Add another to DC Comics’ roster of exclusive creators: “Titans” and “Aquaman” writer Dan Abnett, as announced by the publisher on Thursday. According to the press release, Abnett will “create comic book content solely for the company’s DC and Vertigo imprints.”
Abnett is an industry veteran best known for his many collaborations with former creative partner Andy Lanning, including their 2008 revival of “Guardians of Galaxy” which directly inspired the 2014 Marvel Studios hit film. In recent months, Abnett had been active at both Marvel and DC Comics, including writing Marvel’s four-issue “Civil War II: Gods of War” miniseries, which is slated to wrap in September. Marvel declined comment on DC’s announcement when reached by CBR News.
Abnett’s runs on both “Aquaman” and “Titans” pre-date DC’s “Rebirth” era, which kicked off this week with the “DC Universe: Rebirth” one-shot. Abnett took over “Aquaman” with issue #49 earlier this year, and wrote the “Titans Hunt” series that leads directly into the new “Titans” series set to launch in June with the “Titans: Rebirth” one-shot. Abnett also has written for DC’s Vertigo imprint, penning “The New Deadwardians,” released in 2012.
“Dan Abnett is the perfect fit for ‘Aquaman’ and ‘Titans,'” DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee said in a statement. “He skillfully balances great dialogue and high-octane action, making for great reads every time. DC is excited that he’ll be giving fans more great stories in both books as we enter into our line wide ‘Rebirth’ re-launch in June and beyond.”
“I was delighted by Dan DiDio’s invitation to sign exclusively with DC,” Abnett said in a statement. “My recent work for DC, on projects like ‘He-Man,’ ‘Earth 2’ and ‘Titans Hunt’ have been both rewarding and enjoyable, and now with ‘Aquaman’s’ Rebirth in the mix, and the ‘Titans’ as a new series, it seems like the ideal time to really focus on DC work and do my best to knock each and every issue out of the park. Not that we have baseball parks in the UK. We have cricket pitches. But the point stands, anyway…”
“Aquaman: Rebirth” is scheduled for release on June 8; “Titans: Rebirth” follows a week later on June 15.
