In case you somehow missed it, the legendary team behind the New 52 Batman, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, have disbanded for the foreseeable future. Capullo is working on a project with Mark Millar, while Snyder is looking towards a somewhat new title called All-Star Batman. Who will be captaining the new Batman title? Grayson co-writer and ex-CIA agent, Tom King is now at the helm of one of DC’s flagship titles.
Comicvine sat down with the scribe recently to talk about his upcoming turn at the Dark Knight. They discuss his previous titles, Grayson and Marvel’s Vision as well as the importance of continuity to his stories.
Of the new series, King explains that it was important to the team to provide a sort of grand transition between Snyder and himself, while telling a good Batman story. He says, “We wanted to do something that sort of symbolized both the transition of Batman moving from one era to another and it going between Scott and I. We wanted to do a story that was both about Batman and that transition.”
King explains that he believes that the concept of time and its passing is likely the most frightening thing ever. It’s understandable. People aren’t always comfortable with the idea of time moving forward and things changing as a result. Therefore, it becomes an obvious metaphor for the transition from New 52 to Rebirth. It’s rather poetic, actually.
Read his words here:
“It’s about the idea of the scariest thing in the world isn’t a joke or a riddle but a calendar. It’s the idea that days pass. Sometimes those days end or alternatively, the days pass and they’re all the same days. Both those things are horribly frightening. That’s what you’re facing if you’re in a Batman comic. You either look at it as the end of the Scott/Greg era or you look at is as a Rebirth. There’s also another side to it. It’s exciting. It’s about renewal. That’s what life is because it has that calendar aspect. That all takes place in Rebirth #1″
And of course, there’s at least one gimmick character that Bats can face that can properly symbolize that and it’s Calendar Man. Personally, a new take of Clock King would have been my choice.
Aside from that, I’m sure readers are desperate to know just what type of Batman is King going to be presenting to us. What is the tone of his Dark Knight?
I think I’m starting off with a Batman who is comfortable with himself. [H]e’s not that dark. He’s not in a bad place. He trusts himself, and he trusts his team. He trusts Alfred, and he trusts Duke Thomas who is in the cave with him now. He trusts his partners who are going to be featured in Detective Comics. He’s stronger than he’s ever been.
King then explains what the series will eventually do for a Batman at his peak, which is to test him against great threats that are seemingly impossible to overcome.
All that put together, we’re going to ask, if Batman’s at his best, is that enough? He’s still a man. He’s still a human. He can’t stop an asteroid from crashing into the Earth. If a train leaps the tracks and is about to go into a bunch of people, Batman can’t just jump over and lift it into the air. I think that will be the central question. If you have a Batman that’s confident, that’s good. Is that enough to save Gotham City?
The interview is pretty fascinating and the themes that he’s exploring seem very well thought out. I’m excited for this new Batman.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Batman: Rebirth #1 is out June 1st, while Batman #1 is out June 15th.