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.
Jump to issue:
  NotesWriterArtist
#1

February, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
9 copies available from $1.75 		Len Kaminski, Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#2

March, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
11 copies available from $0.75 		Len Kaminski, Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#3

April, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
7 copies available from $0.75 		Len KaminskiJohn Paul Leon
#4

May, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
7 copies available from $1.50 		Len Kaminski, Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#5

June, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
10 copies available from $0.80 		Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#6

July, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
9 copies available from $1.10 		Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#7

August, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
6 copies available from $0.99 		Steven Grant, Len KaminskiJohn Paul Leon, Tommy Lee Edwards
#8

September, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
6 copies available from $1.50 		Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon, Mike Collins
#9

October, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
4 copies available from $2.00 		Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#10

November, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
8 copies available from $0.99 		Steven GrantJill Thompson
#11 (Face cover)

December, 1997
Cover Price: $2.25
3 copies available from $2.98 		Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#12

January, 1998
Cover Price: $2.25
5 copies available from $1.75 		Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon
#13

February, 1998
Cover Price: $2.25
7 copies available from $2.25 		Steven GrantJill Thompson
#14

March, 1998
Cover Price: $2.25
7 copies available from $1.75 		Steven GrantChristopher Schenck
#15

April, 1998
Cover Price: $2.25
2 copies available from $3.25 		Steven GrantRyan Sook
#16

May, 1998
Cover Price: $2.50
5 copies available from $1.75 		Steven GrantJohn Paul Leon, Mike Zeck
#17

June, 1998
Cover Price: $2.50
7 copies available from $0.99 		Steven GrantGeorge Freeman
#18

July, 1998
Cover Price: $2.50
5 copies available from $2.25 		Steven GrantMike Zeck