If fans thought that Jim Lee couldn’t top the surprise guest to his Jim Lee & Friends panel from this summer’s San Diego Comic Con — Todd McFarlane announcing a new Batman/Spawn crossover — then they definitely weren’t prepared for who the DC publisher and chief creative officer brought out on stage during the same panel at this year’s New York Comic Con: none other than former Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.

Quesada, who also served as Marvel’s chief creative officer from 2010 through 2019, and the company’s creative director from 2019 through his departure from Marvel earlier this year, was there to announce that he was returning to DC for a series of covers, starting with January’s Batman #131, and the following month’s issue, as well.

DC holds a special place in Quesada’s heart; it’s where he got his start as a professional artist in 1990, with early work for the publisher including a run of issues of the licensed title Spelljammer, as well as a reinvention of the classic hero The Ray in a 1992 miniseries of the same name. Additionally, he co-created the character Azrael with iconic writer and editor Denny O’Neill, with whom he created the 1992 miniseries Batman: Sword of Azrael.

The Batman #131 cover will be the first work Quesada has created for DC in more than a quarter century; his last art for the publisher was 1997’s Azrael/Ash crossover special with his own creator-owned publisher, Event Comics.

“It’s kind of unfinished business,” Quesada told Popverse’s Ashley V. Robinson about his new cover gig. “It’s going to be fun. It was fun drawing my short-eared version of Batman. I’m a short-ear guy… I had a bit of a discussion, well, it was really a heated argument, with [Batman editor] Ben Abernathy. I said, listen, I’m a short-ear guy, but I’ve seen the long-ear. I have a thing that I wanna try. I wanna try one long, one short, whaddya think? He goes, no.”

Stay tuned for Popverse’s full interview with Quesada later this weekend.

Throughout all of New York Comic Con 2022, Popverse is going to be keeping up with everything that happens, from panels and breaking news to interviews and the best cosplay on the show floor. We’ll be sharing everything as it happens — including exclusive livestreams from the biggest panels at the show — so let us keep you in the loop all weekend.

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