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DC unveils finished Jim Lee cover art for the upcoming DC/Marvel and Amalgam omnibus collections
New editions of classic crossover comics including Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man are coming soon
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As if fans weren't excited enough for the upcoming DC/Marvel omnibus collections, DC has released finished, colored artwork for both books from Jim Lee - and it's just as bombastic as you would expect.
The news that longtime rivals Marvel and DC are partnering to bring classic inter-company crossovers back into print in new editions with previously unseen behind-the-scenes material and more was a moment that many — superhero fans and industry professionals alike — thought would never happen, but the two announced two omnibus collections of the long out-of-print material, both set for release August 6, 2024: DC Versus Marvel Omnibus will collect all the DC and Marvel crossovers published between 1976 and 2000, while the DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus will feature a complete collection of the mid-90s superhero universe made from the combined DC and Marvel universes.
For all their famed rivalry, Marvel and DC have periodically come together for a number of publishing ventures, starting in the late '70s through the mid '80s, and then again in the early-mid '90s, and finally, with the 2003 crossover event series JLA/Avengers. Amongst the titles produced via collaboration by the companies are two separate Superman/Spider-Man titles — 1976’s Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, and 1981’s Superman and Spider-Man — as well as 1982’s Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans, and 1996’s four-issue DC vs. Marvel, the results of which were chosen by fan voting, and led to the fan-favorite Amalgam comics, which featured new characters made up of mash-ups of DC and Marvel properties.
The periodic team-up of the two companies ended in the early '00s as what had previously been a playful rivalry turned a little meaner, with then-Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada joking in an infamous 2002 interview that DC “don’t know what to do with” Batman and Superman, and adding, “That’s like being a porn star with the biggest dick and you can’t get it up” — a comment that reportedly upset the then-management of DC to the point where communication between the two companies became significantly frostier.
Before things had a chance to thaw, the realities of the two publishers went through a significant change, as Marvel was purchased by Disney in 2009, which was the same year where DC Comics became a subsidiary of the newly-created DC Entertainment, with both Marvel and DC becoming pivotal parts of international multimedia empires as a result — and therefore less likely to collaborate on any new projects together.
That said, things change — and there have been two important signs in the past couple of years to suggest that something like today’s news was possible. The first is that Marvel and DC both signed off on a limited-edition reprint of JLA/Avengers in 2022 to benefit the Hero Initiative in tribute to George Pérez, who had announced that he had only months to live a short period earlier. (Pérez, who illustrated the series, died in May 2022.)
Secondly, Marvel and DC’s parent companies have recently demonstrated their own willingness to work together, with the early February 2024 announcement that Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are two of three partners behind a new sports streaming service to launch later in the year. (Fox Corp is the third and final partner.) If Marvel and DC’s corporate parents can come together on a regular basis for the good of the audience, is it really that surprising that the two leading superhero storytellers could do the same?
The obvious question now is, of course, what’s next. Should fans be expecting more comic book crossovers between the two universes — especially as creators and customers alike are looking for the next thing that will “save the industry”? Or should we be looking elsewhere for the next surprising installment? After all, Marvel Studios is exploring the multiverse over the next few years, and DC is preparing to reboot its own on-screen canon with a former Marvel writer/director at the helm. Just imagine how exciting it would be if Superman or another DC hero showed up as an unexpected cameo in an upcoming Marvel movie…! But… something like that would never happen. Although people said that about Marvel and DC putting aside their differences to reprint these books up until very recently…
The two companies have announced two omnibus collections, both set for release August 6, 2024. DC Versus Marvel Omnibus will collect all the DC and Marvel crossovers published between 1976 and 2000, while the DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus will feature a complete collection of the mid-90s superhero universe made from the combined DC and Marvel universes.
The full line-up of titles collected in the DC Versus Marvel Omnibus is:
- Batman/Captain America #1
- Batman/Daredevil #1
- Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1
- Batman/Spider-Man #1
- Daredevil/Batman #1
- DC Special Series #27 (Batman versus the Incredible Hulk)
- Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1
- Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1
- Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1
- Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1
- Marvel Treasury Edition #28 (Superman and Spider-Man)
- Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1
- Silver Surfer/Superman #1
- Spider-Man and Batman #1
- Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1
- Superman/Fantastic Four #1
Meanwhile, the DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus features all four issues of the DC Versus Marvel miniseries from 1996, as well as both of the spin-off Access miniseries, as well as Amalgam titles including Amazon #1, Assassins #1, Dr. Strangefate #1, Dark Claw #1, Super Soldier #1, Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Bullets and Bracelets #1, Speed Demon #1, Spider-Boy #1, X-Patrol #1, Bat-Thing #1, Dark Claw Adventures #1, Generation Hex #1, JLX Unleashed #1, Lobo the Duck #1, Super Soldier: Man of War #1, Challengers of the Fantastic #1, Exciting X-Patrol #1, Iron Lantern #1, Magnetic Men Featuring Magneto #1, Spider-Boy Team-Up #1, and Thorion of the New Asgods #1.
Both omnibii were solicited with variant covers from DC Publisher and President Jim Lee that will only be available via comic book stores. The covers were not released at the time of initial announcement, but DC has since debuted them to the public:
This leaves JLA/Avengers as the only Marvel/DC crossover title to not feature in these new editions — which might be the result of deals made surrounding the 2022 Hero Initiative edition, or a sign that a new standalone collection of that title could be possible at some point in the future.
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