DC Comics: Anatomy of a Metahuman

Last updated
DC Comics: Anatomy of a Metahuman
DC Comics Anatomy of a Metahuman.jpg
Authors
IllustratorMing Doyle
Subject Superheroes
PublisherInsight Editions
Publication date
September 18, 2018
Pages160
ISBN 978-1608875016

DC Comics: Anatomy of a Metahuman is a graphic novel featuring characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The book, written by S. D. Perry and Matthew K. Manning with art by Ming Doyle, is presented as a collection of files created by Batman detailing the characters of the DC Universe's physiologies and abilities. It was published on September 18, 2018 by Insight Editions.

Contents

Premise

Anatomy of a Metahuman is a graphic novel presented as a collection of files created by Batman. The files detail the characters of the DC Universe's psychology and abilities, and include Batman's "personal theories" as to how their powers work. [1]

Composition and publication

Anatomy of a Metahuman is written by S. D. Perry and Matthew K. Manning, and illustrated by Ming Doyle. [2] According to editor Chris Prince, the book originated from an idea to create a superhero fiction equivalent to Gray's Anatomy . It took five years to write; production was difficult because Perry and Manning had to combine real-world science with comic book fiction while also creating a compelling Batman story. [3] Doyle announced the book on July 5, 2018, via her Twitter feed [4] and was later published by Insight Editions on September 18. [3]

Perry and Manning drew inspiration from the 1995 Kevin Smith film Mallrats and the personal sketchbook of Guillermo del Toro. Prince said the scenes in Mallrats in which Jason Lee's character discusses how superheroes would work in the real world were a major influence. He also added del Toro's journals—"beautiful, Da Vinci-esque notebooks into which he pours out his creative thoughts"—were something they tried to emulate. [3] Doyle spent a year illustrating the book. [4] Prince was happy with the final book, as he believed it allowed them to explore DC's character roster in a way that had never been done before. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Comics</span> American comic book publisher, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment

DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice League</span> Group of fictional characters of DC Comics

The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28. The team was conceived by writer Gardner Fox as a revival of the Justice Society of America, a similar team from DC Comics from the 1940s which had been pulled out of print due to a decline in sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zatanna</span> DC Comics superhero

Zatanna Zatara, commonly known mononymously as Zatanna, is a fictional magician appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in Hawkman #4. Zatanna is a stage magician with actual mystic powers much like her father, Zatara, granting her magical powers notably controlled by invoking commands speaking incantations backwards. Her powers originate from her homo magi heritage, an off-shoot of humanity capable of naturally manipulating magic energies. She is known for her involvement with both the Justice League and Justice League Dark, serving as a leadership figure for both teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Ross</span> American comic book artist

Nelson Alexander Ross is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries Marvels, on which he collaborated with writer Kurt Busiek for Marvel Comics. He has since done a variety of projects for both Marvel and DC Comics, such as the 1996 miniseries Kingdom Come, which Ross co-wrote. Since then he has done covers and character designs for Busiek's series Astro City, and various projects for Dynamite Entertainment. His feature film work includes concept and narrative art for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and DVD packaging art for the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable. He has done covers for TV Guide, promotional artwork for the Academy Awards, posters and packaging design for video games, and his renditions of superheroes have been merchandised as action figures.

In DC Comics' DC Universe, a metahuman is a human with superpowers. The term is roughly synonymous with both mutant, inhuman and mutate in the Marvel Universe and posthuman in the Wildstorm and Ultimate Marvel Universes. In DC Comics, the term is used loosely in most instances to refer to any human-like being with extranormal powers and abilities, either cosmic, mutant, science, mystic, skill or tech in nature. A significant portion of these are normal human beings born with a genetic variant called the "metagene", which causes them to gain powers and abilities during freak accidents or times of intense psychological distress.

