Christopher Cantwell Interview: Challengers of the Unknown

DC December continues! Christopher Cantwell is an Eisner Award nominee and one of the writers and creators of the TV show Halt and Catch Fire. Christopher joins Jimmy on the Cryptid Creator Corner to talk about Plastic Man No More (the trade is out April 8, 2025) as well as the brand new Challengers of the Unknown (issue #1 is out December 18, 2024). Christopher talks about this new series, working with artist Sean Izaakse, the history of the Challengers and what he loves about these characters. Plus, Jimmy and Christopher chat about Jimmy's favorite series that Christopher wrote: The Blue Flame (with Adam Gorham, Kurt Michael Russell, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou). This was such a fun conversation that you don't want to miss. Challengers of the Unknown From the publisher Throughout DC’s history, the Challengers of the Unknown have been on the front lines when it comes to investigating the strange and unusual. This December, these investigators of the weird make their DC All In debut with the new Challengers of the Unknown, a five-issue limited series written by Christopher Cantwell (Plastic Man No More!) with art by Sean Izaakse (Green Arrow). Spinning out of Absolute Power and the DC All In Special, the terror of the Darkseid shock wave has cascaded across the DC Universe…tearing open the very fabric of time and space itself! Only one band of super-scientists have the right stuff to challenge the fate of a universe: the Challengers of the Unknown. Ace Morgan, June Robbins, Prof Haley, Red Ryan, and Rocky Davis, adventurers “living on borrowed time,” run day-to-day operations for the Justice League’s Watchtower base in orbit above Earth, collaborating with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the League to seal the rifts that threaten the galaxy. But a mysterious foe from the Challengers’ past lurks in the shadows, and its connection to the Darkseid wave will put not only the Challengers, but all of the DC Universe on borrowed time. Plastic Man No More From the publisher Eel O’Brian might be a superhero now—but before he was anything else, he was a crook. Until the accident that turned him into the pliable Plastic Man, Eel was bad to the bone…and just because he no longer has bones doesn’t mean that’s not still true. When an incident on a Justice League mission leads to catastrophic cellular damage, Plastic Man discovers he just might be out of time to make amends for the past he’s tried hard to outrun—or to save the soul of his son, who (unfortunately for him) might have inherited more from dear old Dad than just his superpowers. Christopher Cantwell DC work: https://www.dc.com/talent/christopher-cantwell Christopher Cantwell Marvel work: https://www.marvel.com/comics/creators/13861/christopher_cantwell The Blue Flame PATREON We have a new Patreon, CryptidCreatorCornerpod. If you like what we do, please consider supporting us. We got two simple tiers, $1 and $3. I’ll be uploading a story every Sunday about some of the crazy things I’ve gotten into over the years. The first one dropped last week about me relocating a drug lord’s sharks. Yes, it did happen, and the alligators didn’t even get in the way. Want to know more, you know what to do. Our episode sponsors COMICS OVER TIME Make sure to give a listen to our friends with Comics Over Time. Arkenforge Play TTRPG games? Make sure to check out our partner Arkenforge. They have everything you need to make your TTRPG more fun and immersive, allowing you to build, play, and export animated maps including in person fog of war capability that let’s your players interact with maps as the adventure unfolds while you, the DM get the full picture. Use the discount code YETI5 to get $5 off your order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices