Back in the early 1970's artist John Byrne came onto the comic book scene and took a struggling title called X-Men and made it a huge hit. Throughout the 70's and 80's, Byrne was on fire (excuse the pun), revamping such books as The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk and Superman.
Although it seems in recent years Byrne has taken a back seat to newer artists in the industry, his brand new series from IDW Publishing promises to ignite fans again to the Byrne we all fell in love with.
DOOMSDAY.1, is a new four-issue miniseries, coming in May, from legendary comics mastermind John Byrne! Harkening back to Byrne’s earliest days in comics, DOOMSDAY.1 tells the thrilling tale of seven adventurous astronauts, who watch in horror, aloft in the International Space Station, as most of Earth is annihilated by a titanic solar flare.
“I've been thinking for some time that I would like to revisit a post-apocalypse kind of scenario, such as was seen in my very first ‘dramatic’ work in comics, but this time without the more obvious fantasy elements of that original series (mermaids, alien robots, frozen mammoths, etc.),” said Byrne. “When bits and pieces of this new series first started to percolate around in my head, I knew almost at once the shape that ‘revisit’ would take; something in the ‘All-New, All-Different’ vein. And the first time I doodled some images of my ‘crew,’ I knew I was there!"
When all communication is lost and their home appears destroyed, what are the intrepid astronauts to do? Prepare to cling to a new life in zero gravity, waiting for the space stations supplies to dwindle to nothing? That doesn’t sound very adventurous, now does it? No, the true thrills of DOOMSDAY.1 come when the seven stranded heroes descend back to their decimated home world to confront the dangers left behind by the universe’s cruel ravaging!
“As much as I enjoyed seeing John work on the various licensed titles we’ve done, it’s a continued blast to work with him in developing new concept after new concept this year,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. “If Earth has to be destroyed in a flaming conflagration, there’s no one I’d rather see bring that carnage and its aftermath to life than JB.”
Sharp-eyed fans will probably remember that Byrne worked on a similar title for Charlton Comics when he was first starting out in the business. That book was called Doomsday +1 and was created by Byrne and writer Joe Gill. The story was a bit different, telling the tale of a nuclear war between The US, a South American country and Russia. During the aftermath, astronauts return to Earth from a long space mission and now have to survive in this nuclear ravaged world.
Look for Doomsday.1 this May and keep your eye on the sky.
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