DC’s new title starring a very polarizing depiction of Jesus Christ has been canceled, Newsarama reports. The book, titled Second Coming, was pulled as of Wednesday before reaching its release date of March 6.
This isn’t due to any pressure, claim the creators. Writer Mark Russell says it was an “amicable” agreement by him and DC and Second Coming will see the light of day eventually.
He posted a series of updates via Twitter, praising and thanking DC for its professionalism.
The: DC/Vertigo’s cancellation of the orders for Second Coming, just so you know, DC did not do anything untoward to me. I asked for the rights back and they gracefully agreed. They’ve been a pleasure to work with and it will still be released, albeit with a different publisher.
— Mark Russell (@Manruss) February 13, 2019
Also, re: Second Coming, I want to thank everyone at Vertigo who’s gotten it to the point where it’s as good as it is. Specifically, I want to thank Molly, Maggie, and Mark for all their support and hard work. Wherever it ends up coming out, know that this is still your book.
— Mark Russell (@Manruss) February 13, 2019
The Molly, Maggie, and Mark that Russell gives his thanks to are Vertigo editor Molly Mahan, the assistant editor Maggie Howell, and Vertigo’s executive editor Mark Doyle.
Artist Richard Pace, who’s been following the news closely and retweeting threads about the story, agreed with his co-creator on the book in a post of his own.
The big news on Second Coming is @manruss and I asked for our book back and @dccomics very generously is doing so. We’re looking forward to announcing the new home for Sun-Man, Jesus and their family soon.
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.#secondcoming #jesus #vertigo #dccomics #comicartist #workincomics— Richard Pace @ECCC & C2E2 03/19 (@rpace) February 14, 2019
Second Coming met with swift reaction upon its announcement last year. A petition, denouncing the comic as blasphemous, was launched in order to pull it from shelves. So far, that petition has 228,514, signatures and a goal of 500,000.
Part of Vertigo’s awaited relaunch, Second Coming was going to portray Jesus Christ in a very different light. Returning to Earth as prophesied, Jesus is stunned by what’s become of humanity and his teachings. He moves in with the aptly named Sun-Man and learns how to be a hero in today’s world.
In an interview with Bleeding Cool, Russell revealed that the story is based around the idea that God is angry at Jesus for sacrificing himself on the cross.
“God was so upset with the fact that he got crucified the last time that he wouldn’t even let him look through the celestial keyhole at Earth to keep up.
He still gets to talk to people when they come to Heaven so he has a rough idea of what’s going on down there. He doesn’t know how sideways things have gone until he’s come down to Earth and sees it for himself.”
Russell also noted that when Jesus does return to Earth is appalled at what he sees.
“[Second Coming] is about Jesus coming down and being appalled by what he sees has been done in his name by Christianity in the last two thousand years.”
This is the second cancellation of a book in two months for the troubled imprint on what is its 25th anniversary. In December, Border Town was called off when that book’s writer and co-creator Eric Esquivel was hit with sex abuse accusations.