Midnighter and Apollo

Q: Why aren't the Wildstorm characters a comfortable fit in the modern, edgier DC Universe? — @jdkrach A: With Warren Ellis and Jon Davis Hunt reviving it in the pages of The Wild Storm --- and with characters like Midnighter and Apollo experiencing some of their best stories ever in the core DC Universe right now --- it seems like the WildStorm characters have been on everyone's mind lately. And Real talk? I kinda love the WildStorm Universe. It's a universe built on an interesting twist on what it means to be a superhero, shaped by creators like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Ed Brubaker, and Adam Warren, a roster of world-builders that somehow came together beautifully to make it all work. But the flipside to that is that a lot of what I love about it comes from the nature of the universe itself, and when you remove them from that kind of thematic setting, it makes it a lot harder for them to fit anywhere else.

The GLAAD Media Awards have always provided an interesting marker for the progress of queer representation in mainstream comics. While in the past many comics received nominations and accolades for achieving minimal levels of inclusion, the industry is now bustling with competition for the award, which celebrates LGBTQ characters and themes in comics. This year's shortlist is the biggest one yet, and the field is wide open for anyone to take home the coveted award.

Steve Orlando, Fernando Blanco and Romulo Fajardo Jr's Midnighter and Apollo straddles a sweet spot between being one of the most brutal and visceral superhero comics on the stands, and also one of the most tender and heartfelt romance stories. That intersection is exactly where my musical taste lies, so this playlist reflects these two beating hearts of the series.

Check out the best redesigns of 2016, including our critics’ picks, listed in alphabetical order, and your picks of the runner up and winner in this category! This is the very best of 2016!

Check out the best superhero comics in 2016, including our critics' picks, and the comics you voted the runners up and winner in this category! This is the very best of 2016!

At this point, you already know that Midnighter and Apollo is one of the single best comics on the stands right now, if for no other reason than that we will not stop talking about it at every opportunity here at ComicsAlliance. The thing is, the appeal of this book goes far beyond the newly restored relationship of the title characters, the beautiful dream of the '90s that sees Extraño, the Mawzi

If the stated goal of DC's line-wide Rebirth was to restore the connections and the sense of history that have been building between those heroes for 75 years, then at this point, I think we can call it a success. For the first time in a long time, the DC Universe feels like a universe again, and that foundation of interconnected characters and relationships, all those bits and pieces that can unify all these disparate stories, have led to some truly great comics. The unity of the Batman books, the bizarre excesses of Superman and Son battling against an island of dinosaurs, the breath of fresh air that's giving the Green Lanterns a whole new appeal, and all the way down the line. For a reader like me, who has a love of that universe that's built on those connections and tied up into those relationships, there's so much out there that's genuinely great. And nothing on the stands has done it better than the first issue of Midnighter and Apollo.

Two comics about the afterlife, and one comic with Composite Superman on the cover: December's going to be a good month for DC Comics. ComicsAlliance has an exclusive first look at the covers and solicitations for Midnighter and Apollo #3, Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #2, and Super Powers #2. They're all great covers, but they couldn't be more different in tone!

Writer Steve Orlando's career has gone from strength to strength thanks to his work on critically acclaimed books such as Midnighter, Undertow, and Virgil. He's now working with some of the most fascinating heroes in the DC universe in his new ongoing Supergirl series and the upcoming Midnighter & Apollo, and he was recently announced as the new writer on Justice League of America. But he continues to balance these books with more personal projects, like the four-issue Boom fantasy miniseries Namesake, about a man hopping worlds to bury his two fathers' remains. ComicsAlliance sat down with Orlando at Flame Con in Brooklyn last month to talk about queer heroes, the market for marginalized fans, and building bridges between creators and their critics.

Midnighter was, without question, one of the single greatest books of DC's New 52 Era. The combination of high-octane, senses-shattering action, a thrilling romantic subplot about a man who had always been defined by his relationship finding himself single for the first time, and a premise that pitted Midnighter against some of the stranger and more obscure pieces of the DC Universe, made it an irresistible read. Now, Midnighter's coming back --- and for the first time in a while, he's not alone. In Midnighter and Apollo, Steve Orlando and Fernando Blanco have reunited two of DC's most prominent gay superheroes --- and the first thing they're going to do is take on the Half-Beard and the Subway Pirates. Check out a preview!