Black Hammer (comics)

Black Hammer
Cover of Black Hammer #1 (July 2016). Art by Dean Ormston.
Publication information
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing
Genre	Superhero Metafiction
Publication date	July 2016 – present
Creative team
Created by	Jeff Lemire Dean Ormston
Written by	Jeff Lemire
Artist(s)	Dean Ormston (2016–2019) Caitlin Yarsky (2021–2022) Malachi Ward (2021–2023)
Letterer(s)	Todd Klein (2016–2019) Nate Piekos (2019–present)
Colorist(s)	Dave Stewart
Editor(s)	Brendan Wright (#1–7) Daniel Chabon (#1–present)
Collected editions
1. Secret Origins	ISBN   9781616557867
2. The Event	ISBN   9781506701981
3. Age of Doom – Part 1	ISBN   9781506703893
4. Age of Doom – Part 2	ISBN   9781506708164
5. Reborn – Part 1	ISBN   9781506714264
6. Reborn – Part 2	ISBN   9781506715155
7. Reborn – Part 3	ISBN   9781506720159
Streets of Spiral	ISBN   9781506709413
Visions – Vol. 1	ISBN   9781506723266
Visions – Vol. 2	ISBN   9781506725512

Black Hammer is an ongoing American comic series created by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston, published by Dark Horse Comics.

Plot

Ten years ago, Black Hammer and six other superheroes saved Spiral City from the Anti-God, but in the process became trapped in Rockwood, a timeless Twilight Zone-ish town. Shortly after the heroes arrived, Black Hammer died while trying to escape. In the present, the six heroes live on Black Hammer farm with very little hope of ever escaping Rockwood.

Publication history

Phase I

Jeff Lemire originally conceived of Black Hammer in 2007, intending to draw the story himself after the end of Essex County . ^[1] In 2008, he pitched the series to Dark Horse editor Diana Schutz. The pitch was accepted, but Lemire was unable to begin work until he finished The Nobody and Sweet Tooth for Vertigo, then his exclusivity contract for DC Comics prevented him from working on the series from 2010 to 2014. ^[2] When Lemire returned to the series in 2014, he was working on so many projects that drawing it himself was no longer possible, so he teamed up with artist Dean Ormston for the title. According to Lemire, it was important for Black Hammer to not to look anything like mainstream superhero comics. He wanted the series to stand outside of superhero comics and comment on them, not become one of them. For this, Ormston's art style was deemed perfect. ^[3]

Black Hammer #1 was originally scheduled for release March 2015, but Ormston suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, ^[4] which left the right side of his body partially paralyzed. After months of rehabilitation, Ormston recovered. ^[3] The first issue of Black Hammer came out July the following year. Lemire continued working on the series while Ormston recovered. Dean Ormston's working pace was greatly reduced, so he sometimes worked with layout assistance from Peter Gross. ^[5] Because of this, Lemire has scripts written well ahead of the release schedule. ^[6]

In 2017, Jeff Lemire started to expand the Black Hammer universe with spinoff titles, starting with Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil. The spinoffs are identified by a "From the world of Black Hammer" banner along the top of the cover. ^{[7] [8]} Early on, Black Hammer and its spinoffs were frequently referred to as "The Hammerverse" (not to be confused with David Drake's Hammerverse) by editor Daniel Chabon in the letter columns, though the official branding is now "The World of Black Hammer".

Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil

In October 2017, shortly after the cliffhanger ending of Black Hammer #13, Dark Horse Comics launched Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil, the first Black Hammer spinoff miniseries, written by Jeff Lemire with art by David Rubín. The series focused on Lucy Weber, a young investigative reporter searching for the truth about what happened ten years ago when her father, the Black Hammer, disappeared. ^[9] The miniseries introduced numerous characters that would go on to play larger roles in future stories, such as Cthu-Louise and Grimjim.

Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows

Originally published as Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, this second Black Hammer spinoff miniseries was written by Jeff Lemire with art by Max Fiumara was launched in December 2017. The series focuses on Doctor Star (later renamed Doctor Andromeda), a Golden Age superhero and contemporary of Abraham Slam. ^[10]

The series was retitled "Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows" following a legal issue with another publisher. As Lemire himself explained in a 2020 interview:

"I have been cagey about this because the honest truth is that there was a legal issue with the name and its similarity to another publisher's character and there is very little I can actually discuss. But we worked it out very amicably with that other publisher and we agreed to change his name and costume a bit. Not any drama or anything, it was all very civil. The good thing is the name changed, but the story is exactly the same. And that original printing of Doctor Star trades and floppies will probably be collector's items to a degree now, I guess. This being Black Hammer, I do have a fun meta way of explaining the name change within the universe itself that will unfold next year in some new Black Hammer projects". ^[11]

Doctor Andromeda originally appeared in a cameo role in the original Black Hammer series as an homage to Starman, specifically the incarnation written by James Robinson, to the point that the character's alter ego was named "Jimmy Robinson".

Black Hammer: Age of Doom

Black Hammer series ended and was relaunched as Black Hammer: Age of Doom in 2018. ^[12] Lemire explained the name change in a press release:

"One thing Black Hammer has always done is comment on the history of superhero comics and we live in a world where superhero universes seem to be rebooted, relaunched, and rebirthed every year. It felt like we needed to play around with that idea, but put a Black Hammer spin on it". ^[13]

Age of Doom finished the story that Lemire had originally pitched to Dark Horse about the superheroes stranded on Black Hammer farm. However, in a July 2019 interview, he explained this was simply the end of Phase I, and went on to tease developments for Phase II with more spinoffs and a new core Black Hammer series. ^[14]

The Quantum Age

The Quantum Age, a spinoff set in 2141 (originally 3041, but this date was revised in the trade paperback) about a group of superheroes, inspired by the heroes of Black Hammer Farm, was released in March 2018. ^[15] The series deals with some of the aftermath of Age of Doom.

Black Hammer ’45

Black Hammer ’45, a four-issue miniseries about the Black Hammer Squadron in World War II, was published in December 2018. This miniseries marked the first time a Black Hammer title wasn't solely written by Jeff Lemire, with Ray Fawkes joining as co-writer. ^[16] Matt Kindt, who had previously worked on the Black Hammer: Giant-Sized Annual, returned as the artist.

Phase II

Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy

Just prior to SDCC 2019, Newsarama announced Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy, a six-issue miniseries about the vigilante Skulldigger, written by Jeff Lemire with art by Tonci Zonjic. The series had previously been mentioned in the Stranger Things / Black Hammer Free Comic Book Day 2019 issue ^[17] and in The World of Black Hammer Encyclopedia. ^[18] Jeff Lemire said that this book would be the first title in "Phase II" of the Black Hammer universe. ^[19] Early on, Lemire had planned on drawing the series himself, but he couldn't find time in his schedule. ^[20]

Colonel Weird: Cosmagog

Colonel Weird: Cosmagog, a four-issue miniseries was published in October 2020, written by Jeff Lemire with art by Tyler Crook. ^[21] It looks at Colonel Randall Weird's past and his future beyond the ending of Black Hammer: Age of Doom. Lemire described the series as a bridge from the Phase I Black Hammer series to the stories he has planned for the future. ^[22]

Barbalien: Red Planet

Barbalien: Red Planet, a five-issue miniseries written by Jeff Lemire and Tate Brombal with art by Gabriel Hernández Walta was announced in spring 2020. ^[23] The miniseries explores Mark Markz's time as a police officer during the 1980s AIDS crisis. It was originally scheduled to launch in LGBTQ Pride Month, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Black Hammer: Visions

In November 2020, Dark Horse announced an eight-issue anthology series, with each story from different creative teams. ^[24] Lemire has clarified that Visions is not in continuity. ^[25]

Black Hammer: Reborn

This will be the core title of Phase II. It will be a twelve-issue series with a new artist, Caitlin Yarsky. Dean Ormston will continue to work in the World of Black Hammer on another title with more of a horror focus. The series jumps ahead twenty years after the finale of Black Hammer: Age of Doom with Lucy living in the suburbs with her partner and children. ^[26] Lemire described it as "Lucy Weber's Mid-Life Crisis on Multiple Earths". ^[27] It will focus on Lucy Weber as the new Black Hammer and include Skulldigger in a prominent role as well as many other returning characters. ^[20]

