Tom King to leave "Batman" after issue 85, and then launch "Batman/Catwoman" maxiseries with Clay Mann

Rumors have been swirling for a few days now, and it’s finally official: Tom King will be leaving the main Batman title this December. He’s been on the book since the launch of Rebirth and has successfully juggled his work on the title with series like Heroes in Crisis and Mister Miracle, and has constantly said that his story is meant to be a 100-issue epic. His last issue will be #85, when the book will be taken over by an as-yet to be announced new creative team in January when it returns to a monthly shipping schedule.

But just because he’s no longer on Batman doesn’t mean his Batman story is over, as January also sees the launch of Batman/Catwoman, a 12-issue maxiseries from King and beloved artist and frequent collaborator Clay Mann. King also has plenty of other projects in the works, like his and Mitch Gerads’ long-awaited follow-up to Mister Miracle, so I’m glad we haven’t heard the last from him yet.

Check out the details below.

Per DC:

BATMAN/CATWOMAN #1 CONTINUES ONGOING BAT/CAT ROMANCE
“City Of Bane” Concludes in BATMAN #85
BATMAN to Ship Monthly Beginning January 2020

BURBANK, CA (May 24, 2019) – DC fans can expect an exciting future as the publisher revealed early details on its strategy for 2020, beginning with stories featuring tight, intertwined narratives across DC’s comic book lineup. Leading this charge into the future is Batman, the World’s Greatest Detective and a cornerstone of the DC universe.
Beginning in January 2020, DC’s ongoing BATMAN comic book, currently shipping twice-monthly, will return to a monthly schedule, allowing DC to incorporate the monthly BATMAN title into the larger DC universe and continuity. BATMAN will ship alongside a new 12-issue BATMAN/CATWOMAN series by Tom King and Clay Mann, while Bat-Family titles DETECTIVE COMICS, CATWOMAN, NIGHTWING, BATGIRL and others will continue into 2020 with no immediate changes to their shipping schedules.
“We’re making changes to our comic book publishing line to set DC up for continued success,” said DC’s editor-in-chief Bob Harras. “We’re starting with the bestselling BATMAN comic after ‘City of Bane’ wraps up in December. ‘City of Bane’ is an incredible story and an integral part of our overall ‘Year of the Villain’ campaign, and a new Tom King and Clay Mann Bat/Cat series in 2020 fills the gap once BATMAN begins to ship monthly.”
Featuring art by Tony S. Daniel, ’City of Bane’ kicks off in BATMAN #75 on July 17th, 2019, when, after three years being broken down by Bane, Bruce Wayne falls to his lowest point. Bane’s minions have moved into Gotham City, taken control and are ruling with an iron fist…and Batman is nowhere to be found. This extra-sized anniversary issue kicks off a storyline that ties together all the threads of the first 74 issues of Tom King’s epic BATMAN run. ’City of Bane’ will run 11 issues with artwork by series regulars Daniel, Mikel Janín and Mann, concluding in December 2019 with BATMAN #85.
“Batman and Catwoman is a chance to do what Morrison and Quietly did in Batman and Robin: launch an ambitious, accessible, beautiful, thrilling new series that concludes years of stories and defines what Batman is, can, and will be,” said Tom King. “This will be a comic about what the best Batman comics are always been about, how our greatest hero turns fear into bravery, pain into hope, trauma into love. It’s the story I always wanted to tell, and I’m telling it with the man I consider to be the greatest artist in comics, my brother Clay Mann.
“It’s tough to leave Batman,” added King. “It’s a gift and a joy to be on that book. But I’m leaving it to work on the biggest, most ambitious projects of my career, comics I get to make with the best collaborators in comics. And that’s a gift and a joy too.”
“We’re excited for fans to get more of what they love from DC,” said Harras. “With Joëlle Jones continuing on CATWOMAN, a new creative team on BATMAN, plus titles like DETECTIVE COMICS, BATGIRL, NIGHTWING, RED HOOD: OUTLAW and BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS, our Gotham City protectors and the talent behind them will continue to offer great stories that cater to the tastes of as many Bat-fans as possible in 2020 and beyond.”

Batman #85 will ship this December, with Batman/Catwoman #1 to follow in January 2020.

This post was originally published on Comics Now.

73 comments

Thanasis

May 24, 2019

Good. His run is unbelievably bad and he got away with way too many issues of complete crap.

Also, King comparing his Catwoman/Batman book to Morrison's Batman and Robin is an insult to Morrison and his understanding of these characters. There's no worse a Batman writer than King atm. His understanding of the character and his sub-universe is laughable.

And I will not be buying his side comic.

Tabris
May 24, 2019
How can the book be an insult if it's not out yet? It's just been announced so chill out, dude. He just wanted something for reference.
1. Thanasis
  May 24, 2019
  It's not the book. It's the notion. Batman and Robin worked because of Morrison's grasp on the characters. Something King hasn't shown he's got. Aside from maybe Dick Grayson.

SJ1986

May 24, 2019

Oooh maybe he could take 12 issues for them to not get married again!

