Tom King, Clay Mann, and John Timms Sign Exclusive Deals at DC

Writer Tom King and artists Clay Mann and John Timms have all signed contracts to produce work exclusively for DC Comics. In a press release today, DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee spoke excitedly about the news:

DC Entertainment is proud and thrilled to secure the services of these amazing talents. Speaking personally as a fan of their impressive work, I couldn’t be more thrilled to have them on board for the long haul. We’ve seen the incredible fan response thus far and all I can add is: hold on tight, this is just the beginning!

Tom King has met with great acclaim writing Omega Men, Robin War, and Vertigo's Sheriff of Babylon, as well as co-writing Grayson with Tim Seeley. He's also been writing the unique Vision solo comic at Marvel, which he'll no longer be able to do under this deal. Whether that series will end or be handed to another writer is not yet known. (Update: King has confirmed via Twitter that he will complete his original story on Vision, staying with the book through to issue #12.)

King, unsurprisingly, expressed excitement about his new home at DC, where he's going to play a major role in the as-yet-unexplained Rebirth event:

To me, DC is Superman. DC is Batman. DC is Wonder Woman. DC is Swamp Thing, The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, All Star Superman, The New 52 and The Court of Owls. DC is where the great comics get made. I'm honored and proud to be part of that tradition, and I'm going to do my best to deliver my best work ever. I can't wait for people to see what's coming.

Clay Mann is the artist on the current Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death miniseries written by Amy Chu. Before that his DC credits included covers on Batgirl and Batman Eternal. John Timms has made his name working on Harley Quinn and its spin-off Harley's Little Black Book.

Jim Lee had this to say about the two artists:

Clay’s rock solid structure and keen eye for composition really made his work stand out. And I really love John’s expressive figure work and fresh, kinetic energy. Their styles are different but they both accomplish the same goal – they simply pull the readers directly into the story, and that’s exactly what we need more of.