The Unbelievable Unteens

Dark Horse announced a new spinoff reuniting Jeff Lemire and Tyler Crook, The Unbelievable Unteens in May 2021. ^[28] This story is set to focus on comic artist Jane Ito meeting one of her comics creations. Earlier that year, Lemire had posted a teaser image by Crook featuring Jack Sabbath holding the fictional final issue of The Incredible Unteens. ^[29]

The Last Days of Black Hammer

In March 2022, Lemire launched The Last Days of Black Hammer, a 110-page comic that was serialized weekly through his Substack newsletter, Tales from the Farm. Drawn by Stefano Simeone, this story is a prequel to the original Black Hammer run, set in 1986 and focused on Joe Weber and his family. ^[30]

Colonel Weird and Little Andromeda

Like The Last Days of Black Hammer, Colonel Weird and Little Andromeda was originally serialized through Jeff Lemire's Tales from the Farm newsletter. Written by Tate Brombal, the series has work from many artists. Ray Fawkes drew the framing sequences, while Tyler Bence, Shawn Kuruneru, Ariela Kristantina, Dani, Marguerite Sauvage, Andrea Sorrentino, Tyler Crook, Yuko Shimizu, and Nick Robles all drew self-contained stories within the framework. ^[31] The series introduced the character Willow D. Whisper, created by Tate Brombal and Dani. ^[32]

Black Hammer: The End

In September 2021, Lemire posted an image on Instagram teasing Black Hammer: The End. ^[33] After it was announced that he had entered into an exclusive deal with Image Comics, Lemire posted a newsletter explaining what this would mean for Black Hammer—that the deal had an exemption for all his Black Hammer work. However, he also mentioned that he was planning to bring Black Hammer to an end in 2023. ^[34] He has since clarified that The End will wrap up all the storylines that have been building over the last few years, and will set the stage for a whole new era of Black Hammer stories in 2024 and beyond. ^{[35] [36]}

Phase III

Black Hammer: Spiral City

In July 2024, Dark Horse Comics announced a new seven-issue miniseries, Black Hammer: Spiral City, the first in a new phase, written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Teddy Kristiansen. The series is scheduled to debut November 2024. ^{[37] [38]}

Crossovers

Beginning in July 2019, Dark Horse Comics and DC Comics released "Hammer of Justice," a five-issue Black Hammer and Justice League crossover miniseries, written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Michael Walsh. In the initial announcement, Lemire assured readers he would keep Black Hammer character-driven and free of unnecessary tie-ins and events. "Hammer of Justice!" is not "a throwaway imaginary story" and will have lasting repercussions for future stories in continuity. ^[39]

As to the topic of further crossovers in future, Lemire said: "If there is a very good story to be told, I am open to it, but I doubt we will see many, or any, other crossovers in the future. This particular opportunity really worked and was a great once in a lifetime chance to tell a really fun story". ^[40] He has mentioned that artist Dean Ormston would like to do a Hellboy crossover if Mike Mignola was interested. ^[20]

Future

In his email newsletter, Lemire has spoken about a few upcoming titles that have yet to be formally announced. ^[41] Dean Ormston will be drawing a Madame Dragonfly miniseries. Following Black Hammer: The End, Lemire said he aimed to bring the series back to one core Black Hammer book for a while.

Lemire has also mentioned he'd like to do a sequel to The Quantum Age called The Quantum World with artist Wilfredo Torres. ^[20] He's also mentioned that he intends to come back to Black Hammer at some point after The End, when he's had a few years' break, to do a Golden Gail story. ^[42]

