Darkwing Duck (Joe Books)

Textless artwork for the cover to the first issue.

Darkwing Duck is the third comic book series based on the television cartoon of the same name, published by Joe Books. Written by Aaron Sparrow and illustrated by James Silvani, it continues from where issue #16 of the preceding series left off. It began publication on April 27, 2016, notably just under a month after the 25th anniversary of the show's original premiere.

History

Artist James Silvani announced on his Twitter account in October 2014 that a new ongoing Darkwing Duck would begin publication in 2015. Silvani said in his Tumblr post that "Aaron and I have already begun and will give more details as soon as possible."

In July 2015, it was stated that the comic was being delayed for the time being in consideration of other "duck projects." In November, Aaron Sparrow confirmed that production had resumed and the series would be debuting in the spring of 2016. It was officially announced on January 18, 2016, that the new series will begin in April 2016.

Aaron Sparrow stated that, unlike the previous series, the new comic would not be required to have every story be a four-issue arc. The trade paperbacks were planned to collect six issues each, but instead, like the previous comic, each trade paperback collected four issues each. Sparrow also stated that the new comic would contain a new crossover with DuckTales (replacing the non-canon "Dangerous Currency" arc).

Unfortunately, despite positive reception from critics and fans, Disney never promoted the comic or allowed the creators to do interviews about it, resulting in poor sales and cancellation after only eight issues were published. While a new Darkwing Duck comic was eventually released by Dynamite Entertainment in 2023, it does not continue from where this series left off and is instead written by Amanda Deibert and drawn by Carlo Lauro. As a result, many of the plot threads in this series will never, ever be resolved.

Issue guide

Cover	Issue #	Published
	1	April 27, 2016
	"Orange is the New Purple - Part 1" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani When St. Canard unveils its new state-of-the-art prison, it’s touted as an escape-proof container for the criminally crafty! Will this fool-proof fortress of felons mean Darkwing Duck can hang up his crime fighting cape forever? Or will one of his greatest villains prove that confinement in this unconquerable cooler isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?
	2	May 25, 2016
	"Orange is the New Purple - Part 2" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani The Terror that Flaps in the Night is back in the second installment of the all-new ongoing comic series! Megavolt and Negaduck have unleashed the collective might of the inmates at the St. Canard Prison for the Criminally Conniving, and Darkwing is trapped inside alone - or is he? And who's really behind all this tomfoolery?
	3	July 13, 2016
	"Orange is the New Purple - Part 3" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani Negaduck's pernicious prison plot is revealed as he prepares to wreak havoc on St. Canard! With Gosalyn caught by the baddies and Launchpad still locked outside, Darkwing Duck must conquer the great granite guesthouse filled with his most feared foes.
	4	August 24, 2016
	"A Midsummer Gnat's Spree" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani Behold the smallest... er, we mean, the largest threat that St. Canard has ever faced! (Actually, they're both kind of accurate.) Darkwing Duck will have to pull every trick that he has out of his cape in order to defeat his most powerful foe yet, a villain that may well be unstoppable!
	5	September 28, 2016
	"The Kitty Cat Caper" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani Take a dive into the Darkwing Files as D.W. and Launchpad McQuack recount the first time they met the fearsome feline foe we know as... Fluffy! True fans will remember Fluffy from comics of yesteryear, but in this story, our heroes can't quite agree on how the battle went down.
	6	November 16, 2016
	"St. Canard Comic Expo Fest-o-Rama (Now With Some Comics)" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani Darkwing and Launchpad take Gosalyn and Honker to the St. Canard Expo-Con-Fest-O-Rama for a day of family fun. But little do they realize that a seemingly-deceased foe is about to rise from the ink to wreak havoc on the convention!
	7	January 25, 2017
	"Dawn of the Day of the Return of the Living Spud" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani St. Canard is in a spook-tacular mess when the Bride of Bushroot makes her move on a dark and stormy night: law-abiding citizens have been turned into shambling mind-controlled maniacs! DW swings into action, but to avert the apocalypse, he'll need help from a certain youngster with hours of scary movies under her belt.
	8	March 8, 2017
	"Dawn of the Day of the Return of the Living Spud II: Army of Starchness" Written by Aaron Sparrow Art by James Silvani In the midst of the attack of the zombie potatoes, Darkwing and Bushroot are forced to team up, and are in for a shock when they discover who's the mastermind behind it all!

Reprint collections

Volume 1
December 28, 2016
Collects issues #1-4.

Volume 2
April 25, 2017
Collects issues #5-8.

Trivia

• Launchpad was forbidden from appearing on the covers to avoid brand confusion with the DuckTales reboot.

External links

• Darkwing Duck at the INDUCKS

Disney Afternoon comic book issues

DuckTales Gladstone 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 Magazine Summer 1988 • Fall 1988 • Winter 1989 • Spring 1989 • Summer 1989 • Fall 1989 • Winter 1990 • Spring 1990 • Summer 1990 • Fall 1990 Disney Comics 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • Junior Woodchucks: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 Boom! Studios 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 Dynamite Entertainment 1 Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers Disney Comics 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 Boom! Studios 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 Darkwing Duck Disney Comics 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 Boom! Studios 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • Annual • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 Joe Books 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 Dynamite 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • Negaduck: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • Justice Ducks: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 Gargoyles Marvel 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 SLG 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • Bad Guys: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 Dynamite 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • Dark Ages: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • Gargoyles Halloween Special • Quest: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 Miscellaneous titles TaleSpin Mini-series: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • "Ongoing" series: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 Aladdin 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 The Disney Afternoon 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 Disney Comic Hits! 2 • 5 • 6 • 8 • 9 • 13 • 14 Other comic books Disney's Colossal Comics Collection: 5 • Mickey Mouse: 258 • Uncle Scrooge: 270 • 373 • 392 • 393 • 394 • 395 • 396 • 397 • 398 • 399 • Autumn Adventures 1 • 2 • Holiday Parade 1 • Spring Fever 1 Reprints and compilations Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers: The Secret Casebook • Cartoon Tales • Darkwing Duck Classics • Darkwing Duck: The Definitively Dangerous Edition • DuckTales Classics • The Disney Afternoon Adventures