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Image Comics founder Jim Lee is returning to the publisher for the first time in more than a decade — but that doesn’t mean that he’s stepping down from his DC publisher/chief creative officer/president/Batman artist duties. Instead, the last of those is the reason he’s going back to the company he helped found all the way back in 1992.

Lee and Geiger artist Gary Frank — himself no stranger to DC, having illustrated Supergirl, Action Comics, Doomsday Clock, and a host of other DC projects and characters — are swapping projects for the summer, with Lee providing cover artwork to Image’s Geiger #19, while Frank will provide a cover to DC’s Batman #163 in return. Both covers mirror each other in terms of layout to complete the sense of a collaborative ‘crossover’ between the two titles.

“I’m thrilled to be able to collaborate with the massively talented Gary Frank who I’ve had the good fortune to call a true friend since the early 1990’s,” said Lee in statement about the ‘crossover’. “Gary is a consummate professional, a Bonafide artist’s artist, a master of capturing light and form, and he’s drawn some of my favorite comics ever. “We hatched this idea to do a ‘crossover’ even if it is truly only compositionally, and I’m so honored to have a Gray Frank Batman Hush piece grace our ‘who’s who’ list of variant virtuoso cover artists!”

The Geiger cover art will be the first time Lee has provided artwork to an Image Comics project since 2011's Spawn #200, which he also drew a cover for. 

“Jim’s a great friend and inspirational artist,” added Frank. “When we first began talking about doing covers for each other’s projects, it instantly became a moment where you realize why you got into comics. The community, the friendships, the love of the medium and the appreciation of each other’s work is something unique to comics and its creators. When Jim delivered his Geiger cover featuring The Glowing Woman, Ashley Arden, it was a special moment for all of us at Ghost Machine. It was also fun for me to dip back into the world of DC with a Batman image featuring the Dark Knight and some of his greatest villains.”

The collaboration continues DC’s relationship with Image Comics, which has included DC projects from Image founders Marc Silvestri and Todd McFarlane in recent years — the latter of which being the best-selling Batman/Spawn in 2022.

Batman #163 will be released this August, with Geiger #19 following in October. Take a look at the two covers below.

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.