Issues

Phase I
Series	Issue	Release Date	Story	Art	Colors	Letters	Cover
Black Hammer	#1	July 20, 2016	Jeff Lemire	Dean Ormston	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Dean Ormston Jeff Lemire (variant) Dustin Nguyen (SDCC 2016 variant) Fábio Moon (ECCC 2018 variant) [43]
	#2	August 17, 2016					Dean Ormston Jeff Lemire (variants)
	#3	September 21, 2016
	#4	October 19, 2016
	#5	November 16, 2016
	#6	December 21, 2016
	Giant-Sized Annual (2017)	January 18, 2017		Michael Allred Ray Fawkes Matt Kindt Emi Lenox Dustin Nguyen Nate Powell	Ray Fawkes Sharlene Kindt Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Jeff Lemire
	#7	March 22, 2017		Dean Ormston	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Dean Ormston Jeff Lemire (variants)
	#8	April 19, 2017
	#9	May 24, 2017		David Rubín			David Rubín Jeff Lemire (variant)
	#10	June 21, 2017		Dean Ormston	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Dean Ormston Jeff Lemire (variants)
	#11	July 26, 2017
	#12	August 23, 2017		David Rubín			David Rubín Jeff Lemire (variant)
	#13	September 20, 2017		Dean Ormston	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Dean Ormston Jeff Lemire (variant)
Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil	#1	October 18, 2017	Jeff Lemire	David Rubín			David Rubín Mike Mignola (variant) Darren Warren Johnson (ECCC 2018 variant) [43]
	#2	November 22, 2017					David Rubín Dean Ormston (variant)
	#3	December 20, 2017					David Rubín Duncan Fegredo (variant)
	#4	January 24, 2018					David Rubín Jeff Lemire (variant)
Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows	#1	March 7, 2018	Jeff Lemire	Max Fiumara	Dave Stewart	Nate Piekos	Max Fiumara Declan Shalvey & Jordie Bellaire (variant) Jeff Lemire (ComicsPRO variant)
	#2	April 4, 2018					Max Fiumara J.G. Jones (variant)
	#3	May 2, 2018					Max Fiumara Dustin Nguyen (variant)
	#4	June 6, 2018					Max Fiumara Annie Wu (variant)
Black Hammer: Age of Doom	#1	April 18, 2018	Jeff Lemire	Dean Ormston	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Dean Ormston Skottie Young (variant) Rafael Albuquerque (2018 Diamond Retailer Summit variant) James Stokoe (C2E2 2018 variant)
	#2	May 23, 2018					Dean Ormston Jeff Lemire (variant)
	#3	June 20, 2018					Dean Ormston Michael Cho (variant)
	#4	August 22, 2018					Dean Ormston James Harren (variant)
	#5	September 19, 2018					Dean Ormston Fábio Moon (variant)
	#6	October 17, 2018		Rich Tommaso			Rich Tommaso Farel Dalrymple (variant)
	#7	November 21, 2018					Rich Tommaso Christian Ward (variant)
Black Hammer	FCBD 2018: Overwatch / Black Hammer "The Quantum Age"	May 5, 2018	Jeff Lemire	Dean Ormston Wilfredo Torres	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	N/A
