Last month, Marvel and DC dropped a bombshell: The rival comic publishers will release crossover one-shots featuring Deadpool and Batman teaming up later this year. DC will publish Batman/Deadpool #1 from Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, while Marvel has tapped Zeb Wells and Greg Capullo for Deadpool/Batman #1. The backup stories and their creative pairs for Marvel’s book were announced Friday, and they might end up being more fun than the main crossover.
Daredevil and Green Arrow will team up in a tale penned by Kevin Smith and and drawn by Adam Kubert; Captain America and Wonder Woman will meet in a story written by Chip Zdarsky with art from Terry Dodson; and, perhaps most importantly, super pets and good boys Jeff the Land Shark and Krypto the Superdog will hang out in a story from Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru.
“Two ICONS meeting for the first time! It’s such an honor for Jeff to get to be Marvel’s ambassador in this crossover story with Krypto,” Thompson said. Jeff the Land Shark has been having a moment since he stole the spotlight in Marvel Rivals, and Krypto is due for a starring role in next month’s Superman.
Zdarsky is set to pen Marvel’s ongoing Captain America series, out in July, so him slotting in for the Captain America and Wonder Woman crossover sounds like a natural choice. He’ll be joined by Terry Dodson on art, who drew interiors for Wonder Woman in the mid-2000s. “This has been surreal to say the least! Captain America and Wonder Woman are the best their worlds have to offer, both warriors for peace,” Zdarsky said. “Getting to explore a dynamic and history between them has been genuinely exciting.”
Green Arrow and Daredevil teaming up might be the highlight of the entire one-shot. While more known for his films, Kevin Smith has quite the comics bibliography, and has previously written for both characters. He wrote Daredevil: Guardian Devil in the ’90s (famous for the death of a certain someone in Matt Murdock’s life) and had a 15-issue run on Green Arrow in the early 2000s.
The Daredevil and Green Arrow and Jeff the Land Shark and Krypto pairings are being celebrated with variant covers as well, which you can check out below. Deadpool/Batman #1 will go on sale Sept. 17 and Batman/Deadpool #1 (yep, those are two different one-shots) will be out sometime in November. Details on DC’s crossover one-shot, including who are tackling the backup stories, are yet to be revealed.