I think he’s an exclusive to DC still but I’m not sure. I don’t know if Tomasi would ever make the jump, right now he gets to write Tec and focus on Bruce and Damian who are his two favorite characters. Gleason is a fantastic artist and he can write, and he gets to be on Spider-Man. I don’t think Tomasi would get that good a deal.
Even people today act like Batman selling 100k is the “norm”. It’s not, Batman has always been at the top but 100k? That was a Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo achievement.
As late as 2002, the Batman title was averaging around 50.000 issues sold each month and hovered around the mid top 30 sales list. Hush, and a few years later the Nolan Batman films, really brought it back and in some ways it's still riding that wave.
As for a new writer, I'd be very surprised if it's not Bendis. There really is no one else available to them that wouldn't be seen as a downgrade, unless they pull someone completely unexpected and spectacular out of their ass or convince Snyder to write it again now thats it's going back to monthly (which I'm sure they'd love, BTW).
As of now:
All-Star Batman, Batman, Doom Patrol, The Flash, The Fix, The Flintstones, Green Valley, Hadrian's Wall, The Hellblazer, Moonshine, New Super-Man, Suicide Squad, Superman, 'Tec, Unfollow
I mentioned Matt Wagner already and it won't happen, but I'd love it.
And I am not suggesting Matt Wagner just because he's a great artist....he's a great Batman writer. Really one of my favorites.
I'd want Matt Wagner even if it meant he only drew certain issues or arcs of his own run.
Things I love: Batman, Superman, AEW, old films, Lovecraft
Grant Morrison: “Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can possibly fly, or how Batman can possibly run a multibillion-dollar business empire during the day and fight crime at night, when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real.”
My hope is for James Tynion IV to succeed on the title. He's proven he's capable with the backups for Snyder and Capullo's Batman, the Legion of Doom issues of Batman, Detective Comics, and Justice League Dark. For what I imagine, he'd make the most sense.
I know Tom Taylor has so many projects on the go right now, but his work on Injustice, Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, All-New Wolverine, and Batman Annual 3 (the Father's Day issue) proves he could be an excellent writer on the title.
And while it may be odd for me to say, Scott Snyder has said over and over again that if it were up to him, he'd write another decade's worth of Batman.
Ultimately, I believe that with the 6+ months before 2020, and the change to a publishing one issue instead of two issues per month, that we may get faster paced stories with a good head start. DC has probably already locked in the creative team so that they can start preparing for January 2020.
I'm currently reading Batman, Detective Comics, DCeased: Dead Planet, Dark Knights: Death Metal, Daredevil, Thor, Nightwing, The Rise of Ultraman and Red Hood and The Outlaws. I'm also trade-waiting the Hickman-era of X-Men comics.
As of now:
All-Star Batman, Batman, Doom Patrol, The Flash, The Fix, The Flintstones, Green Valley, Hadrian's Wall, The Hellblazer, Moonshine, New Super-Man, Suicide Squad, Superman, 'Tec, Unfollow
I'm also not really convinced that low sales is really the main reason. If they would really think that they would King hardly stick around for another 14 issues. And "Year of the Villains"/"City of Bane" will probably get the sales back up anyway quite soon.
On the other hand I'm still wondering how he got all these filler issues and experimental stuff he did since the wedding green lit in the first place.
Bleeding Cool's rumor is that they my place the rumored Warren Ellis/Bryan Hitch Batman series here. It has been rumored at about 15 issues....which would take the book to the summer of 2021. I could then see Bendis finishing up Superman/Action Run by then and Bendis getting the Batman title or that of the Justice League.