He’s the terror that flaps in the night—and he’s flapping right back to the four-colored world of comics.
This month, Dynamite Comics is releasing the inaugural issue of its latest Darkwing Duck series, with a new creative team at the helm of the character and his adventures and misadventures as the superhero protector of St. Canard. Guided by the talents of comics titans writer Daniel Kibblesmith, artists Ted Brandt and Ro Stein, colorist Dearbhla Kelly, and letterer Fabio Amelia, Darkwing Duck will loosely be one-story installments, with an umbrella theme of the titular hero penning his memoirs. As he regales his daughter Gosalyn with his exploits in that autobiography, we get a window into his life and battles as his city’s protector—whether they be completely true or embellished, we’ll just have to see. Dynamite has been revisiting a whole host of Disney cartoons in its comics, and this one looks to bring readers old and new on a raucous ride through Disney’s superhero history and beyond.
Mr. Kibblesmith spoke with me recently about where we find Darkwing Duck and his family and friends at the start of his latest series, working with the book’s creative team, the enduring appeal of the character and his world, and how each issue of this new comic will feel like an episode of the cartoon.
Daniel Kibblesmith is a comic book Renaissance man, especially when it comes to comedic comics with heart. While his writing is always hilarious, he always makes sure there is a fundamental emotional element to his work. And he knows his audience, with work that at the same time is age-appropriate for target readers while also making it compelling for fans across the spectrum. He’s a writer whose work I’ll pick up just because his name on it because I’m always guaranteed a fun read. I’ve read issue #1 of Darkwing Duck and, trust me, Kibblesmith’s latest work is still consistently spot-on.
DARKWING DUCK #1 cover A by DARKWING creator Tad Stones
FreakSugar: Before we get into the series itself, what is your personal history with Darkwing Duck?
Daniel Kibblesmith: Like most people my age, I just loved DuckTales and anything similar. Back then, we didn’t have infinite on demand cartoons from every era, so when something new dropped it was a big deal and Darkwing Duck was SEISMIC. It was everything I had grown up loving about Disney and DuckTales and comedy in general, but also pulp, and action, and one of my introductions to the language of superheroes. I was immediately hooked for life.
FS: Where do we find Darkwing and company in the debut issue?
DK: We open on classic Darkwing Duck status quo — Darking, Gosalyn, Launchpad in the suburbs of St. Canard — it could be any episode of the show, which is really what we’re going for. Our series is almost entirely episodic, rather than serialized, but very loosely, it’s about Darkwing Duck writing his autobiography, complete with all the self-aggrandizing and embellishment that you’d expect. In reading it to Gosalyn as a bedtime story (against her will) Darkwing realizes he has yet to decide who his arch-enemy is going to be. So, when he starts facing off with his classic villains month-by-month, each adventure is an opportunity to audition them for the great honor of being Darkwing Duck’s greatest nemesis.
DARKWING DUCK #1 cover B by Mark Bagley
FS: As you said, Darkwing is going to be recounting his early days in the series. How much of a reliable narrator is he?
DK: Not very. Which is keeping in line with the original show, where he has multiple origin stories that all conflict with each other. Sometimes, he went to school with Megavolt. Other times, he and Negaduck are Remus and Romulus style twin brothers from space. It’s almost as if, when it comes to his origin story, this duck is … winging it. Sunglasses emoji.
FS: What has the collaboration process been like with Ted Brandt, Ro Stein, and the rest of the creative team?
DK: Everyone has been extraordinary. I’m a huge fan of Brandt and Stein, going back to the sci-fi satire book they did with Christopher Sebela, Crowded. Ted and Ro also contributed the cover and some interior illustrations to a hardcover book of D.C.-themed Christmas carols I wrote. If Dynamite had asked me who I wanted to work with, they’re who I would have picked, but luckily Dynamite was already on top of it.