Hunter Zolomon

May 24, 2019

Fuck yes he's finally gone. As for for this Batman/Catwoman series well it might be ok as the best stuff to come from his run was when Bruce and Selina were a thing. I've heard rumours that the reason he's gone is because DC got cold feet over something he had planned what would change Batman forever, my guess is he was either going to kill off Alfred or Gordon or dare i say have Batman kill, yeah glad he's gone as he's ruined Wally in HiC and it looks like he would have ruined Bruce as well.

Just need DC to get some sense and hire Tom Taylor as his replacement.

StarTheory
May 24, 2019
Even if he did something stupid, it won’t stick. There is always someone that comes in to fix a fuck up but the only problem is how long it takes. But I’m glad he is leaving, get rid of it now and save us a few years of facepalms and headaches.
Tobescolombo
May 25, 2019
I'm just hoping that Catwoman and Batman get married for real. That was probably my favorite plot point of Tom Kings run and I've been salty ever they shot it down.
Seb is a Socialist
May 25, 2019
whats hiC
1. Hunter Zolomon
  May 25, 2019
  Heroes in Crisis.
  1. Seb is a Socialist
    May 25, 2019
    is it a crisis story?
    1. Hunter Zolomon
      May 25, 2019
      Not in the way Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis are. Its more small scale in the way Identity Crisis is, the problem is with it is every character is written the same, it moves at snails pace with whole issues being filler (what in a 9 issue series is a problem), it thinks its cleverer then it is and every character is out of character. You have Harley being able on her own to take out Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman all together (oh yeah that happened), Booster Gold acting nothing like Booster Gold, Batgirl being really off and worst of all the complete character assassination of Wally West. Its awful frankly and one of the worst stories i've read in years.
    2. Seb is a Socialist
      May 25, 2019
      damn bud. seems like harley is bein turned into dc's squirrel girl
    3. Hunter Zolomon
      May 26, 2019
      Honestly Harley elsewhere is fine. The problem with King is he writes the characters to suit his narrative, if you were to remove mention of names and take away the images you would find it really hard or impossible to actually know who is which. Wally is revealed to be the killer, granted it was an outburst of speed force energy what killed everyone around him (of course the Speed Force or his powers don't work like that but that's a whole other thing) so it was by mistake and not on purpose, ok i hate that but there's a story there but instead of writing Wally like Wally who would straight away confess to this and hand himself King has him cover up the crime, frame Harley and Booster and make them question themselves and even have take some pride in how great he was at covering it up, now ok Wally is actually buying time and time travel is involved (along with killing a (future version of himself) so i'm guessing he's trying to fix this (won't know until the final issue) but all this is just not Wally, as i said King writes the characters to suit his story and if he wrote Wally like Wally then this story wouldn't exist.
    4. Seb is a Socialist
      May 26, 2019
      sounds like when johns had superman kill doctor light.
    5. Hunter Zolomon
      May 27, 2019
      That wasn't really him as the Atom who was actually from Earth-3 (and is part of the Crime-Syndictate) was inside his head at the time and stabbed him with Kryptonite in the brain what caused his heat vision to suddenly be active what killed Doctor Light. None of that was Supes fault what so ever.
    6. Seb is a Socialist
      May 28, 2019
      it was a retcon and u know that
    7. Hunter Zolomon
      May 28, 2019
      But it was a major plot point of the story as it all lead in to Forever Evil with the Crime-Syndicate. All the way though Trinity War Superman was acting ill and off after that moment and the twist was that Atom (a new character at that point as set up for her reveal as a villain) was behind it.
    8. Seb is a Socialist
      May 28, 2019
      i guess but hindsight is 2020 as the sayin goes. speakin of 2020- trump 2020 maga!
Bruce Vader
May 27, 2019
Yes, Tom Taylor would be awesome!!!
WarWolf343
May 27, 2019
I'd love Tom Taylor but he's working on Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (and doing a great job) so I would love to see Genevieve Valentine work on Batman, who single handily saved Selina during the New 52 and has a great grasp on Batman and Catwoman's relationship.
1. Hunter Zolomon
  May 28, 2019
  I highly doubt Selina will feature much after King leaves especially if he's doing a series based on her and Bats.

Brione

May 24, 2019

If this means Bruce and Selina actually get married then I might forgive Tom King for all the nonsense he's written lately.

Kerk Lastnameless
May 24, 2019
I dont know if I'm willing to forgive but that will get my spirits up. Maybe I'll even start buying DC comics again.
Bruce Vader
May 27, 2019
They probably won't get married and I don't need them to be. The "will they, won't they" is enough for me. Let's face it, how would an actual marriage work for them? I just want them interacting and that's about it.
Vata
September 4, 2019
Me too. It would be time. But
the problem is that it depends on the writers. And they
also ruined the former.
But I think they could have got married, because they are still together
and they don't let each other down. They confront the
enemy. And even if they are not married, they are
together. And if Holy didn't move to the other side, she could have
convinced her to get married. But no, she's more on Bane's
side.
If they get married, that only means, there is a priest and they say:
yes, a ring on their finger, and Selina's name will be Selina
Wayne. And maybe Helena Wayne, but she can be born without the marriage
of Batman and Catwoman. I think.
Of course, I think it would be nice to finally get married. But that depends on the writer, unfortunately.
Sorry I don't know English so well yet.

