The script for this book was written after Gaiman's Black Orchid was completed but prior to its publication. It had been solicited by Mark Waid, then-editor of the short-lived anthology Action Comics Weekly, to conclude that title's run as a weekly anthology in 1988. Waid wanted the story to incorporate all of the characters featured in the book at the time: Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Catwoman, Deadman, the Phantom Stranger, the Demon, the Blackhawks, and Superman. Later, the Demon had to be removed from the story, so Gaiman "created an anagrammatic demon creature to replace him, whose dialogue consisted of one sonnet."