Madame Xanadu - Publication History

Publication History

The character debuted in Doorway to Nightmare #1, (February 1978). The character was designed by cover artist Michael William Kaluta at the request of Joe Orlando (editor), based on Kaluta's unnamed host character (later known as Charity in the pages of Starman) from the DC Comics mystery title Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion (seen only on that title's indicia page) and the person of Cathy Ann Thiele. The original storyline was developed by David Michelinie and Val Mayerik.

Doorway to Nightmare, introduced in 1978, was the last of the DC "Mystery" line of titles in the 1970s that became the forerunner of Vertigo. It did not have a consistent creative team—the intent was to create writer-artist pairings that had never occurred before, except for the cover art of Michael William Kaluta. Madame Xanadu, the star of the series, was not a host but an active participant, albeit never the main character in her stories. The Phantom Stranger was criticized heavily in letter columns for taking a similar approach. The Doorway to Nightmare strip lasted for ten issues: five in its own series, four in The Unexpected, and one issue of Madame Xanadu, which was DC's second direct sales only comic. The first issue of Madame Xanadu bore little difference from an issue of Doorway to Nightmare. There were several requests to reprint it in letter columns of The Spectre, but they were refused because that issue gave little background as to her character, although it did introduce Ishtar to the DC Universe, who dated Destruction.

Madame Xanadu was a regular supporting cast member in volumes 2 and 3 of The Spectre, those versions written by Doug Moench (31 issues, 1987–1989) and John Ostrander (62 issues, 1993–1998).

A Madame Xanadu ongoing series from Vertigo was announced at the 2007 San Diego Comic Con and started in 2008. It was written by Matt Wagner, with art by Amy Reeder Hadley. The series also featured art stints by Kaluta, Joëlle Jones, Marley Zarcone, Laurenn McCubbin, Chrissie Zullo, Celia Calle, and Marian Churchland. The series was concluded after 29 issues, the final one dated January 2011.