Tabris

May 24, 2019

His run has been hit or miss imo, but his best stuff was definitley the Bat/Cat romance so I'm excited for the new series and glad that he gets to finish his story.
Paul Dini as the new Batman writer would be awesome btw!

Katatonia132

May 24, 2019

Yesterday I had hopes, that I would finally be spared with this Batcat& crybaby Bruce nonsense& now there are another 12 issues with this. Meh, will I ever get a story, where a villain kills Catwoman& this shipping crap is finally over? I guess not...
I only hope a good writer takes over after King, hopefully not Geoff Johns. He ruined the New Gods& writes many characters out of character. Especially those he doesn’t care about.

Brione

May 24, 2019

Hopefully Tom Taylor will be announced as the next Batman writer.

Hunter Zolomon
May 24, 2019
I'm desperate for Taylor to get Batman, it would no doubt be fantastic as Taylor is a great writer who gets pretty much every character he writes.
1. Katatonia132
  May 26, 2019
  But only as long as he doesn’t kill someone, he’s always killing characters ( Dceased/ Injustice). Yeah I know these are not canon, but still that’s what I have to think of when I hear Taylor.
  1. Hunter Zolomon
    May 26, 2019
    Well characters had to die in Injustice because it was a prequel to the games where its clear many heroes and villains are dead. DCeased is Zombies so i expect and want many deaths.
ItzSilentStorm
May 25, 2019
what has he done?
1. Brione
  May 25, 2019
  He's currently writing DCeaced and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He previously wrote Injustice, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #3, All New Wolverine, and a bunch of other stuff.
  1. Kerk Lastnameless
    May 25, 2019
    Did he kill off Darkseid in DCeaced?
    1. Brione
      May 25, 2019
      Yeah but it's an Elseworlds story and isn't in continuity.
    2. Kerk Lastnameless
      May 25, 2019
      What IS in continuity these days? Feels like everything they do is an elseworlds story.
    3. Brione
      May 25, 2019
      Yeah but this one was solicited as an Elseworlds.
    4. Hunter Zolomon
      May 25, 2019
      Yeah it was a pretty awesome death as well.
  2. Bruce Vader
    May 27, 2019
    I liked Taylor even before, but that Alfred Annual just did it for me to want him write Batman. I think it would also be awesome for a writer to write Batman and Spider-Man at the same time.
    1. Hunter Zolomon
      May 28, 2019
      Taylor is one of those rare writers who nails any character he writes .
    2. Thanasis
      May 30, 2019
      Taylor is amazing. He'd be my top choice since Snyder probably won't do Batman again for a while.

Robin MB

May 24, 2019

So what they are saying is I may be able to read Batman again?

Kerk Lastnameless

May 24, 2019

So they are promoting him, not kicking him out.

Mr Smith1466
May 24, 2019
He's basically been demoted from the main title (bleeding cool reports that sales were down and that Bob Harras was never a fan). But King still has value to DC and he's still exclusive (Mister Miracle alone got multiple Eisner awards) so DC is basically compensating him with a flashy press release, nice big smiles and a new maxi series. But he's definitely been demoted.
1. Sanctum1972
  May 25, 2019
  I think it's a good thing that Bob Harras is the Editor in Chief and probably has pretty high standards. After all the guy's been around since the 1990s working on some notorious titles at Marvel back then. If an editor in chief isn't impressed with your work, that's not a good sign. The problem I have with DC is why did they keep letting Tom's scripts go unchecked and given a green light every time when he should've been asked to do a re-write or taken off the book asap? And a writer should never have more power over the editor unless they want that job. I'm sure Tom and Mark Doyle didn't see eye to eye in the David Finch situation. Personally I don't agree with King's idea on Finch doing the proposal scene because there are artists out there that can do it justice. It's like Tom's seeing dollar signs with Finch's name when he's not thinking about the creative consistency. And when I think of Finch, I think of Image Comics' quality from the 1990s era with 'eye candy' and lack of substance with Spawn as the only one that was pretty consistent. I remember those days well. I'm sure Finch is a great artist and his style works in some cases.
2. Bruce Vader
  May 27, 2019
  Even though I didn't want him on Batman anymore I'm looking forward to his Bat/Cat series.

Seb

May 24, 2019

About time.

kingcrim84

May 24, 2019

I’d love an Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips team-up for Batman. They do some of the best crime noir books I’ve read.

I know Brubaker has done some Batman in the past, but I think his partnership with Phillips is something special, and they should do a run or two for Batman’s current series.

https://www.wired.com/image...

Sanctum1972

May 24, 2019

Well, that was FAST. Just when I mentioned that he needs to be removed from the book a week or so ago, this happens. Someone at DC or Warner Bros must have been reading the comments here.

And about time! It sounds like Tom King's been running his mouth at his media blitz at how the 'great change' was going to happen and get it approved but I think the higher ups changed their mind and saw the big picture in how it wouldn't work out. I'm not sure if turning Batman into a murderer, IF this is Tom King's intention, is a good idea because it's almost copying what's happening with Daredevil right now.

EDIT: As for a replacement, I think Ed Brubaker or Warren Ellis is the best bet.

