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[LordOfLore]

This is crazy (good) news.

Aliens. Super-villains. Costly mistakes. This December, the threats faced by the Justice League are more dangerous than ever. But never fear, the League is in good hands—Christopher Priest and Pete Woods'.

The Eisner-nominated writer of DEATHSTROKE will take the reins of JUSTICE LEAGUE alongside artist Pete Woods (ROBIN, ACTION COMICS) with issue #34, kicking things off with a storyline called “Lost” in which the Justice League is left reeling after a sleep-deprived Batman makes an error that proves costly.

“I am really excited and very intimidated by the opportunity to step onto DC's largest stage—the Festival of Big Gun Characters Priest Has Never Before Been Invited To Write,” Priest shares. “It is my goal to mine a bit of new ore from this 50+ year old franchise by taking the tack Geoff Johns and I developed for Deathstroke: a ‘real world’ approach and exploring the characters’ humanity introspectively.”

“I cannot express enough how excited I am to be working with Christopher on the Justice League!” Woods explained. “The story we’ve got in store is something I think is a unique take. We want to give readers a different angle on the characters, their relationships, and just what it means to be a member of the Justice League.”

Deathstroke, which Priest helped relaunch as part of Rebirth, was nominated for an Eisner this year and has won fans and critical acclaim with thought-provoking stories like the standalone “Chicago” and the current “Defiance” storyline, which finds Slade Wilson seemingly turning over a new leaf.

“In my initial Deathstroke conversation with Geoff, I suggested that, since we were reimagining Slade Wilson's adventures, why not shape the new book more like what a Deathstroke feature or TV series might look like?” explains Priest. “It is my intent to bring that same sensibility to Justice League, taking a hard “what if these characters actually existed in the real world?” look and working in an area of the series premise that is less frequently tapped.”

That involves asking some hard and potentially redefining questions about the League itself.

“Is the Justice League still relevant?” Priest asks. “What are their goals and how do we define them? In the ‘real’ world, how would various societies around the globe view this pantheon of godlike beings?”

While Priest promises that the world’s greatest super hero team will continue to see plenty of action after he climbs aboard, he’s also particularly interested in look at the dynamics within the team. After all, with such a diverse, different group of heroes working together in highly charged situations, there are bound to be some fireworks.

“My goal is to treat the Justice League more like a workplace drama,” he reveals. “Although we will, of course, still have world threats, nasty villains (including Deathstroke!), and alien armadas, the League's greater challenge will be to define their place in this new and increasingly cynical age.”

But don’t worry, Justice League will still have plenty of lighter moments.

“Spoiler: In issue #1, Aquaman is driving a bus,” promises Priest. “That's all you really need to know.”

“I’m going to be bringing everything I have to this book,” concludes Woods. “It’s gonna be a fun ride! I love these characters.”

First art shown at the link.

 

[wenis]

I may read a justice league book now.

 

[Slayven]

Maybe he can bring back the most hated character in DC history

 

[Ross61]

Maybe he can bring back the most hated character in DC history

I thought was Doctor Light?

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

HOLY SHIT, YES!!!

Justice League has been utter garbage ever since Rebirth while Deathstroke is arguably DC's best comic right now. Plus Pete Woods is super underrated. I loved his stints on Batman and Superman. I coudn't be more excited, this is gonna be great.

 

[VeeP]

I really like his Deathstroke book, it's brilliant. I really didn't like how he defended Damian Wayne regressing as a character and almost killing Wally and ruining his heart during that terrible crossover with Teen Titans/Titans.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

I don't know the work of that artist, but Priest on a JL book sounds great.

 

[Slayven]

I thought was Doctor Light?

Christopher Priest had to write the dude and hated every minute of it. They made him a founding memeber of the JLA, but everyone in the JLA hated him.

 

[Vermillion]

DC is so lucky, fuck lol

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Christopher Priest had to write the dude and hated every minute of it. They made him a founding memeber of the JLA, but everyone in the JLA hated him.

Well now I'm curious. I only vaguely remember the character but I'm gonna have to do some digging.

 

[Kevinroc]

Looks like we're keeping the same line-up (for the moment.) I actually really like the current line-up and am curious what a writer of Priest's caliber can do with it.

 

[LordOfLore]

I thought was Doctor Light?

Funny enough, Priest wrote Doctor Light recently in Deathstroke.

 

[Father_Brain]

Christopher Priest had to write the dude and hated every minute of it. They made him a founding memeber of the JLA, but everyone in the JLA hated him.

I don't really think that first part is accurate, going by how Priest described it.

http://digitalpriest.com/legacy/comics/triumph.html

 

[CazTGG]

Maybe he can bring back the most hated character in DC history

Danny Chase looks weird on this cover.

 

[Slayven]

Well now I'm curious. I only vaguely remember the character but I'm gonna have to do some digging.

I take that back, Priest was the only one that liked him. He wrote about it here

http://digitalpriest.com/legacy/comics/triumph.html

 

[Harpoon]

Holy crap. So excited to see Priest getting more work, especially on one of DC's flagship books!

 

[Dalek]

Holy crap. So excited to see Priest getting more work, especially on one of DC's flagship books!

Yeah absolutely. He's a great writer-I became aware of him through his Black Panther run.

”My goal is to treat the Justice League more like a workplace drama," he reveals. ”Although we will, of course, still have world threats, nasty villains (including Deathstroke!), and alien armadas, the League's greater challenge will be to define their place in this new and increasingly cynical age."

But don't worry, Justice League will still have plenty of lighter moments.

”Spoiler: In issue #1, Aquaman is driving a bus," promises Priest. ”That's all you really need to know."

This sounds amazing.

 

[LordOfLore]

This is also the first black writer on a big team book since McDuffie(still sad about that), right?

 

[Slayven]

Hopefully they treat him better than McDuffie

 

[Viewt]

Hopefully they treat him better than McDuffie

It still stings. I hate how his whole run was treated. Partially by DC, but most of the blame lays at the feet of the racist-as-fuck comics community.

 

[Slayven]

It still stings. I hate how his whole run was treated. Partially by DC, but most of the blame lays at the feet of the racist-as-fuck comics community.

No lies detected

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

McDuffie's run was such a bummer. I've rarely seen editorial ruin a comic to that extent.

I take that back, Priest was the only one that liked him. He wrote about it here

http://digitalpriest.com/legacy/comics/triumph.html

Huh. Well, I'm even more interested now.