Wildcat is the name of several fictional characters, all DC Comics superheroes, the first and most famous being Theodore "Ted" Grant, a long-time member of the Justice Society of America (JSA). A world-class heavyweight boxer, Grant became entangled inadvertently in the criminal underworld and developed a costumed identity to clear his name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lightning</span> Fictional character from DC Comics

Black Lightning is a superhero appearing in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in Black Lightning #1, during the Bronze Age of Comic Books. Although his precise origin story has varied over the years, he is generally depicted as a metahuman superhero who uses the ability to generate and control electricity to defend his community – and the world – as Black Lightning. Although not the first black superhero to feature in DC Comics stories, Black Lightning was DC's first African-American superhero to headline his own series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesis (DC Comics)</span>

"Genesis" is a comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics that ran through a self-titled four-issue weekly miniseries and various tie-in issues, all cover-dated October 1997. The main miniseries was written by John Byrne and drawn by Ron Wagner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Beatty</span> American author

Scott Beatty is an American author, comic book writer, and superhero historian actively published since the late 1990s. He is an alumnus of Juniata College and Iowa State University.

The Masters of Disaster are a team of supervillains appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. They are presented as a group of mercenaries who prefer to work for money. They are shown as metahumans with superhuman abilities. Each group member controls a superhuman ability related in some way to a force of nature: earth, wind, fire, and water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Clawman</span> Fictional superhero in DC Comics

Betty Clawman is a fictional superhero and disembodied cosmic force in the DC Comics shared universe. She first appeared in Millennium #2, and was created by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superhero fiction</span> Fiction genre

Superhero fiction is a genre of speculative fiction examining the adventures, personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes, who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains. The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction in the spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books, though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice League Dark</span> Fictional Superhero team appearing in DC Comics

Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in Justice League Dark #1. The Justice League Dark team features some of the more supernatural characters in the DC Universe, handling mystical threats and situations deemed outside the scope of the traditional Justice League. Similarly to the Justice League title, the team features well-known characters such as John Constantine, Zatanna, Batman, Doctor Fate, and Wonder Woman while also bringing exposure to lesser-known supernatural characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth One (DC graphic novel series)</span> DC Comics graphic novel imprint

Earth One (EO) is an imprint of graphic novels published by DC Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the DC Universe. Those characters include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Teen Titans, as well as others whose characteristics and origin stories are revised and altered to suit the 21st century audience. The shared universe, unlike the original DC Universe in comic books, has yet to cross over its common plot elements, settings, and characters. The reality of Earth One is designated as Earth-1 as part of the DC Multiverse.

<i>Doomsday Clock</i> (comics) Superhero comic book published by DC Comics

Doomsday Clock is a 2017–2019 superhero comic book limited series published by DC Comics, written by Geoff Johns with art by penciller Gary Frank and colorist Brad Anderson. The series concludes the story established in The New 52 and DC Rebirth, and is a direct sequel/crossover to the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins.

<i>Batman: Damned</i> American comic book

Batman: Damned is an American comic book published by DC Comics. The three-issue limited series, written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo, began on September 19, 2018 and concluded on June 26, 2019. The series experienced numerous delays throughout its run, with the third issue being rescheduled a total of five times. Damned was the first series published under the DC Black Label, an imprint allowing writers to present unique takes on DC characters for a mature audience, and Azzarello and Bermejo described it as a loose sequel to their 2008 graphic novel Joker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Black Label</span> Imprint of DC comics

DC Black Label, also referred to simply as Black Label, is an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics consisting of original miniseries and reprints of books previously published under other imprints. The imprint intends to present traditional DC Universe characters for a mature audience with stand-alone Prestige Format series. The first title of the imprint, Batman: Damned, was shipped on September 19, 2018.

The Murphyverse is the unofficial name given to a line of American comic books created by writer/artist Sean Murphy, and published by DC Comics under its Black Label imprint.

References

  1. Couto, Anthony (July 6, 2018). "DC's Anatomy of a Metahuman Will Delve Into Batman's Files". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  2. MacDonald, Heidi (July 6, 2018). "Holy Cow! Ming Doyle's Anatomy of a Superhuman might be THE book of 2018". Comics Beat . Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Weiss, Josh (September 10, 2018). "Exclusive: Find out what makes Doomsday tick in this page from DC Comics: Anatomy of a Metahuman". Syfy Wire . Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Terror, Jude (July 5, 2018). "Ming Doyle Announces New DC Book 'Anatomy of a Metahuman', Reveals Bruce Wayne's Art Skills". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved September 11, 2018.