Alfa1812

May 24, 2019

So who is everyone's choice for the next batman writer? I have seen a couple of names thrown around. Personally I don't want Bendis, at least not right now since he would be working on superman and batman at the same time. I would love to see either Taylor or Seeley have a go at it though.

Thanasis
May 25, 2019
Tom Taylor
Hunter Zolomon
May 25, 2019
Tom Taylor without a doubt, DC would be mad not to put him on it.
Katatonia132
May 26, 2019
Matthew Manning, Doug Moench or Chuck Dixon.
1. JaymusYawsley
  May 27, 2019
  Ohhh, Matthew Manning is an inspired choice. Good call.
Lukáš Kudela
May 27, 2019
Tom Taylor, maybe Johns for 6-12 issues to make up mess after King

Frank Pepito

May 25, 2019

I wasn't as harshly disappointed by him Batman run as many others seemed to be. It was challenging, to be sure, but I appreciated the challenge...most of the time. I agree with something I read somewhere about DC's marketing dept deserving more of the blame leading people on that the Bat and the Cat were actually getting married, and I agree with that. And part of the blame also goes to King too, but only because he wrote the storyline so well, we believed it might happen.

I'm glad he's getting to finish his planned opus. And I love that it's happening in its own book rather than the Batman title. After investing all this time following along - and not getting all bent like many other have - I'm interested in reading what he has planned. HIs distinctly nonlinear, out-of-the-box storytelling also makes sense to me that it be out-of-the-Batman-title and move into Batman-Catwoman.

attentionisattention

May 25, 2019

Read just about his whole run, and thank God he's leaving. It's written like a TV show, but not in a good way like Batman Eternal. I just don't understand his run..a massive epic that takes forever to go nowhere? Cool plots that resolve in a single issue? It was too all over the place for me and nothing is memorable

Kouglof
May 25, 2019
Batman Eternal is one of the worst comics I've ever read, 52 issues of how to waste your time.

Steve

May 25, 2019

Glad King is off the main title, it's been treading water for ages and was pretty poor from almost the off with the odd decent issue here and there. He can go and do his own little maxi series that can plod along in the background while we hopefully get a writer in who will give us some entertaining stories rather than plot hole ridden (the laughable I am Suicide and Poison Ivy arcs being the worst offenders for stories that are just full of wtf moments) navel gazing padded out with poems and impenetrable dialogue.

I am glad he can finish his story though and you never know he might pull it off but I'm just not a fan of his run at all. Vision, Omega men were good but dont really stand up to a re-read. I dropped Mr Miracle after about 5 episodes.

Tom Taylor would be my choice. Batman Annual 3 was wonderful.

OptimistPrime99

May 25, 2019

This potentially puts some fans of the relationship, in a weird spot.😂 Outside of Batman Annual 2, and the Lois and Clark double date, King hasn't proven that he can write a healthy and consistent romantic relationship, between Bruce and Selina yet. What happens if they just breakup at the end of the series? King's a really cynical dude, that isn't afraid of disappointing fans, after taking their money.

Fans should just proceed with caution, and not get their hopes up, when it comes to Tom King's view of who Batman and Catwoman are. When it came time to really deliver on positivity and character development, King wimped out, and reset Batman back to sad, lonely, and brooding. Because that's an easier Batman to write. So we'll see. https://uploads.disquscdn.c... https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

BatmanUglyCowl
May 26, 2019
"and reset Batman back to sad, lonely, and brooding" If that had been the case, it would have been fine. He doubled it down.

jrvc

May 25, 2019

Clay Mann is a big draw to this for me. And well, I have liked most of King's work, and his Catowman/Batman duo has been mostly a delight to me

lio

May 25, 2019

FUCKING YES!!!!!!

Kouglof

May 25, 2019

For the same reason than selling 52 issues of trash, DC push it to the limits and nerds/collectioners buy it. You just can't write a story which make sense with that amount of issues.

Nagato

May 25, 2019

Time for that Monkey's Paw to activate and have Bendis be revealed as his replacement. The comments in this thread will not age well at all.

Robin MB

May 25, 2019

So after a few days I'm in agreement and think Tom Taylor would be perfect. Currently enjoying his Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Does anybody have any other suggestions for new writers and artists?

Sanctum1972

May 26, 2019

If Bendis becomes his replacement, it may or may not work. BUT, what many people have forgotten that back in the Cleveland days when I knew him locally, he was great in writing crime noir which was his forte. I remember visiting the local comic shop where Bendis used to work at years ago and he was drawing a couple of pages of a Batman story as a submission to break into the industry. However, that wasn't the case. He focused on his indie crime stories such as Goldfish, Jinx and then moved on to Sam and Twitch. He even did Torso which was based on a local Cleveland crime spree. Jinx, Goldfish, and FIRE ( very, very rare ) were based on local spots in Cleveland with a Quentin Tarantino-esque tone to it. Classic stuff.

And I think if Bendis plays his cards right, he could make Batman into a dark crime noir title with a focus on his detective work. He's very good at this. Although, since Superman has Cleveland ties, I can see why he would want to write this character.

