The New History of the DC Universe
The New History of the DC Universe Main Covers by Chris Samnee and Giovanna Niro. Copyright DC Comics. Collage by the DCU Updates Twitter/X Account.
Yesterday the final issue of The New History of the DC Universe came out. Over the course of four issues legendary comic book writer Mark Waid along with artists Jerry Ordway, Todd Nauck, Brad Walker, Mike Allred, Dan Jurgens, Doug Mahnke, Howard Porter, Hayden Sherman, colorists Matt Herms, John Kalisz, Trish Mulvihill, Laura Allred, John Kalisz, David Baron, Hi-Fi, Triona Farrell, and letterer Todd Klein laid out what the crucial moments that make up the spine of the modern day DC Universe are in stunning comic book style.
The project’s editorial team: Marquis Draper, Brittany Holzherr, and (Warning in case you a drink every time he’s mentioned on this newsletter) Andrew Marino brought me in to do research on the project, and write the appendix for each issue. Which is a text-based timeline of the DC Universe, which panels from the comics we are referenced, that I collaborated on with Mark Waid. In case you have not read the book (which you should, it’s pretty fantastic and essential for DC Comics fans) DC has made all the timelines I worked on available on their website here: https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-09-24/a-complete-timeline-of-the-new-history-of-the-dc-universe
What did that research entail?
For the first two issues I was given a large list of story beats, characters, super hero teams, important items, and notable locations that spanned from the dawn of the DC Universe through Crisis on Infinite Earths from Mark Waid himself. I had to read many comics I had read before, read many comics I had not read before, and condense all that information down to the most concise write-ups for each concept. I also had to suggest key art for each entry we wrote about, and make sure we were not missing anything important. For issues 3 and 4 I had a hand in helping make the lists of important things for those issues because issue 3, that Post-Crisis through Final Crisis era was the height of my fandom/time as a DC reader, and then for issue 4 which covered Blackest Night through the modern day of the DCU I was on the editorial team for the majority of that era.
I would prepare my manuscripts and image selections for each appendix and then hand them over to Mark Waid who would go through, make my descriptions even more condense, would add things that I may have forgotten or missed, and made everything flow as strongly as possible. This was my first time doing a research project like this and doing something that was so text-heavy. I do not know that I will ever do something like this again, I don’t think I know that much about anything else to do it, but I learned a great deal from watching how Mark would update what I gave him and make it as information-dense but also fun to read as possible.
That’s an overview of my experience on the project. It was pretty life affirming. I got to work with Brittany and Andrew. Andrew who I have known since I was intern in 2012, and Brittany who called me about taking my original temp job in the Batman editorial group two weeks after I graduated college in 2014. And they were my buds who I worked with for almost a decade and learned to live in Los Angeles with. Marquis, who is a brilliant editor and started out as an intern when I was an editor, and I have gotten to see him grow into becoming a powerhouse at DC. And then of course…Mark Waid’s one of my heroes. You think a guy like me wanted to write Superman and the Flash and WASN’T a massive Mark Waid fan? Superman: Birthright, Kingdom Come, The Flash, Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, JLA: Year One, Brave & The Bold (BOTH VERSIONS HE DID), and so much more. I would not be a DC fan or a comic writer without Mark so to be credited alongside him as a writer in any capacity? What a great gift.
And I love DC Comics so much. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. A universe that has given so much as a writer, editor, and person. I would not be the person I am without DC Comics, so to be a part of this seminal project…it was awesome. It was challenging, one of the hardest things I have ever done, I do not know if I will ever do a research project like this again, but it was absolutely worth it. And I hope I get to contribute to the future of DC’s history as well.
Here’s a couple fun things I learned or noticed while doing the project. Of course I knew a ton of stuff, I do not want to give the internet a chance to say that I did not, but…the history of the DC Universe is vast. Of course there was fun new stuff I was going to learn along the way.
I am a huge Denny O’Neil fan, but I did not know that so much comic lore/mythology that would go into his run on The Question in the late eighties with artist Denys Cowan and a lot of things from Denny’s time as Batman group editor in the 90’s began in the pages of Richard Dragon: Kung Fu Fighter. Obviously, I knew Richard Dragon himself came from there, but I did not know that was the beginnings for characters like Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger, who I assumed began his life in the pages of Suicide Squad.
The animated series Justice League Unlimited is a massive DC touchstone for myself and folks of my generation. It’s also a pretty tremendous showcase for my guy Green Arrow. What I did not know is the opening scene of the first episode of JLU that shows Green Arrow dealing with some bad guys and then being teleported up on the new Justice League satellite for the first time is pretty closely lifted from the opening of Justice League of America (1960) #78 written by Denny O’Neil and drawn by Dick Dillin.