The Quantum Age	#1	July 4, 2018	Jeff Lemire	Wilfredo Torres	Dave Stewart	Nate Piekos	Wilfredo Torres Christian Ward (variant) Marcos Martín (SDCC 2018 variant)
	#2	August 1, 2018					Wilfredo Torres Andrew MacLean (variant)
	#3	October 10, 2018					Wilfredo Torres Marco Rudy (variant)
	#4	November 14, 2018					Wilfredo Torres Brendan McCarthy (variant)
	#5	December 12, 2018					Wilfredo Torres Tula Lotay (variant)
	#6	January 30, 2019					Wilfredo Torres Jeff Lemire (variant)
Black Hammer	Cthu-Louise	December 12, 2018	Jeff Lemire	Emi Lenox	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Emi Lenox Jill Thompson (variant)
Black Hammer: Age of Doom	#8	February 27, 2019	Jeff Lemire	Dean Ormston	Dave Stewart	Todd Klein	Dean Ormston Bill Sienkiewicz (variant)
	#9	March 27, 2019					Dean Ormston Sanford Greene (variant)
	#10	May 8, 2019					Dean Ormston Michel Fiffe (variant)
	#11	July 3, 2019					Dean Ormston Paolo and Joe Rivera (variant)
	#12	September 18, 2019					Dean Ormston Paul Pope (variant)
Black Hammer ’45	#1	March 6, 2019	STORY Jeff Lemire STORY & SCRIPT Ray Fawkes	Matt Kindt	Sharlene Kindt	Marie Enger	Matt & Sharlene Kindt Veronica Fish (variant)
	#2	April 3, 2019					Matt & Sharlene Kindt Glenn Fabry (variant)
	#3	May 1, 2019					Matt & Sharlene Kindt Denys Cowan, Don Hudson, & Noelle Giddings (variant)
	#4	June 5, 2019					Matt & Sharlene Kindt Sanford Greene (variant)
Black Hammer	FCBD 2019: Stranger Things / Black Hammer "Horrors to Come"	May 4, 2019	Jeff Lemire Ray Fawkes	David Rubín			N/A
	The World of Black Hammer Encyclopedia	July 3, 2019	Jeff Lemire Tate Brombal	Various	Dave Stewart	N/A	Andrea Sorrentino
Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice!	#1	July 10, 2019	Jeff Lemire	Michael Walsh		Nate Piekos	Michael Walsh Jeff Lemire (variant) Yanick Paquette (variant) Yuko Shimizu (variant) Andrea Sorrentino (2 variants) Christian Ward (SDCC 2019 variant) [44]
	#2	August 14, 2019					Michael Walsh Ian Bertram (variant) Matteo Scalera (variant) Jill Thompson (variant) Julián Totino Tedesco (variant)
	#3	September 11, 2019					Michael Walsh Ray Fawkes (variant) Tradd Moore (variant) Nate Powell (variant) Evan Shaner (variant)
	#4	October 9, 2019					Michael Walsh Tyler Crook (variant) Francesco Francavilla (variant) Andrew Robinson (variant) Gabriel Walta (variant)
	#5	November 13, 2019					Michael Walsh Shawn Crystal (variant) Terry Dodson (variant) Sandy Jarrell (variant) Matt Kindt (variant)
Black Hammer [45]	3 for $1	November 6, 2019	ʀᴇᴘʀɪɴᴛs: Black Hammer #1 Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #1 The Quantum Age #1				David Rubín