So, I'm thinking either Bendis, Warren Ellis ( my preference ), or maybe James Tynion. Actually Bendis and Alex Maleev together would give Batman a very dark, gritty urban feel to it just like they did with their Daredevil run. DC needs to get a bit old school with a Denny O Neil approach with Batman all by himself doing his work along with Alfred. And I think if Bruce crosses the line by way of killing someone, IF this is what King is alluding to regarding the big change, it would destroy his ethos and isolate his Bat Family even further. Or his identity gets revealed to the public, however King's upcoming Bat/Cat book may seem to contradict this.

Imagine Jason Todd/Red Hood's reaction when he finds out Bruce crosses the line. Would he applaud or admonish?

Bruce Vader

May 27, 2019

I liked his Batman run too up until after the "wedding". I feel like the Bat/Cat break-up was an editorial decision, but I just don't like how it was handled after that. The "Knightmares" were an awful period for the book.

Bruce Vader
May 27, 2019
Hmm, give me an example of something unoriginal from I am Gotham.

Blue Eyed Guy

May 29, 2019

I'll be adding Batman back to my subscription starting on issue #86. Now if DC could get Bendis off the Superman books...

Thanasis
May 30, 2019
Bendis hasn't been nearly as bad to Superman as King has been to Batman. I actually kinda like some of the things he's doing.
1. Blue Eyed Guy
  May 30, 2019
  Probably not as bad but compared to the creative teams on those titles before he took over (Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Dan Jurgens), feels like Bendis' falls flat. I really loved what Tomasi was doing on Superman and Jurgens on Action. Things were moving at an exciting pace. Bendis' writing is not bad, my issue is that he over words everything and drags it out, I guess sort of like King. There is a soap opera quality to his writing and I much prefer reading Bendis on his creator-owned comics like Jinx, or his more recent titles like Pearl and Cover. That's where it shines.
  1. Thanasis
    May 30, 2019
    Tomasi is an incredible writer though. But Bendis isn't bad. Not in the slightest with Superman. Especially since I was expecting his book to completely suck.

