Warning: contains preview images for Justice League #72-74!
Writer Brian Michael Bendis has announced that March’s Justice League #74 will be his last issue of the series. Bendis took over writing the title earlier this year after a two-year stint on the Superman family of titles and helped shake up the venerable franchise.
Brian Michael Bendis made a name for himself at Marvel Comics in the early 2000s, on titles such as Ultimate Spider-Man and Alias. In 2005, he took over the Avengers franchise, helping it develop into the multimedia behemoth it is today. Bendis followed up his Avengers run with memorable stints on both Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men. In 2018, after almost two decades at Marvel, Bendis jumped ship to DC Comics and immediately hit the ground running, bringing both his Jinxworld imprint to the publisher and shaking up the status quo on the Superman family of titles. In addition to also curating a pop-up imprint named “Wonder Comics” Bendis has also overhauled the spy/espionage corner of the DC Universe through books such as Event Leviathan and Checkmate. In March of 2021, Bendis took over writing Justice League, mixing in classic League members with new recruits such as Naomi McDuffie and Black Adam. All good things come to an end, however as Bendis’ run on Justice League is coming to its conclusion.
In his latest Jinxworld newsletter, Bendis gave more details on his final issues. Bendis will write Justice League Annual 2022, with Sanford Greene illustrating. This will be followed up by Justice League/Legion of Super-Heroes: The Gold Lantern Saga, which the writer has been teasing for several months. Finally, Bendis’ last three issues will all be double-sized, starting with #72. The final three issues will see two Leagues come together: The Justice League and Justice League Dark. Justice League Dark has been appearing in a backup feature in Justice League, and Bendis promised his final issues would resolve their story as well. Bendis’ final three issues will be illustrated by Emanuela Lupacchino and Syzmon Kudranski.
![Brian Michael Bendis To End Justice League Run in March](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Bendis-Final-Justice-League.jpg)
Since his arrival at DC, Bendis has breathed new life into numerous characters and concepts—much like he did at Marvel. Yet, his run on Justice League may go down as his most memorable. During his tenure, Black Adam took a huge step in his journey of redemption, Green Arrow got a chance to lead and Naomi McDuffie stepped into the big time. Justice League’s next writer will have big shoes to fill. DC has not yet announced who will be succeeding Bendis.
Benids recently announced that his Jinxworld imprint of creator-owned comics would be moving to Dark Horse Comics. The writer will begin a multi-year partnership with Dark Horse, which will start with the publication of Joy Operations, a sci-fi epic he co-created with artist Stephen Byrne. Much like every book he touches, Brian Michael Bendis has left his mark on Justice League and this March his tenure on the title comes to an end.