As i was searching through websites this morning looking for something to post. I stumbled across this interview about the Batman relaunch. I am not sure what to make of it. I am a huge fan of Batman, "The Long Halloween", "Dark Victory", "Year One", "The Dark Knight Returns and Strikes Again", not to mention the "Knightfall series". All of those collections are awesome. Each with their own unique spin and completely different story telling. I personally am a huge fan of Miller's Batman. He is almost a completely different character, extremely dark and conflicted. Knightfall, is a much different type of series. It revolves around Bane attempting to destroy Batman, by breaking every major criminal out of Arkham. It shows Batman as being unable to detach after the death of Robin and almost an emotional disaster. I admit that I have not been following any of the recent story arches or series. Regardless, anytime a comic company is relaunching a major character it needs to brought up for discussion. DC is relaunching Batman, with Robin taking up the mantle. The Editor, Mike Marts, discusses the direction with Dan Phillips of IGN. Here is some of the cooler questions discussed.
"IGN Comics: As I understand it, the wall is a way for you and your editorial team to keep everything organized and straight, rather than keep all this in your heads. What I'm curious about is how you guys break it down initially and go about relegating certain characters to certain books.
With the wall, I get this image of something like the NFL draft, with you playing the role of commissioner and the different writers vying for the chance to use each character. Obviously that's not the case, but what's a more accurate way to describe how you break down which series will handle which character?
Marts: It's a combination of a few different methods. We divide everything up by regular monthly titles, and then if there are any ancillary books like one-shots or events, we include those as well. More or less we're working from what's already there and then branching out.
In other words, if Grant Morrison has an outline in for Batman and Robin, and we know that certain characters are going to appear in that series, we'll earmark those characters for that series and know that their appearances in other books will be limited or restricted. We kind of work that way, using the outlines from our writers and our conversations with our writers. Then we leave an open area for characters that are at large. And "at large" doesn't necessarily mean they're at large in Gotham City and running free. It can also mean that they're at large in that they're not currently being used in any of the core monthly titles.
IGN Comics: So it is it a common occurrence for you to have to tell a writer that Character A is off limits because he's being used in another series?
Marts: Definitely. In fact it happened this morning. I got a script in from one of our writers who wanted to use Firefly. He's a good villain, but not really an A-lister, and he hasn't really been used in that past few years other than some appearances in Gotham Underground. Suddenly it seems like for whatever reason Firefly is all the rage. We had him appear in Battle for the Cowl, and he's also going to be used in Paul Dini's Streets of Gotham.
So for the other writer who wanted to use it in his book, I had to explain that the character is being used in a significant way over here, which means we kind of have to adjust or make changes or come up with a replacement villain to be used in his book. So that's one example. It happens a few times a week, actually. But that's just one example of how the board helped us in managing the characters and knowing who appears where, when and why.
IGN Comics: Whenever you're looking at a franchise like Batman, Superman, X-Men or whatever, fans are always curious how the different individual series will interact – if they'll all combine to tell one overarching story, or if they'll all work together to flesh out that specific corner of the universe. It sounds like you guys are doing a little bit of both with Batman.
Marts: We're doing a little bit of both. The trick with Batman is that you're primarily dealing with a single character, and then there are a number of supporting characters that branch out from him. So to avoid repetition, you really want each title to maintain its own identity and speak for itself.
We encourage our writers to do their own thing and have their titles have their own distinct voices. But at the same time, it's our job as editors over here to make sure that even though the voices are distinct and unique, that they're all following along the same path and heading in the right direction, and that the voices don't contradict one another.
So I encourage Paul Dini to do his thing in Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens, and I encourage Grant Morrison to do his thing in Batman and Robin. They're going along the same basic path, but it's up to us to make sure that they don't contradict one another or step on each other's toes.
GN Comics: Looking at the "Batman" section of the Wall and the characters that appear there, it looks like Judd will be dealing with the majority of the plot threads left over from Battle for the Cowl, such as the new Black Mask and Two Face's war with Penguin.
Marts: Exactly. We'll see Two-Face appear; we'll see Penguin appear. Black Mask shows up again. Judd is definitely picking up threads from Battle for the Cowl.
IGN Comics: It's curious to see Jason Todd show up under the "Batman and Robin" section. Because Judd will be handling so many of the threads from Battle for the Cowl, I expected to see Jason show up there. Will he be appearing in both? Where should fans expect to see Jason?
Marts: Well that card there just says Red Hood. We're assuming that Jason may have perished at the end of Battle for the Cowl #3. So don't assume that he's under the hood. We're not sure who is under the hood. All I can say is that Grant is planning a story arc called "The Return of the Red Hood."
IGN Comics: Let's move on to the other series. Because Paul Dini is writing two books, Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens, is it safe to assume those two series will interact more so than others?
Marts: People will see definite common story threads showing up in both of Paul's books, specifically in the area of Tommy Elliot. He'll make his presence known in both Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens.
IGN Comics: What kind of role will Batman play in the two series?
Marts: In Streets of Gotham, Batman is still very much the main protagonist. The title of it is Batman: Streets of Gotham, and we're treating this as more or less a new Batman monthly series. He'll still be the main character in this. The difference in Streets of Gotham is that these are Batman stories told through the point of view of other characters in Gotham City. So it could be Commissioner Gordon telling the story, it could be a villain, or it could be a supporting character telling the story.
IGN Comics: Let's move on to Red Robin. Is it safe to assume Tim Drake is behind the mask?
Marts: I wouldn't be so quick to assume that.
IGN Comics: Interesting. The solicits suggest that this Red Robin, whoever he is, believes that Bruce Wayne is out there somewhere.
Marts: Correct. In the very first issue Red Robin, who's a master detective, finds a clue very close to home that leads him to believe that Bruce Wayne is still alive. This becomes that character's primary objective in this series – to try and find out whether or not Bruce Wayne is still alive. Along the way, there will be several obstacles that get in the way of his quest, one of which is Ra's Al Ghul.
IGN Comics: I realize it's still a ways away, but what can you say about the Azrael series?
Marts: It's coming out in October, so it's a little ways off and it may be a little early to talk about it, but it will definitely follow up on the Azrael limited series we just did. We wanted to announce this one early, because the reaction to the Azrael limited series was extremely strong, and we wanted to let readers know this wasn't a one time thing.
We're going to be seeing a lot of this character. He'll be around for a long time to come. We're super excited about it. It'll be a little while before we announce a creative team on it, though. "
The rest of the interview can be found here. http://comics.ign.com/articles/988/988283p2.html
I think it sounds pretty good. I mean, it is a dangerous avenue they are going down, but they seem like they have a good idea where they are going, over at DC. In the interview, Azarel was discussed. Azarel, is one of the main characters from "Knightfall". I thought he was a great character and I am stoked he is coming back. Especially in another Batman story. What do you think about the Relaunch?