Phase II
Series	Issue	Release Date	Story	Art	Colors	Letters	Cover
Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy [19] [45]	#1	December 18, 2019	Jeff Lemire	Tonci Zonjic		Steve Wands	Tonci Zonjic Mike Deodato Jr. (variant) Jeff Lemire (variant)
	#2	January 15, 2020					Tonci Zonjic James Harren (variant)
	#3	February 19, 2020					Tonci Zonjic Patric Reynolds (variant)
	#4	September 23, 2020					Tonci Zonjic Daniel Warren Johnson with Mike Spicer (variant)
	#5	October 21, 2020					Tonci Zonjic Sam Kieth (variant)
	#6	February 24, 2021					Tonci Zonjic Cliff Chiang (variant)
Colonel Weird: Cosmagog	#1	October 28, 2020	Jeff Lemire	Tyler Crook			Tyler Crook Jeff Lemire with Dave Stewart (variant)
	#2	November 25, 2020					Tyler Crook Evan Dorkin with Sarah Dyer (variant)
	#3	December 30, 2020					Tyler Crook John McCrea with Mike Spicer (variant)
	#4	January 27, 2021					Tyler Crook Malachi Ward (variant)
Barbalien: Red Planet	#1	November 18, 2020	Tate Brombal	Gabriel Hernández Walta	Jordie Bellaire	Aditya Bidikar	Gabriel Hernández Walta Phil Jimenez with Dave Stewart (variant)
	#2	December 16, 2020					Gabriel Hernández Walta Kevin Wada (variant)
	#3	January 20, 2021					Gabriel Hernández Walta Aud Koch (variant)
	#4	February 17, 2021					Gabriel Hernández Walta Naomi Franquiz (variant)
	#5	March 24, 2021					Gabriel Hernández Walta Nick Robles (variant)
Black Hammer: Visions	#1	February 10, 2021	Patton Oswalt	Dean Kotz	Jason Wordie	Nate Piekos	Dean Kotz with Jason Wordie Evan Dorkin with Sarah Dyer (variant) Gilbert Hernández with Dave Stewart (variant)
	#2	March 10, 2021	Geoff Johns	Scott Kolins	Bill Crabtree		Scott Kolins Kelley Jones with Bill Crabtree (variant) Tom & Sian Mandrake (variant)
	#3	April 14, 2021	Chip Zdarsky	Johnnie Christmas	Dave Stewart		Chip Zdarsky Jason Loo (variant) Gerardo Zaffino (variant)
	#4	May 12, 2021	Mariko Tamaki	Diego Olortegui			Diego Olortegui Christina Chung (variant) Patricia Martin (variant)
	#5	June 9, 2021	Kelly Thompson	Leonardo Romero	Jordie Bellaire		Leonardo Romero Annie Wu (variant) Marguerite Sauvage (variant)
	#6	July 14, 2021	Cullen Bunn	Malachi Ward & Matthew Sheean	Dave Stewart		Malachi Ward & Matthew Sheean Dan Brereton (variant) Brian Hurtt (variant)
	#7	August 18, 2021	Cecil Castellucci	Melissa Duffy	Bill Crabtree		Melissa Duffy Veronica Fish (variant) Yuko Shimizu (variant)
	#8	September 22, 2021	Scott Snyder	David Rubín			David Rubín Glenn Fabry with Karen Holloway (variant) Patric Reynolds with Luis NCT (variant)
Black Hammer: Reborn	#1	June 23, 2021	Jeff Lemire	Caitlin Yarsky	Dave Stewart	Nate Piekos	Caitlin Yarsky Jeff Lemire with Dave Stewart (variant)
	#2	July 21, 2021					Caitlin Yarsky Jill Thompson (variant)
	#3	September 1, 2021					Caitlin Yarsky Fiona Stephenson (variant)
	#4	October 13, 2021					Caitlin Yarsky Dave Johnson (variant)
	#5	October 27, 2021		Malachi Ward & Matthew Sheean THE CASE OF THE ELECTRIC BOY Rich Tomasso	Malachi Ward THE CASE OF THE ELECTRIC BOY Rich Tomasso		Caitlin Yarsky Malachi Ward & Matthew Sheean (variant) Vanesa Del Rey (Tales from the Farm variant)
	#6	November 24, 2021					Caitlin Yarsky Malachi Ward & Matthew Sheean (variants)
	#7	December 29, 2021
	#8	January 26, 2022
	#9	February 23, 2022		Caitlin Yarsky	Dave Stewart		Caitlin Yarsky Aaron Conley (variant)
	#10	March 23, 2022					Caitlin Yarsky Andrea Mutti (variant)
	#11	April 20, 2022					Caitlin Yarsky Stefano Simeone (variant)
	#12	May 18, 2022					Caitlin Yarsky Raul Allen (variant)
The Unbelievable Unteens	#1	August 11, 2021	Jeff Lemire	Tyler Crook			Tyler Crook John McCrea (variant)
	#2	September 8, 2021					Tyler Crook Emi Lenox (variant)
	#3	October 13, 2021					Tyler Crook Ray Fawkes (variant)
	#4	November 10, 2021					Tyler Crook Andrea Sorrentino (variant)
Black Hammer: The End	#1	August 30 2023	Jeff Lemire	Malachi Ward		Nate Piekos	Malachi Ward David Rubín (variant)
	#2	September 27, 2023					Malachi Ward Max Fiumara (variant)
	#3	October 25, 2023					Malachi Ward Wilfredo Torres with Bill Crabtree (variant)
	#4	November 22, 2023					Malachi Ward Tonci Zonjic (variant)
	#5	January 17, 2024					Malachi Ward Caitlin Yarsky (variant)
	#6	March 27, 2024					Malachi Ward Tyler Crook (variant)

