and excitement of the work Scott and I have been doing in the Batman titles and unleashing it across the entire DC Universe,” adds Tynion IV. “The size and scope of what we’re looking to do with DARK DAYS could only be accomplished by the best of the best. Andy, Jim and John are legends. All of us on this project are pushing one another, and every concept, to the extreme.”
This will be the first major DC linewide event since 2015’s Convergence.
“Working with Scott and James on DARK DAYS is the culmination of the big ideas and endless brainstorming that came out of a recent creative summit,” explains Lee. “It was tremendous fun having peers like Andy Kubert and JRJR in with some of our top writers. Strategically, Dan and I have talked for a long time about bringing the artist back to the table in the genesis of big, epic events. The creative summit was just that, and the level of collaboration was truly invigorating and electrifying. We can’t wait to share DARK DAYS with the DC faithful…they’re in for a thrill ride!”
While DC didn’t reveal much in this press release about any of the details of this event, it does seem information will be coming when DC heads to WonderCon, Fan Expo Dallas, and C2E2.
If the cover art shows us anything all hell looks to have broken loose. There are people tied around what appears to be a statue of Batman. There are also possible Brother Eye Bat bots roaming around looking for people. To give it a final touch all of the high rises look abandoned or at least bombed out. It’s hard to see Snyder’s vision of this type of story being celebratory given the utter destruction and pain seen on this cover page.