For many comic readers, there’s no character quite as iconic as Batman. So; it seemed fitting that DC’s first post-relaunch panel centered around the character. Creators from all the major Batman titles were present, including Scott Snyder, Tony Daniel, and David Finch. Batbook editors Mike Marts and Bobbie Chase were also in attendance.
Here’s a look at what they had to say about working on Batman titles, and what readers can expect in issues to come:
Batman writer Scott Snyder announced his intentions to build on the history of Gotham. ”I love the idea of the history of Gotham,” said Snyder, “and the secrets of the past influencing the present.” He plans to have Bruce Wayne discover an organization called the Court of Owls that’s connected to many of Gotham’s most influential families. The book’s artist, Greg Capullo, sang the praises of Snyder. ”I feel that Scott Snyder is going to be one of the legendary writers in our business,” he told the audience. “I’m having the time of my life, and he’s the best writer I’ve ever worked with.”
Peter Tomasi will be playing up the father/son dynamic in Batman and Robin. He said his own son has influenced the way he writes Damian Wayne. ”When you have an eight-year-old at home,” he explained, “you can just record the conversations between us.” Readers will be seeing lots more of the mysterious new villain Nobody. Nobody will be going after Robin in the comic’s third issue, and will have an “epic” confrontation with Batman himself in issue 7. Nobody apparently has ties to Henri Ducard, who served as a mentor to a young Bruce Wayne and is aware of identity as Batman.
In future issues of Batman: The Dark Knight, we’ll be seeing a lot more violence. ”I think issue #2 is going to upset people even more than issue #1,” said David Finch, “we’ve got the Ventriloquist robbing a bank, and he’s actually beating people with his doll.” Many DC characters will be appearing in future issues of the comic, including The Flash, Wonder Woman, and the Legion of Doom. Finch also mentioned how glad he was that Paul Jenkins had taken over the book’s writing duties. ”I’m excited for these books to come out on schedule,” he stated. “It’s one thing for me to sit here and say the book’s going to be on schedule, but I’m looking forward to proving that.”
Tony Daniel told readers they could expect shorter arcs in future issues of Detective Comics. ”The point is to have a different style,” he said, “have it be more brutal, gritty, have a little bit of a noir style to it.” A new villain, Jack in the Box, will be appearing in issue 3, and readers will be seeing plenty more of the Dollmaker. ”In issue #1, I wanted to introduce new readers to the familiar as well as the new, so that’s why we had the Joker make that splash,” explained Daniel. “But I also wanted to introduce some new villains and challenges for the Dark Knight. And I think we get to do that in issues #2-#4.”
Artist Chris Burnham was on hand to discuss the return of Batman Inc. He described to the audience what it was like to work with Grant Morrison. “The scripts are more challenging than most scripts I’ve worked with,” he explained. “It’s basically like working on other scripts, but better.” He promised that fan favorite characters Cass Cain and Stephanie Brown would both be making appearances in the series, and that readers can look forward to ”Grant Morrison controlled chaos stuff.”
Nightwing writer Kyle Higgins asserted that Dick Grayson has always been his favorite comic book character. He discussed how he wanted to use the characters stint as Batman to help him grow, stating that he “wanted to use all that to push the character further”. The audience was given an early look at next week’s Nightwing #2, which sees the return of the character’s suit taser. Higgins also addressed questions about Dick’s de-aging and how that effected the Batman canon. He confirmed that Dick had now been adopted at age 16 rather than age 12. ”I don’t know what math you could use where he ends up as 12″ when he’s adopted,” he said.
Several audience members asked if former Robin Tim Drake would be playing a bigger role in the Batman titles. Both Snyder and Higgins promised he’d be appearing in their books, and editor Bobbie Chase confirmed there were plans for the character, telling the audience “it’s inevitable to have Tim come back into the Bat-universe.”
To conclude the panel, the hotly anticipated Batman: Earth One was given a Summer 2012 release date.