Thanasis
May 24, 2019
Good. His run is unbelievably bad and he got away with way too many issues of complete crap.
Also, King comparing his Catwoman/Batman book to Morrison's Batman and Robin is an insult to Morrison and his understanding of these characters. There's no worse a Batman writer than King atm. His understanding of the character and his sub-universe is laughable.
And I will not be buying his side comic.
1. Tabris
  May 24, 2019
  How can the book be an insult if it's not out yet? It's just been announced so chill out, dude. He just wanted something for reference.
  1. Thanasis
    May 24, 2019
    It's not the book. It's the notion. Batman and Robin worked because of Morrison's grasp on the characters. Something King hasn't shown he's got. Aside from maybe Dick Grayson.
SJ1986
May 24, 2019
Oooh maybe he could take 12 issues for them to not get married again!
Hunter Zolomon
May 24, 2019
Fuck yes he's finally gone. As for for this Batman/Catwoman series well it might be ok as the best stuff to come from his run was when Bruce and Selina were a thing. I've heard rumours that the reason he's gone is because DC got cold feet over something he had planned what would change Batman forever, my guess is he was either going to kill off Alfred or Gordon or dare i say have Batman kill, yeah glad he's gone as he's ruined Wally in HiC and it looks like he would have ruined Bruce as well.
Just need DC to get some sense and hire Tom Taylor as his replacement.
1. StarTheory
  May 24, 2019
  Even if he did something stupid, it won’t stick. There is always someone that comes in to fix a fuck up but the only problem is how long it takes. But I’m glad he is leaving, get rid of it now and save us a few years of facepalms and headaches.
2. Tobescolombo
  May 25, 2019
  I'm just hoping that Catwoman and Batman get married for real. That was probably my favorite plot point of Tom Kings run and I've been salty ever they shot it down.
3. Seb is a Socialist
  May 25, 2019
  whats hiC
  1. Hunter Zolomon
    May 25, 2019
    Heroes in Crisis.
    1. Seb is a Socialist
      May 25, 2019
      is it a crisis story?
      1. Hunter Zolomon
        May 25, 2019
        Not in the way Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis are. Its more small scale in the way Identity Crisis is, the problem is with it is every character is written the same, it moves at snails pace with whole issues being filler (what in a 9 issue series is a problem), it thinks its cleverer then it is and every character is out of character. You have Harley being able on her own to take out Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman all together (oh yeah that happened), Booster Gold acting nothing like Booster Gold, Batgirl being really off and worst of all the complete character assassination of Wally West. Its awful frankly and one of the worst stories i've read in years.
      2. Seb is a Socialist
        May 25, 2019
        damn bud. seems like harley is bein turned into dc's squirrel girl
      3. Hunter Zolomon
        May 26, 2019
        Honestly Harley elsewhere is fine. The problem with King is he writes the characters to suit his narrative, if you were to remove mention of names and take away the images you would find it really hard or impossible to actually know who is which. Wally is revealed to be the killer, granted it was an outburst of speed force energy what killed everyone around him (of course the Speed Force or his powers don't work like that but that's a whole other thing) so it was by mistake and not on purpose, ok i hate that but there's a story there but instead of writing Wally like Wally who would straight away confess to this and hand himself King has him cover up the crime, frame Harley and Booster and make them question themselves and even have take some pride in how great he was at covering it up, now ok Wally is actually buying time and time travel is involved (along with killing a (future version of himself) so i'm guessing he's trying to fix this (won't know until the final issue) but all this is just not Wally, as i said King writes the characters to suit his story and if he wrote Wally like Wally then this story wouldn't exist.
      4. Seb is a Socialist
        May 26, 2019
        sounds like when johns had superman kill doctor light.
      5. Hunter Zolomon
        May 27, 2019
        That wasn't really him as the Atom who was actually from Earth-3 (and is part of the Crime-Syndictate) was inside his head at the time and stabbed him with Kryptonite in the brain what caused his heat vision to suddenly be active what killed Doctor Light. None of that was Supes fault what so ever.
      6. Seb is a Socialist
        May 28, 2019
        it was a retcon and u know that
      7. Hunter Zolomon
        May 28, 2019
        But it was a major plot point of the story as it all lead in to Forever Evil with the Crime-Syndicate. All the way though Trinity War Superman was acting ill and off after that moment and the twist was that Atom (a new character at that point as set up for her reveal as a villain) was behind it.
      8. Seb is a Socialist
        May 28, 2019
        i guess but hindsight is 2020 as the sayin goes. speakin of 2020- trump 2020 maga!
4. Bruce Vader
  May 27, 2019
  Yes, Tom Taylor would be awesome!!!
5. WarWolf343
  May 27, 2019
  I'd love Tom Taylor but he's working on Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (and doing a great job) so I would love to see Genevieve Valentine work on Batman, who single handily saved Selina during the New 52 and has a great grasp on Batman and Catwoman's relationship.
  1. Hunter Zolomon
    May 28, 2019
    I highly doubt Selina will feature much after King leaves especially if he's doing a series based on her and Bats.
Brione
May 24, 2019
If this means Bruce and Selina actually get married then I might forgive Tom King for all the nonsense he's written lately.
1. Kerk Lastnameless
  May 24, 2019
  I dont know if I'm willing to forgive but that will get my spirits up. Maybe I'll even start buying DC comics again.
2. Bruce Vader
  May 27, 2019
  They probably won't get married and I don't need them to be. The "will they, won't they" is enough for me. Let's face it, how would an actual marriage work for them? I just want them interacting and that's about it.
3. Vata
  September 4, 2019
  Me too. It would be time. But
  the problem is that it depends on the writers. And they
  also ruined the former.
  But I think they could have got married, because they are still together
  and they don't let each other down. They confront the
  enemy. And even if they are not married, they are
  together. And if Holy didn't move to the other side, she could have
  convinced her to get married. But no, she's more on Bane's
  side.
  If they get married, that only means, there is a priest and they say:
  yes, a ring on their finger, and Selina's name will be Selina
  Wayne. And maybe Helena Wayne, but she can be born without the marriage
  of Batman and Catwoman. I think.
