Jimmy Palmiotti

A while back DC announced plans to revive Jack Kirby's Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth in January in a form that, to say the least, is a little unique. It's called The Kamandi Challenge, and the idea --- loosely inspired by 1985's DC Challenge and its game of storytelling hot potato --- is that the twelve-issue series will feature a new creative team, randomly paired together from a list of twelve writers and twelve artists for each issue, each picking up the story where the previous team leaves off. It's an interesting way to mark the 100th anniversary of Kirby's birth in 2017. In advance of New York Comic-Con, DC has revealed a first look at some of the artwork from the series, plus new details of how the creative teams will approach the story.

LGBTQ representation in comic books is important, and it’s something we’ve talked about --- and will continue to talk about --- at ComicsAlliance at length. But what doesn’t get said enough is that LGBTQ representation is especially important in all-ages and young adult comic books. Representation at such a young age can be legitimately life-changing for children, and while certain publishers are making tremendous strides in the right direction, others are missing the boat completely.

It was announced this week that The CW was growing its ever-expanding line of superhero content with a new animated show set to debut on CW Seed, starring DC Comics superhero The Ray. The show is being touted as featuring the first gay lead superhero on television, but who is The Ray? We've put together a Crash Course to get to know him better.

The Suicide Squad aren't the only crew that Harley Quinn runs with these days, and she's been spending more time than ever with her Gang of Harleys over in their own miniseries. Ahead of the release of issue #4 of Harley Quinn And Her Gang Of Harleys next week, DC has provided us with an exclusive preview of the book by Jimmy Palmiotti, Frank Tieri, Mauricet and Hi-Fi, to see what trouble the gang's in this time.

In the mid-eighties, DC Comics tried a bizarre experiment known as the DC Challenge, a story told by twelve different creative teams over twelve comics, with the catch being that each issue would end on a cliffhanger that the next team would have to get themselves out of. Announced at Emerald City Comic Con, DC is reviving the series in the form of Kamandi Challenge, thirteen creative teams over twelve issues telling one complete story with the classic Jack Kirby character, Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth. The original DC Challenge featured the likes of Elliot S! Maggin, Mike W. Barr, Dave Gibbons, Gene Colan and so many more legendary creators. and featured the additional caveat that they could use any DC Comics characters, except ones they were currently working with elsewhere. The series culminated in a jam-packed final issue which was divided among six of the previous creative teams.

DC Comics hosted a special livestream event at WonderCon in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to unveil the creative teams behind its DC Rebirth event, which relaunches the entire DC Universe line with new issue #1s and multiple double-shipping titles. The relaunch will set the future course of DC Comics at a time when fans are wondering whether the company will embrace a new and diversifying audience or double down on serving a shrinking core audience. The event was introduced by DC All Access host Tiffany Smith, with DC co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio and chief creative officer and Rebirth chief architect Geoff Johns introducing and interviewing the creative teams as they joined them on stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

There have been rumblings that DC Comics would be subtly nudging the look of its comic books to more closely match the films and TV shows they have in production, and in this week’s Harley Quinn #26, we may have got our first look at what that means. The latest issue, by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, John Timms, Chad Hardin, Hi-Fi and Tom Napolitano, sees Harley and her friends returning to Coney Island after their most recent adventure in Gotham, and what better way to symbolize a new start than with a new movie-friendly makeover?

If, like us, you've spent the past weekend binging on Netflix's second season of Daredevil and reveling in all the superhero exploits, ninja action and all-around punishment, you probably still haven't had your fill. While there are great Daredevil runs from the likes of Frank Miller and Mark Waid that you could read to get more of a hornhead fix, what are you supposed to do if you've read all of them too? We've got five of the best independent comics to try next if you can't get enough of the Man Without Fear.

When it debuted in June of last year, Starfire brought alien princess Koriand'r to the Florida Keys with a bright new attitude and a great new costume. Written by the Harley Quinn team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, the book includes beautiful lineart from Emanuela Lupacchino and Ray McCarthy, with Elsa Charretier taking over lineart this week in Starfire #9, plus vibrant color work from Hi-Fi. All this comes together to tell the tale of a sunny-dispositioned superheroine making a life for herself in the strange land of Florida. But in the last month or so, rumors of changes coming to the DC line has readers questioning what would happen to Starfire. We got together with Conner and Palmiotti to discuss female friendship, Kori's views on love and sexuality, and the fate of the book in the coming months.

This current Starfire series continues to be a ton of fun, especially considering she was perhaps the character who suffered the most damage in the 2011 New 52 reboot. Pulling her back from that disaster and rehabilitating her into someone who longtime fans can actually stand to read a comic about has been a major project, and may be a factor in her getting a solo comic in the first place. With issue #9, that comic is getting a new artist. The Infinite Loop's Elsa Charretier joins series writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti for four issues, bringing a simple, fun art style that's noticeably reminiscent of Bruce Timm, the visual architect of the classic DC Animated Universe. And she can actually make a giant caterpillar look cute, which is really quite an achievement.