Fans of San Diego Comic-Con learned why Gotham City is such a great place for storytelling from some of DC’s most popular storytellers and DC Executive Editor Ben Abernathy. Here’s what we learned:
Tom King Talks About Batman’s First Meeting with The Joker
In “The Winning Card” from Batman: The Brave and The Bold, Tom King and Mitch Gerads explore Batman’s early days as Gotham’s protector. They’ve created one of the scariest versions of The Joker ever seen in comic books. King explained to Abernathy and fans why he decided to retell this meeting between Batman and The Joker, the inspirations behind this Joker, and how he used silent movie intertitle cards to tell the story. He also talked about how he sees The Joker and what he means to him as a writer.
Tom King and Belen Ortega Talk The Penguin’s Return to Gotham
Tom King and Belen Ortega talked about The Penguin’s return to Gotham City. King shared that The Penguin will be taken out of his quiet, low-key life as a florist in Metropolis and brought back to Gotham City’s criminal underworld, and that he will be working with artist Rafael De La Torre in his DC debut. They also discussed whether The Penguin will cross paths with his children, Aidan and Addison Cobblepot, now that they’ve taken over his criminal enterprise in Gotham.
Artist Belen Ortega also spoke about the backup stories she provided art for from Chip Zdarsky’s epic “Failsafe” story arc, which will be collected in The Penguin #0, a three-part collection of the backup stories from Batman #125 – #127, available August 15. She discussed working with Zdarsky on these backup stories and Batman #136, and if he told her just how much he told her about the stories would set up the new series by King and De La Torre.
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Tini Howard and Chip Zdarsky and the Bat/Cat Showdown
Tini Howard, the writer of Catwoman, talks about how Catwoman becomes the new crime boss in Gotham City. She works with Batman scribe Chip Zdarsky to bring a less violent brand of crime to Batman’s home. This event will not only impact Catwoman and Batman, but also Red Hood. By the end of The Gotham War, Red Hood may no longer be in line with the rest of the Bat-Family, and he may not be the only one.
Rafael Grampa Shares His Vision of Batman
Award-winning storyteller Rafael Grampa was excited to talk about his new DC Black Label series, Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham. This is Grampa’s first DC work since his collaboration with Frank Miller on Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child in 2019.
Grampa spoke about how working with Miller prepared him for this series. He also showed fans a variant cover for the debut issue of the series (Batman Day, September 16).
Abernathy and the audience learned about the origins and inspirations of this series, the advantages of telling this story out of continuity, and the importance of not having Bruce Wayne’s identity hinder his fight against crime. Grampa also introduced some of the new villains Batman will face, and the inspiration for their designs.
Interview: Ram V. Talks About Upcoming Chapters of Gotham Nocturne and More
Ram V., the writer of “Gotham Nocturne,” discussed the upcoming final chapters of his magnum opus in an interview with Abernathy. The story will continue in September after a two-issue break in “Knight Terrors.” Ram talked about what he has learned about himself as a storyteller during the creation of this huge story, and the increased presence of the demon Barbatos in upcoming issues.
Ram and Abernathy had a surprise for fans in attendance. They announced a brief “intermezzo” planned for October, which will include a four-issue arc called “Batman: Outlaw.” Cover art for Detective Comics #1076 was revealed.
Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing talk about their new Batman Beyond series and reveal a new project
The panel ended with Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing discussing their upcoming series, Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic, with fans. They talked about working with artist Max Dunbar to create a gothic atmosphere for Gotham City’s future version, and introduced new characters that will be appearing in the series. They also discussed how Terry McGuiness, the new Batman, will develop following the death of Bruce Wayne in Batman Beyond: Neo-Year.
The pair also announced their next DC project, Outsiders, which will feature a new Batwoman and Luke Fox/Batwing, as well as a new version of The Drummer. The series will be available in November.