I kind of knew this, but man…the Guardians of the Universe, the alien race that created the Manhunters and the Green Lantern Corps, have caused A LOT of cosmic problems for the DCU. As they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
THERE ARE SO MANY MORE GOLDEN AGE CHARACTERS THAN I EVER KNEW. I considered myself a great fan of the DC golden age because I have been a diehard fan of the Justice Society of America for decades but…between the original DC golden age characters and then the ones they acquired over the years from other publisher there are dozens more costumed adventurer/super hero characters from the thirties and forties than I ever knew about. the eighties series Secret Origins was a great resources in keeping track of a lot of these characters and their origins. As a matter of fact that book was so essential in the research for New History of the DC Universe I suggested it get an omnibus collection, it’s a treasure trove of tremendous material.
Aquaman: The Death of a Prince…I knew that was the storyline where Aquaman and Mera lost their son…a pretty monumental piece of the character’s history. I don’t think I had ever read the entire saga before and man…it’s pretty incredible, emotionally devastating and set the tone for a lot of modern DC stories in terms of it’s stakes and emotional complexities. The moment that broke my heart the most involved Aqualad and Aquaman. Of the original Teen Titans characters Aqualad was the one I always felt the least connected to but that changed after this story, and my DC research in general. A lot of the sidekicks had a life before becoming sidekicks but Aqualad…he was really young and did not know a lot about his past when Aquaman found him (Years before Aquaman and Mera would have a son). Aquaman took him in and promised to take care of him and give him a life, it’s the most direct parental relationship of that original generation of mentors and sidekicks.
In Death of a Prince, there’s a climactic beat where Aquaman and Aqualad are forced into combat in order to save Aquaman’s son by the villain Black Manta. Aqualad says they don’t have to do this, expressing how much he cares about Aquaman, but Aquaman makes it clear saying they have to fight and this is for Aquaman’s SON…the fight ends with Aquaman having defeated Aqualad and Aquaman’s son dying anyway. At the end of the struggle Aquaman expects Aqualad to come along with him but Aqualad makes it clear that he can’t…that fight…that clarity of where Aqualad stands in the eyes of his mentor…it changed something. Huge shout out to writer David Michelene and artist Jim Aparo who knock that part of the story out of the park. And for unlocking a character I had spent a lot of time with but didn’t know how much depth he had.
My Weapon of Choice
The Front Cover of My Soon to be Retired Notebook.
I took a two week break from the Newsletter, but I have a good two good reasons for that and one basic reason. The two good reasons are that two awesome comic writing jobs came my way, one I finished writing this past weekend, and one I am working on this week. Both are very exciting, and very cool. You should hear about one of them before the end of the year.
The basic reason? The last couple weeks I ran out of material for the newsletter. I tried to put something stream of consciousness together but I was feeling really fried. I decided better to just take a couple weeks off, come back when I had something to talk about like the end of New History of the DC Universe, and take a break to work on some comics.
Something that has happened as a result of these two new comic writing assignments…I have filled the notebook I started in December of 2023 when I was assigned my first freelance writing job, the short story I did with Riley Rossmo for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, & Green.
As you can see from the pictures I am going to include, every writing job I have had since then has begun it’s life, been drawn out, and been revised in this notebook. It feels good to have filled it and flipping through it reminds me how far I have come since I went freelance, and how much work I have done. I look forward to starting a new notebook for all of the wonders that 2026 will bring! (I have many of these spiral graph paper notebooks, I adore them, they come in two different sizes and they are absolutely my weapon of choice.)
The Original Seeds of “Tiny Little Men”
Aquaman Air Jaw Allies Planning.
Titles I thought of for Hello Darkness Stories
My Brave & The Bold Breakdowns.
I Know What You Did Last Crisis Planning
2026 is starting to take shape. I am waiting to hear back about a few project proposals I have submitted, and I am working on submitting a few more before the end of the year. I would love to write a couple more comics before the winter holidays kick up, but we’ll see how that goes. And if you are an editor who follows this Newsletter? Hey feel free to email me to send you samples, I did a lot of awesome work this year I would love to show you before the winter holidays.
SPEAKING of the winter holidays…
The Second Annual HoliDave Q&A
Me in a Santa Outfit. Wonderfully Drawn by Tom Napolitano
WE ARE BRINGING IT BACK! WITH A SLIGHTLY ADJUSTED NAME!
THE SECOND ANNUAL HOLIDAVE Q&A.
Do you have questions for me about writing comics, comics I like, movies, TV, music, or pop culture? Send it on over to [email protected], I will be taking questions until the end of November and then I will answer all of the questions I get (as long as they are cool, not mean, and not inappropriate) in December. Hey, are you comic creator who likes me and follows this newsletter? We will happily take celebrity questions, we had quite a few last year!
I would love to get at least ten questions. If we get more than that, maybe I can break up this year’s post into two, which would be nice for the holidays.
So consider shooting a question my way and we’ll make this year’s HoliDave Q&A fantastic.
Next week we’ll do something fantastic too.
Until then?
Stay safe!
—Dave Wielgosz