Fans have been understandably concerned after this week’s news…
You mighta heard that Scott Dunbier, the IDW editor who pioneered the incredibly popular Artist’s Edition concept, has left the publisher. He announced the move on Facebook earlier in the week and Friday was his final day.
On Thursday, Scott made it clear that the upcoming David Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One Artist’s Edition would get his sign-off before he left, posting these two pictures on Facebook and commenting, “So the unbound copy of this book arrived today. Tomorrow is my last day and I think I can probably approve it. But don’t be too mad if I can’t, okay? 
lol, kidding.”:
Of course, this was not the only Batman-infused Artist’s Edition in the works: While August’s Year One is highly anticipated, you could argue (I certainly would) that the Neal Adams DC Classics Artist’s Edition is an even bigger deal.
With Dunbier’s departure, there’s been understandable worry about the fate of the Adams volume, which is set to have two covers — one Batman and one Green Lantern/Green Arrow:
Main cover on the left, variant on the right
Well, worry no more. IDW confirmed to us that the Adams book is still coming. (It’s now listed for October 1, by the way.) Not just that, Paul Smith’s Uncanny X-Men Artist’s Edition also remains a go. It’s due Oct. 8.
After that — who knows? But we’ll hear soon enough.
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MORE
— Dig This Glimpse at the Upcoming NEAL ADAMS DC CLASSICS ARTIST’S EDITION. Click here.
— Dig NEAL ADAMS’ Spectacular Original Cover Art for the BATMAN-RA’S AL GHUL TREASURY. Click here.
April 6, 2024
Geez, wonder what happened? I heard he was planning to have a George Perez Marvel and DC volumes and many others. Hopefully he’ll somehow do more himself?
April 10, 2024
Why wouldn’t they be okayed after he left? Did he copyright the format?
April 11, 2024
That’s not it. The books require someone with tremendous contacts in the art field and the ability to negotiate with owners to acquire scans, etc. Many, if not most, owners like to remain anonymous, but he knows where to go to get what’s needed. It’s not a simple compilation that anybody can just do. Scott is a unicorn in that his network and publishing acumen are unmatched. The concern was that the Adams book was incomplete and therefore difficult to finish. I should have written this background in. I made the mistake of being too insidery in my assumptions.