DC Comics debuted its newest Joker in Jurassic League, a limited series that reimagines the Justice League as dinosaurs.
Written by Daniel Warren Johnson (Extremity, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth) and drawn by Juan Gedeon (Pennyworth, Venom), Jurassic League is a six-issue limited series that reimagines the heroes of the Justice League as dinosaurs. Of course, where there are heroes, there are also villains, with this version of the Joker modeled after Ledger's iconic portrayal in The Dark Knight. "Joker had to be crazy, sneaky, colorful, unpredictable and dangerous. And cool but kinda disgusting to some degree, so I thought of Vertigo from Primal Rage," Gedeon told Polygon. "But since she's a made-up dino her 'real' equivalent to me would be a dilophosaurus or an oviraptor. I added the green hair and some sort of 'wings' inspired by Heath Ledger's Joker."
THE JURASSIC LEAGUE #1
- Written by DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON and JUAN GEDEON
- Art by JUAN GEDEON
- Cover by DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON
- Variant cover by JUAN GEDEON
- 1:25 Megalustre "Dino Skin" variant cover by WALT SIMONSON
- $3.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 6 | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
- ON SALE 5/10/22
- You know the story: an infant escapes the destruction of its home planet and is deposited on Earth to be raised by human parents. A goddess from a lost city defends truth. A Theropod dons the visage of a bat to strike fear into evildoers' hearts. This heroic trinity, alongside a league of other super-powered dinosaurs, join forces to save a prehistoric Earth from the sinister machinations of Darkseid. Wait...what? Okay, maybe you don’t know the story. So join us and bear witness to a brand-new—yet older than time—adventure and experience the Justice League as you have never seen them before!
"It's been an absolute pleasure to join Juan Gideon in creating a new world for DC, complete with dinos, cavemen, and extinction-level events," said Johnson. "Batsuar suplexes a Joker dilophosaurus, you're welcome!"
Gedeon explained that when designing the prehistoric heroes, he "tried to pick a dino that captured the essence of their human counterpart to use as base." While Joker is a violent and dangerous carnivore, Wonder Woman is represented as a triceratops, a herbivore that is strong enough to "defeat a T-rex." Superman is a "solid and strong" brachiosaurus, while Batman -- or "Batsaur" in the series -- is a carnivorous allosaurus.
"Jurassic League is all I want to draw: dinos and epic fights," said Gedeon. "My own version of a 90s cartoon or videogame. Expect a story about survival, unity and hope where the strong protect the weak in a world where danger lurks in every corner." Johnson and Gedeon said that the concept for the series was inspired by their shared love of franchises starring anthropomorphized creatures, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Street Sharks.
"Words cannot express how excited I am for this book," said DC Senior Editor Katie Kubert. "As a life-long dinosaur lover, and a dinosaur tour-guide and fossil preparer for two of the most prestigious natural history museums, this book speaks to my heart and science-soul. When Juan came to me with the idea, and Daniel Warren Johnson doubled down on it, I knew we had something truly special and I can't wait for fans to fall in Mezosoic-love."
The first issue of Jurassic League releases on May 10 from DC Comics.
Source: Polygon