  Of course, I think it would be nice to finally get married. But that depends on the writer, unfortunately.
  Sorry I don't know English so well yet.
Tabris
May 24, 2019
His run has been hit or miss imo, but his best stuff was definitley the Bat/Cat romance so I'm excited for the new series and glad that he gets to finish his story.
Paul Dini as the new Batman writer would be awesome btw!
Katatonia132
May 24, 2019
Yesterday I had hopes, that I would finally be spared with this Batcat& crybaby Bruce nonsense& now there are another 12 issues with this. Meh, will I ever get a story, where a villain kills Catwoman& this shipping crap is finally over? I guess not...
I only hope a good writer takes over after King, hopefully not Geoff Johns. He ruined the New Gods& writes many characters out of character. Especially those he doesn’t care about.
Brione
May 24, 2019
Hopefully Tom Taylor will be announced as the next Batman writer.
1. Hunter Zolomon
  May 24, 2019
  I'm desperate for Taylor to get Batman, it would no doubt be fantastic as Taylor is a great writer who gets pretty much every character he writes.
  1. Katatonia132
    May 26, 2019
    But only as long as he doesn’t kill someone, he’s always killing characters ( Dceased/ Injustice). Yeah I know these are not canon, but still that’s what I have to think of when I hear Taylor.
    1. Hunter Zolomon
      May 26, 2019
      Well characters had to die in Injustice because it was a prequel to the games where its clear many heroes and villains are dead. DCeased is Zombies so i expect and want many deaths.
2. ItzSilentStorm
  May 25, 2019
  what has he done?
  1. Brione
    May 25, 2019
    He's currently writing DCeaced and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He previously wrote Injustice, Batman Vol. 3 Annual #3, All New Wolverine, and a bunch of other stuff.
    1. Kerk Lastnameless
      May 25, 2019
      Did he kill off Darkseid in DCeaced?
      1. Brione
        May 25, 2019
        Yeah but it's an Elseworlds story and isn't in continuity.
      2. Kerk Lastnameless
        May 25, 2019
        What IS in continuity these days? Feels like everything they do is an elseworlds story.
      3. Brione
        May 25, 2019
        Yeah but this one was solicited as an Elseworlds.
      4. Hunter Zolomon
        May 25, 2019
        Yeah it was a pretty awesome death as well.
    2. Bruce Vader
      May 27, 2019
      I liked Taylor even before, but that Alfred Annual just did it for me to want him write Batman. I think it would also be awesome for a writer to write Batman and Spider-Man at the same time.
      1. Hunter Zolomon
        May 28, 2019
        Taylor is one of those rare writers who nails any character he writes .
      2. Thanasis
        May 30, 2019
        Taylor is amazing. He'd be my top choice since Snyder probably won't do Batman again for a while.
Robin MB
May 24, 2019
So what they are saying is I may be able to read Batman again?
Kerk Lastnameless
May 24, 2019
So they are promoting him, not kicking him out.
1. Mr Smith1466
  May 24, 2019
  He's basically been demoted from the main title (bleeding cool reports that sales were down and that Bob Harras was never a fan). But King still has value to DC and he's still exclusive (Mister Miracle alone got multiple Eisner awards) so DC is basically compensating him with a flashy press release, nice big smiles and a new maxi series. But he's definitely been demoted.
  1. Sanctum1972
    May 25, 2019
    I think it's a good thing that Bob Harras is the Editor in Chief and probably has pretty high standards. After all the guy's been around since the 1990s working on some notorious titles at Marvel back then. If an editor in chief isn't impressed with your work, that's not a good sign. The problem I have with DC is why did they keep letting Tom's scripts go unchecked and given a green light every time when he should've been asked to do a re-write or taken off the book asap? And a writer should never have more power over the editor unless they want that job. I'm sure Tom and Mark Doyle didn't see eye to eye in the David Finch situation. Personally I don't agree with King's idea on Finch doing the proposal scene because there are artists out there that can do it justice. It's like Tom's seeing dollar signs with Finch's name when he's not thinking about the creative consistency. And when I think of Finch, I think of Image Comics' quality from the 1990s era with 'eye candy' and lack of substance with Spawn as the only one that was pretty consistent. I remember those days well. I'm sure Finch is a great artist and his style works in some cases.
  2. Bruce Vader
    May 27, 2019
    Even though I didn't want him on Batman anymore I'm looking forward to his Bat/Cat series.
Seb
May 24, 2019
About time.
kingcrim84
May 24, 2019
I’d love an Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips team-up for Batman. They do some of the best crime noir books I’ve read.
I know Brubaker has done some Batman in the past, but I think his partnership with Phillips is something special, and they should do a run or two for Batman’s current series.
https://www.wired.com/image...
Sanctum1972
May 24, 2019
Well, that was FAST. Just when I mentioned that he needs to be removed from the book a week or so ago, this happens. Someone at DC or Warner Bros must have been reading the comments here.
And about time! It sounds like Tom King's been running his mouth at his media blitz at how the 'great change' was going to happen and get it approved but I think the higher ups changed their mind and saw the big picture in how it wouldn't work out. I'm not sure if turning Batman into a murderer, IF this is Tom King's intention, is a good idea because it's almost copying what's happening with Daredevil right now.
EDIT: As for a replacement, I think Ed Brubaker or Warren Ellis is the best bet.
Alfa1812
May 24, 2019
So who is everyone's choice for the next batman writer? I have seen a couple of names thrown around. Personally I don't want Bendis, at least not right now since he would be working on superman and batman at the same time. I would love to see either Taylor or Seeley have a go at it though.
1. Thanasis
  May 25, 2019
  Tom Taylor
2. Hunter Zolomon
  May 25, 2019
  Tom Taylor without a doubt, DC would be mad not to put him on it.
3. Katatonia132
  May 26, 2019
  Matthew Manning, Doug Moench or Chuck Dixon.
  1. JaymusYawsley
    May 27, 2019
    Ohhh, Matthew Manning is an inspired choice. Good call.
4. Lukáš Kudela
  May 27, 2019
  Tom Taylor, maybe Johns for 6-12 issues to make up mess after King
Frank Pepito
May 25, 2019
I wasn't as harshly disappointed by him Batman run as many others seemed to be. It was challenging, to be sure, but I appreciated the challenge...most of the time. I agree with something I read somewhere about DC's marketing dept deserving more of the blame leading people on that the Bat and the Cat were actually getting married, and I agree with that. And part of the blame also goes to King too, but only because he wrote the storyline so well, we believed it might happen.
