Ellis' WildStorm Story Separate From DC's Rebirth Universe

When it was announced that DC Comics will be revisiting its WildStorm characters in 2017 under the direction of writer Warren Ellis, one question virtually every fan wondered was how - or if - the new comics would fit into the Rebirth universe.

That answer has now been answered, with DC Comics co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio revealing at their annual New York Comic Con panel that the Ellis-helmed story will take place on an different Earth than the one the current Rebirth storylines are currently unfolding on.

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“We do have a bit of an issue because we have this Midnighter/Apollo series,” Lee recognized, “but at the end of the day, some characters will be in the DC Universe, but not a lot. Warren's book is the WildStorm Universe, and it will just be the WildStorm Universe.”

The pair also announced that Ellis has already scripted the first six issue of his story, with Jon Davis-Hunt already working on the art.

“[Ellis] always got what this universe was all about,” Lee said of the writer's approach to the characters. “They always existed on the fringes.” By taking the characters out of the DCU-proper, and Taking them back out of the broader DCU, Ellis is recreating the cast of books like “WildC.A.T.S” and “StormWatch” while bringing in slight tweaks from their original '90s versions. “He's telling one big story in this particular title, and he's layering ideas into these other books.”

“After long reflection, I couldn't turn down the invitation to renovate the house that Jim Lee built, and refit its unique combination of cosmic paranoia and paramilitary conspiracy for the post-political space madness of the twenty-teens,” Ellis said when the relaunch was first announced. “Looking back to look forward.”

Set to debut in mid-February 2017, the WildStorm relaunch will “reset” the imprint's established heroes and villains and introduce new versions of characters like Grifter, Voodoo, The Engineer and Jenny Sparks.

Titles launching as part of the new WildStorm imprint include: “The Wild Storm,” “Michael Cray,” “WildC.A.T.S.” and “Zealot.” Apart from Ellis writing “The Wild Storm,” alongside Jon Davis-Hunt (“Clean Room”) on art duties, no other creative teams have been announced.

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