The color art from Dearbhla Kelly’s has been completely locked in, everything looks so rich, and pulpy, and gothic superhero — and then just as hard, pivots to sunny suburban comedy. Combine that with getting variant covers from Darkwing Duck creator and godfather of this entire phenomenon Tad Stone, and all the invaluable advice he’s been giving us during this time. It just feels like a dream team, dream scenario, everyone working at the top of their game to make sure the reader loves these comics as much as we’re honored to get to make them. Special shout-out to Nicoletta Baldari as well, who is doing some of my favorite variant covers. They look like a set of Darkwing Duck tarot cards (which should exist).
DARKWING DUCK #1 cover C by Ted Brandt and Ro Stein
FS: Who is Darkwing Duck to you? What are essential traits that you feel have to be present for Darkwing to be Darkwing?
DK: To me, Darkwing Duck is a guy who exists at a perfect intersection. Superhero and comedy. Loner and dad. Confident and over-confident. Hyper-competent and constantly overplaying his hand. He’s great at being a crime fighter, great at being a dad, and he knows it. And the fact that he knows it is what leads him to get cocky and have things blow up in his face constantly, pivoting from high-status to low-status from moment to moment. He’s almost mythological and this quest for dignity and then losing it due to bad luck or momentary hubris is his never-ending cycle.
FS: Darkwing has been present in pop culture for decades. Why do you think he’s had such staying power, not just with folks who grew up with him but newer generations as well?
DK: I think it’s equal parts compelling personality, iconic character design, and theme song.
DARKWING DUCK #1 cover D by Nicoletta Baldari
FS: What has been your favorite part of working on the comic so far?
DK: For me, it’s gotta be the villains. Darkwing and the core cast are very consistent personalities, so it’s the villains that make every issue feel different and special, and it’s their voices that make the writing experience into something new that I get to do every time.
FS: Are there any other projects you’re working on you’d like to discuss?
DK: As of writing this, right now on the shelf, I have another comic from Dynamite, the Powerpuff Girls Winter Snowdown Showdown, as well as a story in Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish, set during the Claremont and Byrne era of the X-Men that tells the story of Kitty Pryde’s first Hanukkah with the X-Men. But there’s also a lot of stuff coming out in 2025, not everything announced, but here are some accounts to follow on Instagram so you’ll be the first to know: OniPress, Chronicle Books, Netflix.
DARKWING DUCK #1 cover E by Ciro Cangialosi
FS: Is there anything you can tease about what we can expect to see in Darkwing Duck?
DK: Every issue is designed to feel like a lost episode of the show. New story, new classic villain, new jokes and action. Launchpad is there. Gosalyn is there. Herb Muddlefoot is there, whether Darkwing wants him there or not. It’s everything we love about the show and the closest we’re going to get to brand new episodes of Darkwing Duck until someone hires me to make those, too.
FS: If you had one final pitch for the book, what would it be?
DK: Buy this and read it with a kid. Let them find it themselves at a local comic book shop. If you need to bag and board it to keep it in good condition, then buy TWO so they have one they can throw in their backpack and roll up and crumple as a sign of their love for it. Death to screens. Wait, actually, iPad comics are great for kids too because the swiping mechanic is so easy. Okay, death to SOME screens.
Darkwing Duck #1 goes on sale Wednesday, February 19, 2025, from Dynamite.
From the official issue description:
He is the terror that flaps in the night! The fowl that felons most fear! A legend in his own time (and his own mind)! He is… DARKWING DUCK!
But how did this avian exemplar develop his redoubtable reputation? What lessons did he learn in his early days of crime-busting and foe-foiling? His legion of fans (or, at least, his adopted daughter, Gosalyn) want to know — and DW is more than happy to tell her the whole (possibly embellished) story in this unauthorized (and unorganized) autobiography!
Renowned writer DANIEL KIBBLESMITH (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Loki, Black Panther vs. Deadpool) and the double-headed art team of TED BRANDT & RO STEIN (The Mighty Captain Marvel, Tales of the Titans: Beast Boy) return to the rooftops of St. Canard with an all-new series that revisits (and likely revises) Darkwing Duck’s formative years — with a debut issue cover from artist TAD STONES, creator of the original Darkwing Duck animated series, as well as instantly iconic imagery from BRANDT & STEIN, MARK BAGLEY, NICOLETTA BALDARI, and CIRO CANGIAL