UPDATE:
Wild Dog co-creator Terry Beatty chimed in and clarified the rights to the character and arrangement with DC in response to this article.
- “I don’t recall any promises from DC that the rights would revert to Max and me — but if they had failed to use WD in their comics for a couple decades, we could have had a shot at getting those rights back. For whatever that’s worth.”
Thanks for shedding light on this, Mr. Beatty!
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
I don’t know how I didn’t notice this sooner.
Spoilers for DC Rebirth’s Green Arrow #1.
This is the cover for DC Comics Rebirth’s Green Arrow #1 out this week.
On the lower part of the cover you see Green Arrow battling a gang wearing hockey masks with a dog emblem on their jerseys.
Well that is a pretty direct signal that Wild Dog will be making his return to DC Comics!
The character was created by writer Max Allan Collins and artist Terry Beatty. He appears first in a 4-part mini-series in 1987 where a big part of the mystery was who was under the mask; it was later revealed to be Jack Wheeler a decorated former Marine. See his Who’s Who bio below.
Wild Dog was also seen in the year that Action Comics went weekly even appearing on a few covers.
It was during that weekly endeavor by DC Comics that Wild Dog grudgingly agreed to a sidekick named Wild Pup… yeah, this has mostly been forgotten. Daniel Crown was Wild Pup.
Much like The Watchmen, created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, Wild Dog has been mired (perhaps too strong a word) with ownership disagreements (alleged promises made to its creators that would have seen the rights to the character revert to them) despite DC Comics clearly still owning it.
However, it looks like with DC Rebirth, DC Comics is asserting its ownership of Wild Dog in the pages of Green Arrow like it did with the Watchmen in DC Universe Rebirth #1.
What is this gang of Wild Dogs about? Will we see Jack Wheeler reclaim the mantle of Wild Dog in the comics? Will Daniel Crown return too? Well, it looks like DC Comics Rebirth’s Green Arrow twice weekly series is the place to get those answers.
Stay tuned.