Before John Layman broke into writing comics he was editing comics for DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. In 2009, Layman launched Chew with artist and co-creator Rob Guillory via Image. Chew went on to become a great success and fan-favorite, eventually winning multiple Eisner and Harvey awards. In the fall of 2012, Layman would return to DC Comics, for the first time as a writer, when he took over writing duties of Detective Comics with artist Jason Fabok. Layman would spend nearly a year and a half on Detective Comics until both he and Fabok transitioned over to the weekly Batman Eternal. Unfortunately, before Eternal was released, Layman decided to leave the title to focus on Chew, which was entering its last 20 issues, as well as being used to develop an animated movie, among other licensing deals.