Justice League: The New Frontier Commemorative Edition pays tribute to the genius of Darwyn Cooke, who passed away in 2016. The Commemorative Edition includes an all-new mini-documentary on the life and times of Mr. Cooke, and the Blu-ray packaging features new box art directly from the canon of his award-winning artistry in “DC: New Frontier,” upon which the film was based. In a script full of great dialogue here is a gem.-
“My instincts tell me that you’re to be trusted. But make no mistake: it took a $70,000 sliver of meteor to stop the one in Metropolis. With you all I need is a penny for a book of matches.” -Batman to Martian Manhunter
Darwyn Cooke (November 16, 1962 – May 14, 2016) was a Canadian Eisner Award-winning comics artist, writer, cartoonist, and animator, known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier, The Spirit, and Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter.
In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a five-page crime story in New Talent Showcase #19, but as he was only paid $35 per page and produced one page a week, he decided that it was not an economically feasible job. He left comics to work as a magazine art director, graphic designer, and product designer for the next 15 years. He eventually established his own design studio.
In 1996, Cooke learned that Warner Bros. was hiring storyboard artists for its two animated TV series based on DC Comics heroes, Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series. His successful pitch included 14 pages that would be published in 2000 as Batman: Ego. In 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation’s Men in Black: The Series for a year.
DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000. The success of that project Cooke to more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man’s Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine for DC.
In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker revamped the Catwoman character. They started with a four-issue serial “Trail of the Catwoman” in Detective Comics #759–762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman). The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character’s costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series until issue #4. In 2002, he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina’s Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cooke’s next project was the DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which bridged the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe’s non-fiction account of the start of the U.S. space program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in The New Frontier in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story’s timeline.
“The New Frontier is a staggering procession of mature character moments that’s rarely seen in comics, even while they compete with books and film for adult attention.” – Justin Hickey from his excellent Open Letters Monthly review titled “There’s the door Spaceman.“
Below is a memorable exchange between Superman and Wonder Woman in a small village she helped local women liberate. It’s a great scene that gives you a taste of the terrifc screenplay by Cooke & Berkowitz adapted from Cook’s original 2004 mini series “DC:The New Frontier.” Where Diana delivers a very memorable line to Superman.
That same year, Cooke contributed to DC’s artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, August 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for “Best Single Issue.”
In November 2006, Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb produced a Batman/The Spirit intercompany crossover. This was followed in December by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for “Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists” for their work on Batman/The Spirit, and Cooke won “Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist” for his work on The Spirit.
In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC comic books. One of the first comics to be adapted was Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier. Cooke co-wrote the film with Stan Berkowitz and also provided art direction. The movie was produced by Bruce Timm.
The all-star cast includes Golden Globe Award winner Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Emmy and Tony Award winner Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Jeremy Sisto (Law & Order), Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess), David Boreanaz (Bones), Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) and many more.
Mr. Cooke’s contribution to comic books and DC animated stories is immeasurable. I hope you seek out his work and learn more about his legacy in the added documentary included in Justice League: The New Frontier Commemorative Edition.
Image credits: WB Home Entertainment/DC Comics
Great read Alex. Need to check out Cooke’s work.