DC Graphic Novel

DC Graphic Novel is a line of graphic novel trade paperbacks published from 1983 to 1986 by DC Comics.[1]

This article is about the 1980s DC Graphic Novel line. For other DC graphic novel imprints, see DC Graphic Novels for Kids and DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults.
DC Graphic Novel
Cover of DC Graphic Novel #1 featuring the Star Raiders (1983), art by Stephen Hickman.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
FormatAnthology
GenreScience fiction
Superhero
Publication date
List
  • DC Graphic Novel: 1983–1986
    DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel: 1985–1987
No. of issues
List
  • DC Graphic Novel: 7
    DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel: 7
Main character(s)
List
Creative team
Written by
List
Artist(s)
List
Penciller(s)
List
Inker(s)
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Editor(s)
List

The series generally featured stand-alone stories featuring new characters and concepts with one notable exception. The Hunger Dogs was intended by Jack Kirby and DC to serve as the end to the entire Fourth World saga.[2] The project was mired in controversy over Kirby's insistence that the series should end with the deaths of the New Gods, which clashed with DC's demands that the characters could not be killed off.

As a result, production of the graphic novel suffered many delays and revisions. Pages and storyline elements from the unpublished "On the Road to Armagetto" were revised and incorporated into the graphic novel. Then, DC ordered the entire plot restructured which resulted in many pages of the story being rearranged out of Kirby's intended reading order.[3][4]

From 1985 to 1987, DC also published a second, related line called DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel.[5] Rather than being original stories, the graphic novels of this line were instead adaptations of works published by well-known authors of science fiction. These were edited by Julius Schwartz,[6] making use of his connections to recruit the famous authors whose works were adapted. This was the last editorial work Schwartz did before retiring.[7]

These two series were DC's counterparts to Marvel Comics' Marvel Graphic Novel line.

DC Graphic Novel series
Number Title Year Writers Artists Editor Notes
1 Star Raiders 1983 Elliot S! Maggin José Luis García-López Andy Helfer Based on the video game Star Raiders. Cover art by Stephen Hickman.
2 Warlords 1983 Steve Skeates David Wenzel Dave Manak Cover art by Thomas Blackshear.
3 The Medusa Chain 1984 Ernie Colón
4 The Hunger Dogs 1985 Jack Kirby Jack Kirby,
Greg Theakston,
D. Bruce Berry,
Mike Royer		 Joe Orlando Finale to Jack Kirby's Fourth World. First appearance of Bekka.
5 Me and Joe Priest 1985 Greg Potter Ron Randall Janice Race Cover art by Howard Chaykin
6 Metalzoic 1986 Pat Mills Kevin O'Neill Andy Helfer Published almost simultaneously with the serialization in 2000 AD. Cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz.
7 Space Clusters 1986 Arthur Byron Cover Alex Niño Julius Schwartz

DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel series
Number Title Year Writers Artists Editor Notes
1 Hell On Earth 1985 Robert Bloch,
Robert Loren Fleming		 Keith Giffen,
Greg Theakston,
Bill Wray		 Julius Schwartz Adapts a horror story that was originally published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in May 1942. Cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz.
2 Nightwings 1985 Robert Silverberg,
Cary Bates		 Gene Colan,
Neal McPheeters		 Cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz.
3 Frost and Fire 1985 Ray Bradbury,
Klaus Janson		 Klaus Janson Cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz.
4 The Merchants of Venus 1986 Frederik Pohl,
Victoria Petersen,
Neal McPheeters		 Neal McPheeters
5 Demon with a Glass Hand 1985 Harlan Ellison Marshall Rogers Also adapted as the October 17, 1964 episode of The Outer Limits.
6 The Magic Goes Away 1986 Larry Niven,
Paul Kupperberg		 Jan Duursema
7 Sandkings 1987 George R. R. Martin,
Doug Moench		 Pat Broderick,
Neal McPheeters		 Also adapted as the March 26, 1995 episode of The Outer Limits.

Collected editions
  • Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 4 (collects DC Graphic Novel #4: "The Hunger Dogs", with some alterations to the art, 424 pages, March 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1583-1)

References
  1. DC Graphic Novel at the Grand Comics Database
  2. Evanier, Mark (2008). Kirby: King of Comics. New York, New York: Abrams Books. p. 200. ISBN 978-0810994478.
  3. Evanier, Mark (February 23, 2001). "Miracle Man". News From ME. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.
  4. Evanier, Mark (September 16, 2006). "Ever the Source". News From ME. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.
  5. Science Fiction Graphic Novel at the Grand Comics Database
  6. Daniels, Les (1995). "A Novel Approach: Comics With a Touch of Class". DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes. New York, New York: Bulfinch Press. p. 208. ISBN 0821220764. To extend the line and to justify the higher price and classier format, DC turned to science fiction expert Julius Schwartz, who edited a group of graphic novels based on works by top authors in the field.
  7. Julius Schwartz (editor) at the Grand Comics Database
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