“I think it’s good to have a lot of different Batman books. I much prefer you can write all these different stories.” – GRANT MORRISON
While DC had a lot of panels at the show, most seemed to feature Batman in some major way. Here’s the latest news about the Dark Knight and what we can expect going forward.
If you missed our coverage of it before the list changes occurring in the Bat-family of books
- Batman – Tony Daniel (writer/artist)
- Batman and Robin – Peter Tomasi (writer) and Patrick Gleason (art)
- Detective Comics – Scott Snyder
- Knight & Squire – Paul Cornell (writer)
- The Dark Knight – David Finch (writer/artist)
- Batman: The Return – Grant Morrison
While there are many other Batman books not on the above list, DC did announce that Grant Morrison would create another new ongoing called Batman, Inc. Morrison said he was drawing inspiration from the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated show and will make this more of a team book than solo Batman adventures. The Batman: The Return will lead to the decisions that create Batman, Inc. Yanick Paquette has been signed as the artist,DC expects it to arrive in November.
With BATMAN INC., Grant Morrison inverts the expected and presents a huge element of the unexpected to the Batman mythos, presenting a Batman status quo that is both new and energizing while at the same time remarkably familiar. We caught up with BATMAN Group Editor Michael Marts for some thoughts on what’s to come. Mike?
“Everything’s been leading to this. Bruce Wayne made his long journey home in THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE. Then Gotham City’s protector came back in BATMAN: THE RETURN. Now comes BATMAN INC.–the next phase of the Dark Knight as only mastermind writer Grant Morrison could imagine it. Joined on art by Yanick Paquette, this brand-new monthly series starring Batman and an unexpected supporting cast is sure to shock and surprise!”
According to David Finch, Batman: The Return will feature Batman with an all new costume.
Tim Quitely will not be returning to finish out Grant Morrison’s run on Batman & Robin, instead it will remain Frazer Irving and Cameron Stewart.
Snyder said Detective Comics will be going back to basics, BUT WITH A TWIST! In addition to “the twist” (Snyder promises no vampires), the series will feature back-up stories with Jim Gordon. Snyder said there would be a lot of CSI and high tech in the book, but it would also explore how Gotham is changing now that Bruce is back. Batman will need to solve a series of mysteries that all tie together. While nothing specific as to how long that story arc would take, it would be nice if there were three to four major mysteries that tied to a big reveal a year from now.
Streets of Gotham continues with Paul Dini, who will follow up the Heart of Hush storyline with House of Hush, which explores more of the Wayne/Elliot family history. The story is just starting now, and should extend into 2011. Dustin Nguyen will continue to provide the art.
Gail Simone promised we would learn who the White Canary is – hint: the story takes the team to Bangkok.
Over in the Batgirl title, Stephanie Brown will begin to figure out what she needs to do to keep her title that she firmly claimed in her first 12 issues. She’ll get her first rogues gallery and “A love interest she does want, a love interest she doesn’t want, and a love she’ll never return.” Bryan Q. MIller said Tim may make an appearance, but he intentionally kept them apart for the first year so Stephanie could find her her place. Dustin Nguyen will provide cover art on some upcoming issues.
Speaking of Batgirl, this is the second time DC has mentioned Cassandra Cain, and while they are still keeping the information close, it did let slip that we should start looking for her in November.
If you missed the announcement yesterday, Batman Beyond will continue after the mini-series, though the Batman panel today seemed rather vague, whereas it seemed more definite last night.
Fans of Jason Todd will be happy to learn he will be sticking around for a while.
Grant Morrison also had another great quote when it comes to Batman and those who do or do not know Batman’s identity.
“It’s not important to the Joker to know that. But who’s going to say, ‘Hey, I know your identity’ to Batman. I think everyone at the Daily Planet knows about Superman but they say, ‘Listen, don’t say anything. He thinks we don’t know and it’s really important to him.'”
When Bruce Wayne does return, what will happen to Dick Grayson?
Do you really think DC is going to reveal that bit of information right now?
8 Comments
Bangkok, not much of a hint given all the signs point to the village Shiva was trained and Black Canary rescued Sin from…
P.S.- My guess is still the Crime Doctor’s daughter or “Mother”.
I am always amazed that a seriously OCD-needs-to-get-laid non-super hero like Bats can support so many magazines. I’d love to see the Legion get that sort of attention–they’ve got enough characters!
The reason Basty is so popular (IMHO) is the fact that there is no Batman, he is: Harry Houdini, Chuck Norris, Lone Ranger, Zorro, Sherlock Holmes, Indiana Jones, Alain quartermain, Edmond Dantes, Boeuwulf, etc. He’s an amalgame of every “mortal” and “human” hero out there. You can writte him in any setting, at any time, anyway you see fit and you will always have something that read as “Batman”, you may not like the arc/series but you can be sure it fits someones definition of The Batman.
DING DING DING, we have a winner.
I’m hyper excited for Batman Inc.
Hurrah! Batman: Streets of Gotham continues with it’s current brilliant creative team. This is my favourite super hero comic book by far at the moment, and I was scared for its safety.
Wasn’t the previous Batman and Robin artist Frank Quitely, not Tim Quitely? Or Vincent Deighan if you want to use his given name.
They are the same guy, he just keeps changing his name for tax purposes.