Phase III
Series	Issue	Release Date	Story	Art	Colors	Letters	Cover
Black Hammer: Spiral City	#1	Scheduled for November 13, 2024	Jeff Lemire	Teddy Kristiansen		Nate Piekos	Teddy Kristiansen Mike Mignola (variant) Matt Wagner (variant) Duncan Fegredo (variant)

Tales from the Farm online stories

In September 2021, Lemire launched a new iteration of his Tales from the Farm newsletter through Substack, a place where paying subscribers would have access to behind-the-scenes material and new stories. ^{[46] [47] [48]} On January 31, 2022, he began the first of several planned World of Black Hammer projects. ^[49]

On September 1, 2022, Lemire posted that he would no longer be serializing stories through the newsletter due to increased demands on his schedule. (He was showrunning the Essex County television adaptation at the time.) The Colonel Weird and Little Andromeda story was left incomplete until its hardcover collection in March the following year. ^{[50] [51]} On this topic, Lemire said, "I naïvely thought I could juggle comics with doing that show, but it just became obvious that it was like a full-time job ... The last year has been basically just the show." ^[52]

Tales from the Farm stories
Series	Chapter	Release Date	Story	Art	Colors	Letters
The Last Days of Black Hammer	The Hyperguild War!	January 31 – March 17, 2022	Jeff Lemire	Stefano Simone		Nate Piekos
	Black Hammer No More	March 31 – April 28, 2022
	Cataclysm Crossover	May 19, 2022 – July 7, 2022
Colonel Weird and Little Andromeda	Parts 1–4	April 6 – May 5, 2022	Tate Brombal	Ray Fawkes		Steve Wands
	Para-Zoned	May 18, 2022		Tyler Bence	Bill Crabtree
	Martian Mayday	May 25, 2022		Shawn Kuruneru	Jordie Bellaire
	Utopia Born	June 8, 2022		Ariela Kristantina
	Interlude I Willow D. Whisper: Chaotic Investigator	June 15, 2022		Dani	Jordie Bellaire
	Cataclysm	June 22, 2022	Ray Fawkes
	Para-Zone Island	June 29, 2022	Tate Brombal	Marguerite Sauvage
	A Girl and her Eyeball	July 6, 2022		Andrea Sorrentino	Dave Stewart
	Cosmic Sheep	July 13, 2022		Tyler Crook
	The End of Eve	July 20, 2022		Yuko Shimizu
	Interlude II Chasing Chaos	July 27, 2022		Dani	Jordie Bellaire
	Randall's Story	August 3, 2022		Nick Robles
Untitled Black Hammer: Visions story		August 4, 2022	David A. Robertson	Scott B. Henderson		Uncredited
Betwixt, Between		August 24, 2022	Lucy Sullivan

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

Black Hammer trade paperbacks
Title	#	Release Date	Material collected	ISBN
Black Hammer: Secret Origins [53]	1	March 29, 2017	Black Hammer #1–6	9781616557867
Black Hammer: The Event [54]	2	December 27, 2017	Black Hammer #7–11, #13	9781506701981
Black Hammer: Age of Doom – Part I [55]	3	January 2, 2019	Black Hammer: Age of Doom #1–5	9781506703893
Black Hammer: Streets of Spiral	—	September 11, 2019	Black Hammer: Giant-Sized Annual Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise "Horrors to Come" The World of Black Hammer Encyclopedia	9781506709413
Black Hammer: Age of Doom – Part II	4	December 18, 2019	Black Hammer: Age of Doom #6–12	9781506708164
Black Hammer: Reborn – Part I	5	February 2, 2022	Black Hammer: Reborn #1–4	9781506714264
Black Hammer: Reborn – Part II	6	June 1, 2022	Black Hammer: Reborn #5–8	9781506715155
Black Hammer: Reborn – Part III	7	October 4, 2022	Black Hammer: Reborn #9–12	9781506720159
The Last Days of Black Hammer	—	February 22, 2023	The Last Days of Black Hammer	9781506731124
Black Hammer: The End	8	June 11, 2024	Black Hammer: The End #1–6	9781506732534

The World of Black Hammer trade paperbacks
Title	Release Date	Material collected	ISBN
Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil [56]	May 9, 2018	Black Hammer #12 Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #1–4	9781506705262
Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows [57]	November 14, 2018	Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows #1–4	9781506706597
Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows (revised edition)	April 28, 2021		9781506723297
The Quantum Age	April 10, 2019	"The Quantum Age" The Quantum Age #1–6	9781506708416
Black Hammer ’45	October 16, 2019	Black Hammer ’45 #1–4	9781506708508
Colonel Weird: Cosmagog	January 27, 2021	Colonel Weird: Cosmagog #1–4	9781506715162
Barbalien: Red Planet	May 12, 2021	Barbalien: Red Planet #1–5	9781506715803
Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy	June 2, 2021	Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #1–6	9781506710334
The Unbelievable Unteens	March 9, 2022	"Horrors to Come" The Unbelievable Unteens #1–4	9781506724362

