Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson Join ‘The Master Race’ (The Comic)

The art team for Frank Miller's worryingly titled third entry in his Dark Knight trilogy was unveiled by DC this morning, with Andy Kubert providing the pencils, and longtime Miller collaborator Klaus Janson providing inks. DC also unveiled the first image by the creative team. Kubert's previous Batman credits include the "Batman and Son" arc with Grant Morrison, and the story "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" with Neil Gaiman. Janson was Miller's inker on the original The Dark Knight Returns.

The Dark Knight III: The Master Race rounds out a trilogy that began with Miller's seminal classic The Dark Knight Returns in 1986, and the slightly less well regarded follow-up The Dark Knight Strikes Again in 2001. Miller wrote and drew the previous installments, but in addition to stepping away from the art side, he's also sharing the writing for the new series with Brian Azzarello.

DC also revealed that each of the eight 32-page issues of the series will contain a 16-page insert by another artist, set within the Dark Knight universe and exploring other characters in that universe. No creative teams for those stories have been announced at this time.

At a press breakfast at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday morning, publisher Dan DiDio was asked about the book's provocative title. DiDio noted it was Miller's style to "break the mold and raise eyebrows," but said that the strength of the book would ultimately comes down to its story. "If we sanitize things before we tell the story then there will be no story." DiDio promised that DC would put care, passion and thought into making the book the best it could be.