Ten years ago, Black Hammer and six other superheroes saved Spiral City from the Anti-God, but in the process became trapped in Rockwood, a timeless Twilight Zone-ish town.
[2] When Lemire returned to the series in 2014, he was working on so many projects that drawing it himself was no longer possible, so he teamed up with artist Dean Ormston for the title.
[3] Black Hammer #1 was originally scheduled for release March 2015, but Ormston suffered a cerebral hemorrhage,[4] which left the right side of his body partially paralyzed.
The series focused on Lucy Weber, a young investigative reporter searching for the truth about what happened ten years ago when her father, the Black Hammer, disappeared.
Originally published as Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, this second Black Hammer spinoff miniseries was written by Jeff Lemire with art by Max Fiumara was launched in December 2017.
As Lemire himself explained in a 2020 interview: "I have been cagey about this because the honest truth is that there was a legal issue with the name and its similarity to another publisher's character and there is very little I can actually discuss.
[13]Age of Doom finished the story that Lemire had originally pitched to Dark Horse about the superheroes stranded on Black Hammer farm.
[14] The Quantum Age, a spinoff set in 2141 (originally 3041, but this date was revised in the trade paperback) about a group of superheroes, inspired by the heroes of Black Hammer Farm, was released in March 2018.
This miniseries marked the first time a Black Hammer title wasn't solely written by Jeff Lemire, with Ray Fawkes joining as co-writer.
[20] Colonel Weird: Cosmagog, a four-issue miniseries was published in October 2020, written by Jeff Lemire with art by Tyler Crook.
[22] Barbalien: Red Planet, a five-issue miniseries written by Jeff Lemire and Tate Brombal with art by Gabriel Hernández Walta was announced in spring 2020.
The series jumps ahead twenty years after the finale of Black Hammer: Age of Doom with Lucy living in the suburbs with her partner and children.
Earlier that year, Lemire had posted a teaser image by Crook featuring Jack Sabbath holding the fictional final issue of The Incredible Unteens.
[29] In March 2022, Lemire launched The Last Days of Black Hammer, a 110-page comic that was serialized weekly through his newsletter, Tales from the Farm.
Drawn by Stefano Simeone, this story is a prequel to the original Black Hammer run, set in 1986 and focused on Joe Weber and his family.
[30] Like The Last Days of Black Hammer, Colonel Weird and Little Andromeda was originally serialized through Jeff Lemire's Tales from the Farm newsletter.
[34] He has since clarified that The End will wrap up all the storylines that have been building over the last few years, and will set the stage for a whole new era of Black Hammer stories in 2024 and beyond.
[35][36] In July 2024, Dark Horse Comics announced a new seven-issue miniseries, Black Hammer: Spiral City, the first in a new phase, written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Teddy Kristiansen.
[42] In September 2021, Lemire launched a new iteration of his Tales from the Farm newsletter through Substack, a place where paying subscribers would have access to behind-the-scenes material and new stories.
This deal included not just Black Hammer, but all its associated titles, effectively opening the door to create a cross-platform film and television shared universe.