The summer comic convention season kicked off at Wizard World Philadelphia last weekend and DC Comics managed to get things going with a bang, firing off a major salvo at archrival Marvel by signing Adam and Andy Kubert to three-year exclusive agreements with DC.  The battle for the exclusive rights to the services of topflight comic talent has been gradually escalating over the past two years since Dan Didio took over the editorial reins at DC Comics in 2003 (see 'What Retailers Can Expect From DC Editorial Shakeup'), but the Kuberts' signing is the biggest coup since DC's signing of Grant Morrison, Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale and Greg Rucka in July of 2003. 

The Kubert brothers have illustrated some of Marvel's most popular titles, most notably Adam's work on Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Ultimate X-Men, and Andy's stints on Ultimate Iron Man, Ultimate X-Men, 1602, and Origin.

In addition to signing the younger Kuberts, DC also announced that their father, veteran artist and teacher Joe Kubert, would return to DC Comics and to Sgt. Rock, a character he helped create.  The elder Kubert, who in 2003 illustrated the Sgt. Rock graphic novel Between Hell and a Hard Place, which was written by Brian Azzarello, is both writing and drawing a six-issue miniseries, Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy, which is slated to debut in early 2006.