DC Comics’ classic sci-fi adventure team the Challengers of the Unknown has had a way of excaping the grim death of comic book cancelation for too long. Since their mid-century heyday at the hands of creator Jack Kirby and the artists who followed him, the purple jump-suited adventurers have had a wide variety of relaunches and reinventions to bring them back to the market. But in 2012, DC’s Co-Publisher has plans to test the team’s survival rate in a whole new way.

Starting in February’s “DC Universe Presents” #6, Dan DiDio will introduce a new era for the Challengers alongside artist Jerry Ordway. The second arc in the New 52 anthology title (a first arc starring Deadman by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang wraps in issue #5), the Challengers feature imagines a new start for the team where the entirety of its membership will play a role…and one where they may not all make it out alive. Continue reading →