DC Comics is not hiding the ball with news that the Justice League is being killed off in a new event which duplicates the gimmicks and promotion of 1992’s Death of Superman comic book story and event.
The current Justice League series will end with April’s Justice League #75, which is written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Rafa Sandoval, according to Entertainment Weekly. During a battle with the Dark Army, most of the team will perish and the finale is set to serve as the foundation for an ongoing storyline that sees the DCU come to terms with the loss of so many beloved heroes.
As with Man of Steel #75, which was the famous Death of Superman comic book, this new storyline is intentionally designed to mimic the infamous “Death of Superman” crossover from 1992, including the black bag promotion. Of course, Superman did eventually return to life, it was only after a prolonged absence and the rise of four temporary replacements in the follow-up crossover “Reign of the Supermen.”
“We’ve been building to the Death of the Justice League for the last year across the main line,” said Williamson. “I remember buying DEATH OF SUPERMAN 30 years ago and now we have an opportunity to take that idea and go bigger with it. JUSTICE LEAGUE 75 allows us to showcase why the Justice League are comics’ greatest heroes as we show the aftermath of the loss against their biggest threat ever and its impact on the DCU.”
DC Comics posted that “A new Dark Army made up of the DCU’s greatest villains has formed on the edges of the Multiverse and the best and most powerful heroes are pulled together in an epic war to push the darkness back. In the end, the Justice League are killed by the Dark Army with only one survivor to warn the remaining heroes of Earth about what is coming for them!”
“Being able to draw the Justice League is always exciting, they are just the greatest superhero team of all time,” said Sandoval. “We will see a great evil coming out of the darkness and more dark characters that will be revealed very soon. This book is just the starting point and fans do not want to be left behind and miss what is going to happen.”
“After working with Rafa on THE FLASH and seeing the amazing work he did on HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORP, I knew that he excels at big cosmic battles while also finding those emotional moments between the characters,” said Williamson.
“I was lucky to work with Josh on THE FLASH and it was one of the most fun times of my career,” added Sandoval. “He has always given me freedom to work and does not set boundaries to my creativity. When I draw Josh’s scripts, I always get reminded of why I wanted to become a comic book artist years ago.”
The supersized 48-page issue will be available at local comic book shops and participating digital retailers on April 19.
