Is Black Adam beyond redemption? That’s the question posed in a trailer for DC’s new Black Adam series from writer Christopher Priest and artist Rafa Sandoval. The announcement of a Black Adam comic comes as Dwayne Johnson is portraying the DC antihero in a big-budget feature film slated for release later this year. Priest teases the plans he has in store for Black Adam in the short teaser trailer, which weaves in panels of the character from his appearances in the DC Universe. Black Adam also has the distinction of being the only hero to survive the events of Justice League #75, aka “The Death of the Justice League.”
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“Is redemption beyond Teth-Adam’s grasp?Christopher Priest shares a taste of the chaos to come in BLACK ADAM,” the tweet from the DC Comics Twitter account reads. We then hear from Christopher Priest, who says, “The high concept of the Black Adam series is, ‘There is no redemption for Black Adam.’ It is a very, very different look for this character.”
“If this guy does exist, if he is 5,000 years old, if he does have this kingdom in the middle of this turbulent region, what would that be like?” Priest continues. “He’s pure villainy in the same way as somebody like Dracula is. What we’re trying to do is add dimension and nuance. He is now someone who is facing his own mortality and is obsessed with legacy. Every step Black Adam takes toward redemption causes fractures within his own country.” The prolific writer ends by raining praise on his artistic collaborator Rafa Sandoval.
“Forgive the clichรฉ, but I’ve rarely been this excited about a new project,” Christopher Priest toldย DCComics.comย when Black Adam was officially announced. “DC has provided an amazing opportunity for me to explore and, to some degree, reimagine this character in a very new light while bringing new challenges and consequences to a man who has lived far too long and is desperate for redemption. Rafa Sandoval brings palpable voltage to every panel, bringing out my Kirby-Simonson Big Noise instinct as Rafa’s gifts take me to places I never knew I wanted to go. My only regret is we only have 22 pages a month for this.”
“I have been a lifelong fan of everything about Shazam and one of the things I always wanted is to draw a charismatic villain, and black Adam is perfect for this,” said artist Rafa Sandoval. “This is the first time I’ve had an opportunity to work with Christopher Priest and his attention to detail, attentiveness and openness makes him a great creative partner.”
You can pick up Black Adam #1 in comic book stores and digital storefronts on June 21st.
BLACK ADAM #1ย
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIESTย
Art by RAFA SANDOVALย
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZย
Variant covers by RAFA SANDOVAL, MIKEL JANIN, and LUCIO PARRILLOย
1:25 variant cover by CRYSTAL KUNGย
1:50 throwback variant cover by CULLY HAMNERย
1:100 foil variant cover by LUCIO PARRILLOย
Team variant cover by TRAVIS MERCER and DANNY MIKIย
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)ย
ON SALE 6/21/22ย
There is no forgiveness for Black Adam. This is the reality Teth-Adam, immortal man of indomitable will, must face when he discovers he has been infected with an incurable plague destroying his immortality. Haunted by the specter of centuries of dark deeds, Black Adam transfers his powers to a worthy successor who will redeem Adam’s legacy and defend their ancestral homeland of Kahndaq, only to subsequently become mystically “handcuffed” to him when Adam’s plague is arrested, giving birth to perhaps the most volatile and dysfunctional super-team in DC history!