Gen13 by J. Scott Campbell coming back after 18 years out-of-print

(Image credit: J. Scott Campbell/Alex Garner (DC))

After nearly two decades out of print, the first arc of Gen13 is coming back in print according to a listing on the booktrade database service Edelweiss.

2002 edition

2002 edition (Image credit: J. Scott Campbell/Alex Garner (DC))

In 2021, DC plans to re-release Gen13: Starting Over - a collection of roughly the first two years‘ worth of stories created by J. Scott Campbell, Jim Lee, and Brandon Choi. 

"Under the leadership of their mentor Lynch, the super-powered teenagers of Gen13 live a life of fighting evil, saving the world, and partying hard. Featuring strong characterization and wacky humor, this trade paperback presents the offbeat adventures of Fairchild, Burnout, Freefall, Grunge, and Rainmaker as they deal with typical teenage problems while combating violent villains and would-be world conquerors. Rebellious and headstrong, this atypical collection of heroes trots the globe in search of adventures and excitement."

This is a hardcover re-release of a previous edition of the collection, last released in 2002. This new edition has a new cover, repurposing Campbell and Alex Garner's cover to Gen13 #5.

2021 edition (Image credit: J. Scott Campbell/Alex Garner (DC))

Gen13 #1 was released digitally in 2015, with #0 and #2 joining it in 2019. The rest of Campbell's Gen13 run has not been released online.

The complete contents of this collected edition includes Gen13: Lost In Paradise #1, Gen13 #1-5, Gen13 European Vacation #1, Gen13 Backlist #1, Gen13 #0-5, Wildstorm Universe Sourcebook #1, and Gen13: Encore No. 1.

DC has stated a reason for this, however this is a marked change as the publisher has largely kept its WildStorm U comics out of print since the closure of the imprint in 2010.

The hardcover Gen13: Starting Over is scheduled to go on sale May 4, 2021.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)