Who Should Take Over Batman After Tom King?

[dornwolf]

Before issue 100, DC should hire a renowned writer who has never worked in comics before for a brief 15 issue run ala Dardevil - Green Arrow Kevin Smith.

I'm thinking someone among the lines of...

Quintin Tarantino
J.K. Rowling
George R.R. Martin
Stephen King*

*(Yeah yeah, he worked on American Vampire, but merely as a writer of the back up stories for the first 5 issues so it doesn't really count, does it now?

This would generate massive hype, but 15 issues is sparse enough to be reasonable for these probably very busy individuals.

All joking aside, Martins gone on record saying that any comic he writes he wants a contract stating no one can undo what he's done. So if Kings not getting that chance no way Martins getting it. That and if Martin writes it we'd also never get it.

[MajorHoy]

This would generate massive hype, but 15 issues is sparse enough to be reasonable for these probably very busy individuals.

And, of course they'd be honored to do this work for much, much less than they're accustomed to being paid?

[Timothy Hunter]

And, of course they'd be honored to do this work for much, much less than they're accustomed to being paid?

DC would obviously have to pay them more than the average writer, yes, but only really for what equates to a maxi series.

[BatmanJones]

I felt the lecture on Samuel Beckett and Bob Dylan was a wee bit of overkill . . .

Maybe you could say why. Beckett and Dylan were FAR more roundly panned (explicitly for doing something different) than King ever has been.

[nebezial]

Because he is not a writer. He is an artist first. His attempts at trying to write comics have not really been successes (such as the Teen Witchblade book). And DC's attempts of getting artists to be writers have been failures especially with the batbooks as we saw with Tony Daniel and David Finch.

i am a storyteller first. my work hasn't been successful for a myriad of reasons. primary one being that comic book stores don't order that many books that aren't from the big 2. when they do they primarily order stuff from established writers making the very effort of breaking through as a writer a monstrously uphill battle.

still, i found my success by changing my approach and marketing to bookstores and amazon who will stock on my work when demanded by the readers.

and wouldn't you know it, it made sunstone an absolute bestseller translated in god knows how many languages (i actually lost track, no joke). it was nominated for awards, most recently ringo award for best series. it gave second wind to my critically acclaimed series, death vigil to start off this autumn.

this gave DC enough confidence to let me write and draw a soon to be announced book of my own. it helps that my pitch were lettered layouts that immediately sold them on the concept. (perks of being a writer/artist)


now, having said all that... hell no i have no interest in monthly writing of something as massive as batman XD i value my sanity too much. i prefer elseworlds stories, graphic novel style one and done adventures, stuff like that. monthly writing duties require a vers special discipline. i can't even keep my comics down to a reasonable pagecount XD

[nebezial]

I'm not Stjepan Šejić is the best fit, creatively speaking, for writing Batman. He seems to write his best with wacky personal drama and slice of life stories, preferably with lots of sexy and bondage.

What I'd do if I was the Batbook editor was to open DC's address book and send out an open call to everyone in it: send me your best pitch for a single-issue Batman story, with fourteen or so winners.

while i'd definitely agree on me not being a good fit, it is for some entirely different reasons. i don't have the patience or discipline to maintain writing duties on a monthly series like that. but the themes and the mood are very much up my alley. i'd suggest you give death vigil a try

[kjn]

while i'd definitely agree on me not being a good fit, it is for some entirely different reasons. i don't have the patience or discipline to maintain writing duties on a monthly series like that. but the themes and the mood are very much up my alley. i'd suggest you give death vigil a try

I was actually considering Death Vigil as well as Sunstone with my comment: to me the interpersonal drama and interplay between the protagonists were the most interesting parts of the story.

Though now I kind of want to see your take on the Batman mythos (even if only for a one- or two-shot), though I'd imagine it would work best focusing on the Batfamily rather than Batman as the lone hero.

[numberthirty]

All joking aside, Martins gone on record saying that any comic he writes he wants a contract stating no one can undo what he's done. So if Kings not getting that chance no way Martins getting it. That and if Martin writes it we'd also never get it.

Yep.

If the reality is anything like the rumor, this is exactly what the company is steering clear of.

As for the other names, it's "Apples" versus "Oranges" when compared to Smith.

Smith is squarely "Us". Any of those other names? You'd probably just get a shrug out of your average "Comics" fan. Never mind anyone who will already be looking to grind an axe if King should be pulled off of the title.

Sounds a lot like "Hand a name a pocket full of fat cash for a run that almost no one will probably care about."

[MajorHoy]

Maybe they should have Dan DiDio write a two-or-three issue story right after King's last issue?

That way, any writer who comes after DiDio wouldn't technically be the one who replaced King.

[Arctic Cyclist]

I felt the lecture on Samuel Beckett and Bob Dylan was a wee bit of overkill . . .

Not really. King's Batman in general, and the relationship between Bruce and Selina in particular parallels Waiting for Godot. Especially the two acts where nothing happens, the couples who have been together forever thus becoming trapped in relationships that allow no room for growth or the inclusion of others, the two brothers who might be the same boy, the difficulty in sleeping as the other character keeps waking the first but doesn't want to hear about the nightmares, the sheer lack of meaningful character development and progression, the undelivered promise of plot, and people trying to prove that they're smart enough to understand it and the detractors are idiots.

I'm just happy I wasn't the only one to realize that King's entire run is a Waiting for Godot fan fiction, just like the second annual is a Notebook fanfic that edges right up to the borders of plagiarism.

[Pohzee]

We all know who everybody wants... Scott Snyder to come on for one last last run on the character. With extra helpings of the Batman Who Laughs.

[BatmanJones]

We all know who everybody wants... Scott Snyder to come on for one last last run on the character. With extra helpings of the Batman Who Laughs.

I don't dislike Snyder but I'm nonplussed by his Batman. Apart from James Robinson, this is the last thing I want.

[Buried Alien]

Someone a bit old school...who can write a modern take on a Pre-DKR, Pre-COIE Batman.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Bruce Wayne]

We all know who everybody wants... Scott Snyder to come on for one last last run on the character. With extra helpings of the Batman Who Laughs.

I like Morrison better, but I don't want either of them to return. They have done their best work already. DC needs to get someone new (and not Bendis or Lobdell) like they did with Snyder.

[MajorHoy]

Someone a bit old school...who can write a modern take on a Pre-DKR, Pre-COIE Batman.

But how many writers are still alive who could do that these days?