Dawn (comics)

Dawn is a fictional character created by comic book artist Joseph Michael Linsner. She first appeared on the cover of Cry for Dawn #1 (December 1989) before being featured in her own one shot Drama from the new publisher Sirius Entertainment and then the mini-series Dawn: Lucifer's Halo, Dawn: Return of the Goddess, and Dawn: Three Tiers.

Fictional character biography
Dawn is the goddess of birth and rebirth. While her appearance depends on who is viewing her, she is generally depicted as a young, red-haired woman with three "tears" running from her left eye (and two "tears" running from her right eye, on the few occasions that it has been shown); during the witch hunt, witches were discovered to only cry from their left eyes. She also has a rose on one wrist and a chain on the other. The rose represents Hell, and although it has beauty, it only pricks and hurts you; the chain represents Heaven because you can only go so far before you are stopped short by its restrictions. Dawn is the guardian of all the witches on Earth—the goddess to whom they pray.

Dawn is shown in many different facets, shapes, sizes, and colors. Dawn is generally depicted as a woman; Joseph Michael Linsner stresses that all women are goddesses. Dawn takes many shapes since all shapes are beautiful, and so are all women.

Dawn is the lover of Cernunnos (sometimes also known as the Horned God), the God of death, who has incarnated himself in the mortal form of Darrian Ashoka. Darrian, unaware of his true origins, lives in a post-apocalyptic New York City when he first meets Dawn. Dawn leads him on his path of true identity and self-discovery.

Series

 * 1989–1992 Cry for Dawn
 * Nine issue anthology where Dawn only appears on the covers.
 * 1995–1997 Dawn: Lucifer's Halo (ISBN 1-57989-014-8)
 * Six issue mini-series.
 * 1996–1999 Crypt of Dawn
 * Six issue anthology.
 * 1999–2000 Dawn: Return of the Goddess (ISBN 1-58240-242-6)
 * Four issue mini-series.
 * 2003–2005 Dawn: Three Tiers (ISBN 1-58240-573-5)
 * Six issue mini-series.

One shots and specials

 * Drama #1
 * Tears of Dawn
 * Dawn 911 Special: I Love New York
 * 11 or 1
 * Not to Touch the Earth
 * The Sword Master's Daughter & Other Stories (Image Comics, 2013)

Appearances in other media
Dawn is featured on the Gary Numan CD album Dawn (Released in the UK as Sacrifice). For the last ten years, a Dawn look-alike contest has been held at Dragon Con. Recently she appeared in the comic Witchblade, talking to Sara and asking her if she wanted the power of the Witchblade.

In the fall of 2010, in conjunction with the Hero Initiative and Joseph Michael Linsner, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab released four Dawn inspired perfume oils. Proceeds from the sale of those oils go to the Hero Initiative.