Darkwing Duck #1

History

The series was announced on March 13, 2010, at Emerald City Comic-Con, originally planned as a four-issue miniseries; retailer and fan enthusiasm was so strong that Boom! Studios upgraded it to an ongoing before the first issue reached shelves in June 2010. Writer Ian Brill has stated he pitched the project internally after Boom! acquired the Disney Standard License in the 2008–2009 period, while editor Aaron Sparrow is credited by artist James Silvani — and by series creator Tad Stones publicly — with being the principal champion who pushed the project into existence and plotted its initial arcs; this credit attribution remains the subject of ongoing, documented dispute between Brill and Sparrow. Artist James Silvani worked initially without official Disney model sheets, relying on screen captures until Tad Stones supplied original production materials during the second issue's production. The editorial team on issue #1 consisted of Brill (script), Silvani (pencils and inks), Andrew Dalhouse (colors), Deron Bennett (letters), and Aaron Sparrow (editor), with Christopher Burns serving as assistant editor.

Trivia · 7 facts

• Written by Ian Brill with art and inks by James Silvani, colors by Andrew Dalhouse, letters by Deron Bennett, and edited by Aaron Sparrow.
• First issue of 'The Duck Knight Returns' arc, the first part of what became an 18-issue ongoing series (plus an annual) running through October 2011.
• The story sets Drake Mallard in a forced retirement, working a desk job at the mega-corporation Quackwerks alongside a reformed Megavolt, with Gosalyn ultimately goading him back into the Darkwing costume to investigate the Crimebots.
• The second-print and San Diego Comic-Con exclusive covers are deliberate homages to the cover of Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986).
• Issue #1 shipped with multiple covers: a standard Cover A (Magic Eye Studios), Cover B (James Silvani), a 1-in-10 incentive cover (Jake Myler & James Silvani), and later a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive and a New York Comic Con Times Square variant, plus a second print.
• The story from this issue was later reprinted in the Boom! Studios trade paperback 'The Duck Knight Returns' (November 2010), the Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers / Darkwing Duck Free Comic Book Day Edition flipbook (May 2011), and IDW's Disney Afternoon Giant #5 (June 2019).
• The Boom! Studios series — beginning with this issue — is widely cited as having demonstrated the commercial viability of Disney Afternoon properties, directly preceding the launch of companion Boom! series for DuckTales and Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers.

Cast · 2 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Darkwing Duck

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#2 1st appearance — Gosalyn Waddlemeyer

Variants (5)