Hardcovers

Black Hammer hardcovers
Bʟᴀᴄᴋ Hᴀᴍᴍᴇʀ
Title	Release Date	Material collected	ISBN
Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice!	March 25, 2020	Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice! #1–5	9781506710990
Black Hammer: Visions – Volume 1	October 13, 2021	Black Hammer: Visions #1–4	9781506723266
Black Hammer: Visions – Volume 2	February 2, 2022	Black Hammer: Visions #5–8	9781506725512
Colonel Weird and Little Andromeda	March 22, 2023	Colonel Weird and Little Andromeda	9781506733821

Library editions

Black Hammer library editions
Volume	Release Date	Material collected		ISBN
1 [58]	November 28, 2018	Black Hammer #1–13 Black Hammer: Giant-Sized Annual (2017)		9781506710730
2 [59]	September 23, 2020	Black Hammer: Age of Doom #1–12 Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise The World of Black Hammer Encyclopedia		9781506711850
3 [60]	October 10, 2023	Black Hammer: Reborn #1–12		9781506725468

The World of Black Hammer library editions
Volume		Release Date	Material collected	ISBN
1	Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil and Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows [61]	October 7, 2020	Black Hammer #12 Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #1–4 Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows #1–4	9781506719955
2	Black Hammer ’45 and The Quantum Age [62]	February 23, 2021	Black Hammer ’45 #1–4 "The Quantum Age" The Quantum Age #1–6	9781506719962
3	Colonel Weird: Cosmagog and Barbalien: Red Planet [63]	June 16, 2021	Colonel Weird: Cosmagog #1–4 Barbalien: Red Planet #1–5	9781506719979
4	Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy and The Unbelievable Unteens [64]	October 26, 2022	Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #1–6 "Horrors to Come" The Unbelievable Unteens #1–4	9781506726014
5	Visions [65]	April 12, 2023	Black Hammer: Visions #1–8	9781506732503

Awards

Award	Year	Category	Nominee	Result
Eisner Awards	2017 [66]	Best New Series	Black Hammer Jeff Lemire & Dean Ormston	Won
		Best Lettering	Todd Klein	Won
		Best Writer	Jeff Lemire	Nominated
	2018 [67]	Best Continuing Series	Black Hammer Jeff Lemire & Dean Ormston	Nominated
		Best Writer	Jeff Lemire	Nominated
		Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team	David Rubín	Nominated
		Best Coloring	David Rubín	Nominated
		Best Coloring	Dave Stewart	Nominated
	2019 [68]	Best Single Issue/One-Shot	Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise Jeff Lemire & Emi Lenox	Nominated
		Best Continuing Series	Black Hammer: Age of Doom Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, & Rich Tommaso	Nominated
		Best Writer	Jeff Lemire	Nominated
		Best Lettering	Todd Klein	Won
	2020 [69]	Best Coloring	Dave Stewart	Won
	2021 [70]	Best Limited Series	Barbalien: Red Planet Jeff Lemire, Tate Brombal, and Gabriel Hernández Walta	Nominated
		Best Writer	Jeff Lemire	Nominated
		Best Graphic Album—Reprint	Black Hammer – Volume 2 (library edition) Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormstom, Emi Lenox, and Rich Tommaso	Nominated
Harvey Awards	2018 [71]	Book of the Year	Black Hammer: Secret Origins	Nominated
Ringo Awards	2019 [72]	Best Series	Black Hammer: Age of Doom	Won
	2020	Best Series	Black Hammer: Age of Doom	Nominated
Tripwire Awards	2021 [73]	Best Collection	Black Hammer – Volume 2 (library edition)	Won
		Best Colourist	Dave Stewart	Nominated

In other media

A film and television development was reported to be in development with Legendary Entertainment in November 2018. This deal included not just Black Hammer, but all its associated titles, effectively opening the door to create a cross-platform film and television shared universe. ^[74] Both Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston are executive producers, and Lemire will be actively involved in the adaptations. Lemire described his involvement as follows:

"I decided with Black Hammer, because it's so personal and near and dear to my heart, if I was ever going to option and develop it, I had to be intimately involved. As far as that adaptation, I do have to be the one that is creatively steering that ship, like the comic". ^[75]

Lemire wrote a pilot script for the initial project with Legendary and a series bible, ^{[75] [76]} but in April 2021 Legendary Entertainment's option on the series was passed and Lemire was looking a new home for it. ^[77]

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