The Boy Wonder is dead but not forgotten. Oddly enough, Damian’s return to comics isn’t his mainstream self returned from death, but rather a mini series exploring the universe in which he grew up to become the Batman we saw in #666 and other sporadic appearances. A Batman with new twisted villains, and otherwise being a different Batman from the one we’re all used to despite being every bit as dark and brooding. Damian: Son of Batman will be out this October and so writer/artist Andy Kubert was interviewed by IGN to see what the deal was with this new tale of a future that might have been. When asked about the book, Kubert took a moment to explain why he chose to do this book about Damian.
I enjoyed the character when I had first started working on him with Grant [Morrison] way back in issue #655, even though he only had a slight appearance in that issue. Even though I had only drawn him in a handful of issues, Damian was really starting to grow on me. By the time I had finished drawing issue #666, which was the last issue of my run, I had such a great time drawing that issue that I wanted to do something with Damian Batman again.
Maybe it was the violence and the great cartoony “Dick Tracy” characters that Grant peppered throughout the issue, but man, it was a blast to draw! When I suggested that I`d like to do something with that Batman to editor Mike Marts, it was he that suggested since I loved the character so much that maybe I should write something for him along with drawing it since I had talked about wanting to write, anyway.
By the way, I really wish I could have stayed on drawing the regular Batman title back then for a longer run. Regretfully, I had to take myself off the book. With all my prior commitments, teaching and working at my father`s school being a major commitment, the deadlines were creeping up on me and I had no other choice but to leave. But I so loved working on it!
In regards to the plot and whether or not this can be considered an Elseworlds, Kubert denied that he had that in mind when plotting this story out as well the fact that Grant Morrison had no input on what he’d be doing with Damian in this mini-series.
Actually, I started writing the series when Damian`s character was only a few issues old and I had just gotten done with #666! I had to put down the series when I started working with Neil Gaiman on the issues of Batman and Detective that we had done and hadn`t been able to pick it up again until this past spring. There were no other considerations when I had started to plan out the story…No, people can blame this one entirely on me!
Noticeably though, this is the first time Andy Kubert has ever both drawn and written the same work he’s been on before. He took some time to mention his own process and the pros and cons of being the only person working on a title.
Yes, this is the first story that I`ve written and drawn. Like I said before, Damian was only a few issues old when I pitched this story. Since then, he has grown into a fan favorite. I`m not sure if any of us saw that coming. It would be a tough thing to calculate. But the story does fit in nicely with the Batman #666 issue… I wrote myself a full script meaning that each page is broken down and each panel in the page is numbered and described. I even did the dialogue in the script. I approached the script the same way I would any other. When I read through the pages, I`m not married to what is written down. If I see a different way, a more effective way of telling the story, I will go with that.
It`s the way I approach things, and the way I tell my students that I teach in the school how to approach a script. Writing things down, then visually telling that story, are two different things in my opinion.
Lastly, when asked if this was a good indicator of more Batman stories to come that involved Damian taking up the cowl in that dark future. Kubert expressed enthusiasm and hope that would be the case.
I hope so! The character is just too great not to have something done with him.
Source: IGN