Challengers of the Unknown (2nd Series)

    (DC, 1997-1998)
™ and © 1997 DC Comics

One of the more interesting attempts to revive the first super-team of the Silver Age, this ongoing series does not include any of the original Challengers of the Unknown (except for guest appearances). Nor is it as lighthearted as the concept that spawned it.

Here, the supernatural is the “unknown” challenged by the new team, composed of racecar driver Clay Brody, pilot Marlon Corbett, software designer Kenn Kawa, and theoretical physicist Brenda Ruskin. Instead of the garish monsters and world-dominating villains their predecessors battled, this quartet encounters sinister elemental forces, killer demons and other paranormal baddies.

The tone of the series—set largely by the edgy art of John Paul Leon (Earth X, Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix)—is that of a moody thriller. Steven Grant’s (Grifter, X-Man) scripts are packed with sophisticated suspense, as much as any of DC’s other contemporary horror/fantasy titles (Hellblazer, Swamp Thing and Night Force, in particular). Ultimately, however, these newer, darker heroes were “living on borrowed time” as much as the originals. Fans of the 1960s series must have felt the absence of the burly guys in yellow jumpsuits, enough so that this revival folded after 18 issues.
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  • 1
    #1
    Feb 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski, Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    New team
    8 copies from $2.25
  • 1/NS
    #1 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition
    Feb 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski, Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    New team
    No copies available
  • 2
    #2
    Mar 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski, Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    9 copies from $0.99
  • 2/NS
    #2 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Mar 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski, Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    No copies available
  • 3
    #3
    Apr 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    4 copies from $2.75
  • 3/NS
    #3 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Apr 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    No copies available
  • 4
    #4
    May 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski, Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    Origin of Challengers
    5 copies from $1.99
  • 4/NS
    #4 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition
    May 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Len Kaminski, Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    Origin of Challengers
    No copies available
  • 5
    #5
    Jun 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    9 copies from $0.99
  • 5/NS
    #5 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Jun 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    No copies available
  • 6
    #6
    Jul 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    Concludes in Scare Tactics #8
    7 copies from $1.99
  • 6/NS
    #6 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition
    Jul 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    Concludes in Scare Tactics #8
    No copies available
  • 7
    #7
    Aug 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant, Len Kaminski  ·  A: John Paul Leon, Tommy Lee Edwards
    Return of original Challengers
    5 copies from $0.99
  • 7/NS
    #7 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Aug 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant, Len Kaminski  ·  A: John Paul Leon, Tommy Lee Edwards
    Return of original Challengers
    No copies available
  • 8
    #8
    Sep 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon, Mike Collins
    Origin of both Challenger teams
    4 copies from $1.99
  • 8/NS
    #8 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition
    Sep 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon, Mike Collins
    Origin of both Challenger teams
    No copies available
  • 9
    #9
    Oct 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    2 copies from $4.00
  • 9/NS
    #9 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Oct 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    No copies available
  • 10
    #10
    Nov 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Jill Thompson
    6 copies from $0.99
  • 10/NS
    #10 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Nov 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Jill Thompson
    No copies available
  • 11
    #11
    Face cover
    Dec 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    3 copies from $2.98
  • 11/NS
    #11 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition
    Dec 1997
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    No copies available
  • 12
    #12
    Jan 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    3 copies from $3.98
  • 12/NS
    #12 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Jan 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon
    No copies available
  • 13
    #13
    Feb 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Jill Thompson
    Versus banshee
    6 copies from $3.00
  • 13/NS
    #13 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Feb 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Jill Thompson
    Versus banshee
    No copies available
  • 14
    #14
    Mar 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Christopher Schenck
    5 copies from $2.50
  • 14/NS
    #14 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Mar 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Christopher Schenck
    No copies available
  • 15
    #15
    Apr 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Ryan Sook
    [s]1998-15.2; Continues in Superman #134; Millennium Giants
    2 copies from $12.98
  • 15/NS
    #15 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Apr 1998
    Cover: $2.25
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Ryan Sook
    Continues in Superman #134; Millennium Giants
    No copies available
  • 16
    #16
    May 1998
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon, Mike Zeck
    Tales of the original Challengers
    4 copies from $2.50
  • 16/NS
    #16 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    May 1998
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: John Paul Leon, Mike Zeck
    Tales of the original Challengers
    No copies available
  • 17
    #17
    Jun 1998
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: George Freeman
    5 copies from $0.99
  • 17/NS
    #17 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by John Paul Leon
    Jun 1998
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: George Freeman
    No copies available
  • 18
    #18
    Jul 1998
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Mike Zeck
    Final Issue
    2 copies from $4.00
  • 18/NS
    #18 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition with cover by Mike Zeck
    Jul 1998
    Cover: $2.50
    W: Steven Grant  ·  A: Mike Zeck
    Final Issue
    No copies available