In 1993, DC shakes things up to counter the changing market. They let go of the stale heroes of yesteryear: Superman dies, Batman gets his back broken and (the next year) Wonder Woman loses her title to a challenger. They get darker, edgier and hipper successors: Azrael and Artemis, and Superman gets four.
All the more mature titles that were popularized by the British Invasion get their own imprint: Vertigo, helmed by Karen Berger. Titles like Swamp Thing (Volume 2), Hellblazer (Volume 1) and Shade, the Changing Man (Volume 1) were moved to the new banner. Piranha Press is reshaped into Paradox Press, an imprint for non-superhero graphic novels like A History of Violence and Road to Perdition.
Milestone Media is founded by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle. The company, which enters into a licensing agreement with DC to get their comics published, was founded out of frustration with the underrepresentation of minorities. They publish Icon and Rocket, Hardware, Static and the Blood Syndicate.
Creators[]
The following creative talent are known to have been born in 1993:
The following creative talent passed away in the year 1993:
- Al Bryant
- Al McWilliams
- Bill Draut
- Cal Howard
- Howard Sherman
- Irv Watanabe
- Lyman Anderson
- Ross Andru
- Will Ely
Titles
The following comic titles debuted with a 1993 cover date:
- Aquaman: Time and Tide (Volume 1)
- Batman: Two-Face Strikes Twice (Volume 1)
- Batman: Vengeance of Bane (Volume 1)
- Black Canary (Volume 2)
- Black Orchid (Volume 2)
- Blackmask (Volume 1)
- Blood Syndicate (Volume 1)
- Bloodbath (Volume 1)
- Catwoman (Volume 2)
- Chain Gang War (Volume 1)
- Crucible (Volume 1)
- DCU: Trinity (Volume 1)
- Danger Trail (Volume 2)
- Death: The High Cost of Living (Volume 1)
- Deathblow (Volume 1)
- Demolition Man (Volume 1)
- Enigma (Volume 1)
- Extremist (Volume 1)
- Golden Age (Volume 1)
- Green Arrow: The Wonder Year (Volume 1)
- Hardware (Volume 1)
- Hawkman (Volume 3)
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Volume 1)
- Icon (Volume 1)
- Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo (Volume 1)
- Justice League International (Volume 2)
- Justice League Task Force (Volume 1)
- Kamandi: At Earth's End (Volume 1)
- Kid Eternity (Volume 3)
- Legionnaires (Volume 1)
- Lobo (Volume 2)
- Lobo: Unamerican Gladiators (Volume 1)
- Metal Men (Volume 2)
- Metamorpho (Volume 2)
- Outsiders (Volume 2)
- Ragman: Cry of the Dead (Volume 1)
- Robin 3000 (Volume 1)
- Robin (Volume 2)
- S.T.A.R. Corps (Volume 1)
- Sandman Mystery Theatre (Volume 1)
- Scarab (Volume 1)
- Scarlett (Volume 1)
- Sebastian O (Volume 1)
- Showcase '93 (Volume 1)
- Skin Graft: The Adventures of a Tattooed Man (Volume 1)
- Stanley and His Monster (Volume 2)
- Static (Volume 1)
- StormWatch (Volume 1)
- Streets (Volume 1)
- Superman & Batman Magazine (Volume 1)
The following Comic titles were last published with a 1993 cover date:
- Batman: Sword of Azrael (Volume 1)
- Black Canary (Volume 2)
- Black Condor (Volume 1)
- Bloodbath (Volume 1)
- Congorilla (Volume 1)
- Crucible (Volume 1)
- DC Heroes Roleplaying Game (Volume )
- DCU: Trinity (Volume 1)
- Danger Trail (Volume 2)
- Death: The High Cost of Living (Volume 1)
- Enigma (Volume 1)
- Extremist (Volume 1)
- Green Arrow: The Wonder Year (Volume 1)
- Green Lantern: Mosaic (Volume 1)
