''Solo'' is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

series that was published bi-monthly by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, beginning in October 2004. Each issue had 48 pages plus covers, with no

ads" \n\nads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) is an initiative from IAB Technology Laboratory. It specifies a text file that companies can host on their web servers, listing the other companies authorized to sell their products or services. This is des ...

. ''Solo'' was cancelled in 2006; in all, 12 issues appeared.

Overview

The title was conceived as an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

series to spotlight the work of a different comic book artist in each issue. The creators were free to tell stories in any

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

and to use DC's library of characters as they saw fit. They could also work with writers if they chose, but the intention of the series was for them to show off the range of their own individual artistic sensibilities and abilities.

Creators

Contributing creators were: * #1 Tim Sale (with Jeph Loeb, Brian Azzarello, Darwyn Cooke, and Diana Schutz) * #2

Richard Corben Richard Corben (October 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film ad ...

(with John Arcudi) * #3

Paul Pope Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope's tw ...

* #4

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

* #5

Darwyn Cooke Darwyn Cooke (November 16, 1962 – May 14, 2016) was a Canadian comics artist, writer, cartoonist, and animator who worked on the comic books ''Catwoman'', '' DC: The New Frontier'', ''The Spirit'' and '' Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter''. ...

* #6

Jordi Bernet Jordi Bernet Cussó (born 14 June 1944) is a Spanish comics artist, best known for the gangster comics series ''Torpedo'' and for American weird western comic book ''Jonah Hex''. Career He was born in Barcelona, the son of a Spanish comic book a ...

(with John Arcudi, Joe Kelly, Andrew Helfer, Chuck Dixon, and Brian Azzarello) * #7

Mike Allred Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...

(with Laura Allred and Lee Allred) * #8

Teddy Kristiansen Teddy Kristiansen (born 29 July 1964) is a Danish comic book artist, known for his work in mystery, horror, and dark, suspense-filled comics. He drew one chapter of " The Kindly Ones" story arc in Neil Gaiman's ''The Sandman'' series. In 2005, Kri ...

(with

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

and Steven Seagle) * #9

Scott Hampton Scott Hampton (born April 10, 1959) is an American comic book artist known for his painted artwork. He is the brother of fellow comics-creator Bo Hampton. Andelman, Bob"Scott Hampton & Bo Hampton Interview,"''A Spirited Life'' (July 17, 2006). E ...

(with John Hitchcock) * #10

Damion Scott Damion Scott (born 1976) is a comic book artist and writer, known for his work on books such as ''Batman (comic book), Batman'', ''Robin (Tim Drake), Robin'', and ''Cassandra Cain, Batgirl'', ''Web of Spider-Man'', and ''Duppy (comic book), Dupp ...

(with Rob Markmam and Jennifer Carcano) * #11

Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born September 6, 1937) is a Spanish/Mexican cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to '' Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. Among his peers and fans, Aragonés is w ...

(with Mark Evanier) * #12

Brendan McCarthy Brendan McCarthy is a British artist and designer who has worked for comic books, film and television. He co-wrote the film '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. He is the brother of Jim McCarthy. Life and career Early life and work Brendan McCarthy was ...

(with

Howard Hallis Howard Hallis (born July 28, 1971, in Santa Monica, California) is an American artist. He is noted for his works of lenticular art, as well as for The Picture of Everything, a massive painting incorporating images of several thousand people and ite ...

, Steve Cook, Trevor Goring, Robbie Morrison, Tom O'Connor and Jono Howard) The series was overseen by painter and DC editor

Mark Chiarello Mark Chiarello is an American illustrator, art director and comic book editor. Born on Halloween in 1960, he attended Pratt Institute in the 1980's. Career As a comic book illustrator, Chiarello painted the Batman graphic novel Batman/Houdini: T ...

. Creators discussed as working on future issues of ''Solo'' before the series was cancelled include:

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology '' 2 ...

John Cassaday John Cassaday (; born 1971) is an American comic book artist, writer, and television director. He is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed '' Planetary'' with writer Warren Ellis, ''Astonishing X-Men'' with Joss Whedon, '' Captain ...

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

Adam Hughes Adam Hughes (born May 5, 1967) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known to American comic book readers for his renderings of pinup-style female characters, and his cover work on titles such as ''Wonder Woman'' and ''Catwoman''. H ...

, Kevin Maguire, Tony Harris,

J. G. Jones Jeffrey Glen Jones is an American comics artist who is known for his work on titles such as ''Wanted'' and ''Final Crisis''. Early life Jones hails from Walker, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University and the University at Albany, SUN ...

Kevin Nowlan Kevin Nowlan (born 1958) is an American comics artist who works as a penciler, inker, colorist, and letterer. He has been called "one of the few artists who can be called 'artists's artist'", a master of the various disciplines of comic producti ...

Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', '' Moon Knight,'' and '' Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 198 ...

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

Jill Thompson Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an American illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's '' The Sandman'' characters and her own '' Scary Godmother'' series, she has wor ...

Brian Stelfreeze Brian Stelfreeze is an American comic book artist. Stelfreeze is a painter, penciller, inker and colorist and has worked for nearly every major American comic book publisher. He is one of the original members of Atlanta's Gaijin Studios. Career ...

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

, John Van Fleet, George Pratt and

Matt Wagner Matt Wagner (born October 9, 1961) is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series ''Mage'' and ''Grendel (comics), Grendel''. Career Matt Wagner's first published comic book work was ''Comico Primer'' #2 ( ...

. Elements of Walt Simonson's issue later became the basis of his graphic novel ''The Judas Coin''.

Awards

In 2006, ''Solo'' was nominated for and received three

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

, including:Recap of the 2006 Eisner Awards
* Best Short Story: "Teenage Sidekick" by Paul Pope, in ''Solo'' #3 * Best single issue: ''Solo'' #5, by Darwyn Cooke * Best Anthology: ''Solo'', edited by Mark Chiarello

References

{{Reflist 2004 comics debuts Comics anthologies Eisner Award winners for Best Anthology 2006 comics endings