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DC is giving another Warren Ellis comic back to him, and Image is publishing them despite unanswered questions about his return
First Desolation Jones, now Ocean: Warren Ellis’ DC comics are finding a new home at Image.
NewsbyChris Arrant, Editor-in-Chief
Published on Fri Aug 14 2026
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Following a multi-year break from comics due to allegations of sexual misconduct so severe that a DC project was canceled and Image Comics hit pause on plans with him, Warren Ellis appears to be slowly re-entering the comics scene.
In addition to the announcement that Ellis is doing his first major new comics work in years with Image, the publisher also recently revealed that it has negotiated the rights to the fallow sci-fi limited series Ocean, originally published by DC in the mid ’00s by Ellis and artist Chris Sprouse. This would be the second Ellis project previously commissioned by DC Comics that DC has decided to release rights back to the original creators per the details of contracts for such books, following Desolation Jones, which Image Comics collected in 2024.
This multi-book partnership with Ellis and Image Comics comes five years after the publisher said it would only reconsider working if the writer made “amends” to “all involved” in the sexual misconduct allegations. None of those involved have publicly stated that that has happened. Image declined to comment to Popverse when asked. Popverse also reached out to Ellis’ management, as well as an organized group of victims under the SoManyOfUs.com banner and to some individually.
How are DC’s Ocean and Desolation Jones moving to Image Comics?
DC has released the rights for both Ocean and Desolation Jones despite previous interest in live-action adaptations from outside parties for both Ocean and Desolation Jones in the past. While not an everyday occurrence, DC and Marvel have frequently released rights for some books they have commissioned where the contracts allow it, including things such as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal, Garth Ennis and Darrick Robertson’s The Boys, as well as Astro City by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, and Alex Ross.
Ocean and Desolation Jones are two of several Ellis-penned projects for DC that have quietly gone out of print at that original publisher, with no announced plans by DC to reprint – although some (not all) remain available on various digital comics platforms. Those would include Orbiter, Two-Step, Global Frequency, Reload, Mek, and Tokyo Storm Warning. It isn’t known at this time if any of these titles are subject to a rights reversion like Ocean and Desolation Jones have shown to be.
That is in contrast to other DC/Ellis works such as the aforementioned Red, as well as Transmetropolitan and Planetary, which DC has been active in keeping the back catalog in print. Ellis has said recently that DC has commissioned him to write a new essay for another unspecified upcoming collection.
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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