- Hacker Files (Volume 1)
- Hawkworld (Volume 2)
- Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo (Volume 1)
- Justice League Europe (Volume 1)
- Justice Society of America (Volume 2)
- Kamandi: At Earth's End (Volume 1)
- Lobo: Infanticide (Volume 1)
- Lobo: Unamerican Gladiators (Volume 1)
- Metamorpho (Volume 2)
- Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt (Volume 1)
- Robin 3000 (Volume 1)
- Robin III (Volume 1)
- Sebastian O (Volume 1)
- Showcase '93 (Volume 1)
- Skin Graft: The Adventures of a Tattooed Man (Volume 1)
- Stanley and His Monster (Volume 2)
- The Heckler (Volume 1)
- Timber Wolf (Volume 1)
- WildC.A.T.s Trilogy (Volume 1)
- Zatanna (Volume 1)
The following One Shots were published with a 1993 cover date:
- Batman/Grendel: Devil's Masque #1
- Batman/Grendel: Devil's Riddle #1
- Batman/Houdini: Devil's Workshop
- Batman: Birth of the Demon
- Batman: Seduction of the Gun #1
- Batman: The Blue, the Grey, and the Bat
- Darker Image #1
- Flash vs. Dr. Polaris
- Hellblazer Special #1
- Homage Studios Swimsuit Special #1
- Justice League America vs. Amazo
- Lobo Convention Special #1
- Lobo: Portrait of a Victim #1
- Newstime: The Life and Death of the Man of Steel #1
- Supergirl and Team Luthor #1
- Superman Gallery #1
- Superman: Speeding Bullets
- Superman: The Legacy of Superman #1
- Vertigo Jam #1
- Vertigo Visions: The Geek #1
Characters
Selected 1993 character debuts. See all.
- Kon-El (New Earth)
- John Henry Irons (New Earth)
- Bane (New Earth)
- Virgil Hawkins (Dakotaverse)
- Kevin Franklin (Dakotaverse)
- Tiffany Evans (Dakotaverse)
- Augustus Freeman (Dakotaverse)
- Sebastian Faust (New Earth)
- Jackson King (Wildstorm Universe)
- Christine Trelane (Wildstorm Universe)
- Caitlin Fairchild (Wildstorm Universe)
- Nikolas Kamarov (Wildstorm Universe)
- Curtis Metcalf (Dakotaverse)
- Marc Slayton (Wildstorm Universe)
- Raquel Ervin (Dakotaverse)
- Henry Bendix (Wildstorm Universe)
- Toshiro Misawa (Wildstorm Universe)
- Thomas Monaghan (New Earth)
- Frieda Goren (Dakotaverse)
- Laira Omoto (New Earth)
- Ohmen (Wildstorm Universe)
- Courtney Mason (New Earth)
- Defile (Wildstorm Universe)
- Michael Cray (Wildstorm Universe)
- Darlene Spritzer (New Earth)
- Tana Moon (New Earth)
- Donna Carol Force (New Earth)
- Lauren Pennington (Wildstorm Universe)
- Jonas Glim (New Earth)
- Alexander Trent (New Earth)
- Louis Sendak (New Earth)
- Roger Goldman (New Earth)
- Miles Craven (Wildstorm Universe)
- Andrew Van Horn (New Earth)
- John Oakes (New Earth)
- Birdy Colossimo (New Earth)
- Kaizen Gamorra II (Wildstorm Universe)
- Kelvin Mao (New Earth)
- Artemis (Wildstorm Universe)
- Nigel Keane (Wildstorm Universe)
- Edward Walker (New Earth)
- Benjamin Asplin (New Earth)
- Face (New Earth)
- Pax (New Earth)
- Trogg (New Earth)
- Joseph Gardner (New Earth)
- Rijian (Wildstorm Universe)
- Kate Godwin (New Earth)
- Katrina Cupertino (Wildstorm Universe)
- Etienne Du Vipere (New Earth)
Teams
Selected 1993 team debuts. See all.
- Gen 13 (Wildstorm Universe)
- Justice League Task Force (New Earth)
- Triarch (New Earth)
- Trigger Twins II (New Earth)
- K'un-lun Triad
- Bandage People
- Psyba-Rats (New Earth)
- S.Y.S.T.E.M.
- Shadow Fighters
- Dubelz Crime Family (New Earth)
- Mercs (Wildstorm Universe)
- Speedboyz
- Netherworlders
- Peacekeepers (New Earth)
- Time Foes
- Nuclear Waste