John Byrne Launches ‘Doomsday.1’ From IDW Publishing

If you know comics you know the name John Byrne, the man behind some of the best comics runs in history. He built his reputation on books such as Uncanny X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and Superman in the ’80s. Now heâ€™s got a new four-issue miniseries from IDW called Doomsday.1, set for release in May, 2013.

Doomsday.1 is the story of seven astronauts who watch on from the International Space Station as Earth goes to heck in a hand basket. A massive solar flare knocks humanity down a few pegs, and the astronauts decide to make the trip back to Earth rather than waiting for their supplies to run out.

Check out the cover below.

Byrne has this to say about the series:

I’ve been thinking for some time that I would like to revisit a post-apocalypse kind of scenario, such as was seen in my very first â€˜dramaticâ€™ work in comics, but this time without the more obvious fantasy elements of that original series (mermaids, alien robots, frozen mammoths, etc.). When bits and pieces of this new series first started to percolate around in my head, I knew almost at once the shape that â€˜revisitâ€™ would take; something in the â€˜All-New, All-Differentâ€™ vein. And the first time I doodled some images of my â€˜crew,â€™ I knew I was there!

Doomsday.1 is a remake of one of Byrneâ€™s earliest works, Doomsday +1. Doomsday +1 was release by Charlton Comics in the mid-’70s and was written by Joe Gill. It had a similar storyline, although it was more steeped in the Cold War era that gave it birth. Now Byrne has a chance to reimagine the series for a new era.

Doomsday.1 launches May 19th, 2013 from IDW Publishing. If youâ€™re a fan of Byrneâ€™s work, ask your friendly neighborhood comic retailer to get a copy for you and check out the first cover below.