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After Image Comics welcomed him back, Warren Ellis says he’s doing new work for DC Comics too (but its not comics)
Warren Ellis’ return to comics now includes DC, which pulled a planned story after sexual misconduct allegations.
NewsbyChris Arrant, Editor-in-Chief
Published on Tue Aug 18 2026
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After a five-year hiatus from the comic book industry, writer Warren Ellis appears to be saying ‘yes’ to several opportunities to work with publishers who previously broke ties with him following allegations of sexual misconduct. Following on from news that Image Comics was publishing a new graphic novel the writer has revealed that he is writing a “large essay” for DC Comics to include in an as-yet-unannounced “major reprint” of a previous work of his
“The Planetary Compendium is is now out, from DC Comics, and there’s at least one other major reprint project in the works from them that I’m writing a large essay for right now,” Ellis wrote in his newsletter Orbital Operations on both August 9 and August 16.
If true, This would be the first new writing work Ellis has done for DC Comics since 2020. It was that year that more than 60 individuals came forward, under the name SoManyOfUs, alleging sexual misconduct by Ellis dating back to the early 2000s. Among the victims was Meredith Yayanos, whom Ellis used as visual inspiration for the Planetary character Melanchta.
Following the first allegations being made public in 2020, DC Comics pulled a planned Warren Ellis story in the Dark Nights: Death Metal event, but completed the serialization of Ellis’ The Batman’s Grave series with Bryan Hitch. Since then, DC’s relationship with Ellis has been limited to collections of his previous comics work and a possible movie adaptation of Ellis and Hitch’s The Authority series by DC Studios, which was ultimately shelved.
In 2021, word came that Image Comics was in talks with Ellis and artist Ben Templesmith to restart their series Fell. While initially confirming those plans, two days later the company backtracked, saying that the plans were “premature” and that it had, in the two days since, decided to publicly break ties with the writer until “he has made amends to the satisfaction of those involved,” with the publisher encouraging people to read the allegations against him, adding, “Please visit SoManyOfUs.com.”
DC did not make a public statement about Ellis at the time, or in the years since.
Interested? Here’s where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here’s a guide to how (and where) to read comics online. If you’re looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here’s everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.
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Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse’s Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher’s Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)
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