After two decades, this past year has seen arch-rivals DC Comics and Marvel Comics work together again. First, the comic giants reprinted several classic crossover events from years past. Then, Marvel and DC teamed up Batman and Deadpool, and soon will reunite Superman and Spider-Man. But their greatest crossover (after X-Men/Teen Titans, that is) is JLA/Avengers. Written by Avengers writer Kurt Busiek and illustrated by the late, great George Pérez, it’s remained largely out of print for years. Now, via AIPT, we’ve learned DC and Marvel are reprinting each of the four issues of JLA/Avengers this summer. There will also be new variant covers.
The four-issue series, originally published in 2003, will receive Facsimile Editions reprints this summer. Each issue appears in its original format with classic trade dress and wraparound cardstock covers. Marvel Comics will publish issues #1 in May and #3 in July, while DC will release issue #2 in June and issue #4 in August. This series was a milestone for several reasons. For starters, George Pérez had begun working on a Justice League/Avengers crossover in 1983. Perez drew several pages, before intercompany fighting killed the project. Twenty years later, the two publishers decided to finally bring the series to life, and Pérez returned to draw it. The final result truly captured these two teams at their most iconic, and was a huge hit.
Do these reissues mean JLA/Avengers will receive a proper collected edition again, perhaps as an oversized hardcover? We’re not sure, but we think the signs are pointing toward yes. DC and Marvel briefly reprinted this series in a very limited edition trade paperback in 2022, to honor the late George Perez. But they quickly went OOP.
If there’s one DC/Marvel crossover that should remain in print perpetually, it’s JLA/Avengers. If only so fans can always read about Superman lifting Thor’s hammer. Also, now that you’re all friendly again, DC and Marvel, how do we get a JLA/X-Men written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Jim Lee? Let’s get that one going next, please. The world will thank you.