I'm glad he's getting to finish his planned opus. And I love that it's happening in its own book rather than the Batman title. After investing all this time following along - and not getting all bent like many other have - I'm interested in reading what he has planned. HIs distinctly nonlinear, out-of-the-box storytelling also makes sense to me that it be out-of-the-Batman-title and move into Batman-Catwoman.
attentionisattention
May 25, 2019
Read just about his whole run, and thank God he's leaving. It's written like a TV show, but not in a good way like Batman Eternal. I just don't understand his run..a massive epic that takes forever to go nowhere? Cool plots that resolve in a single issue? It was too all over the place for me and nothing is memorable
1. Kouglof
  May 25, 2019
  Batman Eternal is one of the worst comics I've ever read, 52 issues of how to waste your time.
Steve
May 25, 2019
Glad King is off the main title, it's been treading water for ages and was pretty poor from almost the off with the odd decent issue here and there. He can go and do his own little maxi series that can plod along in the background while we hopefully get a writer in who will give us some entertaining stories rather than plot hole ridden (the laughable I am Suicide and Poison Ivy arcs being the worst offenders for stories that are just full of wtf moments) navel gazing padded out with poems and impenetrable dialogue.
I am glad he can finish his story though and you never know he might pull it off but I'm just not a fan of his run at all. Vision, Omega men were good but dont really stand up to a re-read. I dropped Mr Miracle after about 5 episodes.
Tom Taylor would be my choice. Batman Annual 3 was wonderful.
OptimistPrime99
May 25, 2019
This potentially puts some fans of the relationship, in a weird spot.😂 Outside of Batman Annual 2, and the Lois and Clark double date, King hasn't proven that he can write a healthy and consistent romantic relationship, between Bruce and Selina yet. What happens if they just breakup at the end of the series? King's a really cynical dude, that isn't afraid of disappointing fans, after taking their money.
Fans should just proceed with caution, and not get their hopes up, when it comes to Tom King's view of who Batman and Catwoman are. When it came time to really deliver on positivity and character development, King wimped out, and reset Batman back to sad, lonely, and brooding. Because that's an easier Batman to write. So we'll see. https://uploads.disquscdn.c... https://uploads.disquscdn.c...
1. BatmanUglyCowl
  May 26, 2019
  "and reset Batman back to sad, lonely, and brooding" If that had been the case, it would have been fine. He doubled it down.
jrvc
May 25, 2019
Clay Mann is a big draw to this for me. And well, I have liked most of King's work, and his Catowman/Batman duo has been mostly a delight to me
lio
May 25, 2019
FUCKING YES!!!!!!
Kouglof
May 25, 2019
For the same reason than selling 52 issues of trash, DC push it to the limits and nerds/collectioners buy it. You just can't write a story which make sense with that amount of issues.
Nagato
May 25, 2019
Time for that Monkey's Paw to activate and have Bendis be revealed as his replacement. The comments in this thread will not age well at all.
Robin MB
May 25, 2019
So after a few days I'm in agreement and think Tom Taylor would be perfect. Currently enjoying his Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Does anybody have any other suggestions for new writers and artists?
Sanctum1972
May 26, 2019
If Bendis becomes his replacement, it may or may not work. BUT, what many people have forgotten that back in the Cleveland days when I knew him locally, he was great in writing crime noir which was his forte. I remember visiting the local comic shop where Bendis used to work at years ago and he was drawing a couple of pages of a Batman story as a submission to break into the industry. However, that wasn't the case. He focused on his indie crime stories such as Goldfish, Jinx and then moved on to Sam and Twitch. He even did Torso which was based on a local Cleveland crime spree. Jinx, Goldfish, and FIRE ( very, very rare ) were based on local spots in Cleveland with a Quentin Tarantino-esque tone to it. Classic stuff.
And I think if Bendis plays his cards right, he could make Batman into a dark crime noir title with a focus on his detective work. He's very good at this. Although, since Superman has Cleveland ties, I can see why he would want to write this character.
So, I'm thinking either Bendis, Warren Ellis ( my preference ), or maybe James Tynion. Actually Bendis and Alex Maleev together would give Batman a very dark, gritty urban feel to it just like they did with their Daredevil run. DC needs to get a bit old school with a Denny O Neil approach with Batman all by himself doing his work along with Alfred. And I think if Bruce crosses the line by way of killing someone, IF this is what King is alluding to regarding the big change, it would destroy his ethos and isolate his Bat Family even further. Or his identity gets revealed to the public, however King's upcoming Bat/Cat book may seem to contradict this.
Imagine Jason Todd/Red Hood's reaction when he finds out Bruce crosses the line. Would he applaud or admonish?
Bruce Vader
May 27, 2019
I liked his Batman run too up until after the "wedding". I feel like the Bat/Cat break-up was an editorial decision, but I just don't like how it was handled after that. The "Knightmares" were an awful period for the book.
1. Bruce Vader
  May 27, 2019
  Hmm, give me an example of something unoriginal from I am Gotham.
Blue Eyed Guy
May 29, 2019
I'll be adding Batman back to my subscription starting on issue #86. Now if DC could get Bendis off the Superman books...
1. Thanasis
  May 30, 2019
  Bendis hasn't been nearly as bad to Superman as King has been to Batman. I actually kinda like some of the things he's doing.
  1. Blue Eyed Guy
    May 30, 2019
    Probably not as bad but compared to the creative teams on those titles before he took over (Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Dan Jurgens), feels like Bendis' falls flat. I really loved what Tomasi was doing on Superman and Jurgens on Action. Things were moving at an exciting pace. Bendis' writing is not bad, my issue is that he over words everything and drags it out, I guess sort of like King. There is a soap opera quality to his writing and I much prefer reading Bendis on his creator-owned comics like Jinx, or his more recent titles like Pearl and Cover. That's where it shines.
    1. Thanasis
      May 30, 2019
      Tomasi is an incredible writer though. But Bendis isn't bad. Not in the slightest with Superman. Especially since I was expecting his book to completely suck.

Batman News Archive

Tom King to leave "Batman" after issue 85, and then launch "Batman/Catwoman" maxiseries with Clay Mann

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