As part of DC Comics-The New 52 Art Tour, BATWOMAN artist and writer J.H. Williams and co-writer W. Haden Blackman appeared at Isotope in San Francisco on Saturday.
In case you couldn’t make it, COMIC BOOK RESOURCES and IFANBOY were there to cover the event.
Head on over to read CBR's interview with Williams and Blackman and then check out some great photos over at IFANBOY!
As part of DC Comics-The New 52 Art Tour, BATWOMAN artist J.H. Williams and co-writer W. Haden Blackman will be appearing at Isotope tomorrow. This event will feature process pieces from BATWOMAN #1, THE FLASH #1, ACTION COMICS #1, and original art from BATWOMAN #3.
If you’re in the San Francisco area stop by to meet them and get your comic books signed!
Saturday, December 3
Meet BATWOMAN artist and co-writer J.H. Williams, III
and co-writer W. Haden Blackman
3:00-6:00pm
326 Fell St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
OUT.COM previewed the highly anticipated BATWOMAN #3 by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman.
MAXIM continued their weekly previews of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. This time around? They’ve got you’re exclusive first look at GREEN LANTERN #3 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy and Keith Champagne, in stores tomorrow.
GAWKER’s IO9 interviewed BATMAN: NOEL writer/artist Lee Bermejo. “I wanted to play around with the past juxtapositions of Gotham's characters,” Bermejo said. “It's important to make nods to the history without being nostalgic. When I was kid, I grew up watching the 1960s TV show. Because I was five, I had no idea that it was played for laughs. There's an element of that in this book, taking Batman's past history completely seriously.”
And speaking of BATMAN: NOEL, head on over to IGN for your chance to win a copy of the book.
To be continued …
The bogeyman. The monster in the closet. The things that go bump in the night. They show up, sometimes, in a good spooky story. But what gives us nightmares, what really keeps us up late at night, can't always be named.
With today being Halloween, we sent thirteen questions about horror to some of the smartest writers in the comic book industry to get to the heart of why we love horror. Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are all currently writing characters traditionally associated with horror. Paul Cornell's writing a dark fantasy book chock full of fear and the supernatural. Brian Azzarello, J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are injecting horror into superhero epics. They all took time out to share their thoughts on what we're calling the New Horror in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Their answers will run here on the SOURCE in three parts, but you can keep the conversation going on Twitter with the hashtag #thenewhorror.
On the horrors of the New 52
What sets the Dark titles apart from the other books in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52?
BRIAN AZZARELLO: There's a palpable creepiness in these books. The threats are relatable.
DAN ABNETT: These are supernatural or pseudo-supernatural books that fit very neatly into the new DC Universe. Genre borders are dissolving in other media, and it’s nice to have comics that can blend styles and flavors. RESURRECTION MAN is, basically, a superhero book, but he doesn’t wear a costume and he spends most of his time actively NOT being a superhero... and plenty of time engaging with horror/supernatural/dark science-fiction themes.
J.H. WILLIAMS III: There seems to be this unique blend of heroics and creepy ideas mixing together. My favorite thing to do is cross genres in unexpected ways to produce interesting results. Even though Batwoman isn't really a "DC Dark" title, we do sort of fit that vein. But with a nice twist of her not actually having powers of her own, just a normal human being dealing with things that defy the natural order in the only ways she knows how.
PAUL CORNELL: The qualities of one's peers, for a start. They're lovely chaps to be on a panel with. And I think the line has something of that wonderful moment just before Vertigo launched, when the weird horror characters were still part of the DC universe about it.
SCOTT SNYDER: I think the sensibility. We're allowed to explore the more horrible villains, in monsters and all that, but those things sort of demand a darker emotional material to work, too, you know? Meaning, for the kinds of monsters and gross things we write about in our plots to be scary, they have to be functions of stories that are equally scary and disturbing.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I feel like BATWOMAN has its own unique place in the New 52. While it's sometimes a traditional vigilante comic book and somewhat connected to the Batman books, it has very strong supernatural and metaphysical undercurrents. Batman generally fights psychopaths (some quite horrific), but many of Batwoman's cases and villains will have a much more supernatural flavor.
ANDY LANNING: When we wrote RESURRECTION MAN first time 'round, it was commented that the book was a kind of bridging title between the DC Universe and the Vertigo titles which was something new at the time. The Dark Line as a whole now is well and truly treading the ground between the overt superhero titles of the DC Universe and Vertigo books and it’s very fertile ground that seems to have struck a chord with readers.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: First off, the folks in our group are just the best of the best. I can't believe how amazing each of them are, and how great their books are. Second, this is something that each of us have a genuine heart felt passion for. These aren't just jobs, they aren't just doing a book for the sake of a paycheck. Each of us came to our books from a place of pure passion, and I think that bleeds from every page.
How important is it for horror and magic to have a place in the DC universe?
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s an element that has been sorely lacking in the DCU for a long time, and I'm glad to see it being embraced much more fully. It just adds even more fantastical aspects to an already tantalizing universe of ideas. It’s so important to DC that it really shouldn't ever be put back in the box again.
ANDY LANNING: Comics reflect all the main genres and as such magic and horror have always been a staple, along with westerns, war stories and sci-fi.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: I'd take that question bigger. Horror is such a key literary genre that, for me, it's part of our job to show our existing readers that there's more to genre storytelling than men in tights and science adventures. Horror has such a beautiful tradition in comics, and, I feel like it's my duty to present that to a whole new generation.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I personally think it's hugely important. It provides a great deal of diversity to the universe. And some of my favorite moments in comics have been when characters from different "worlds" or backgrounds try to interact or understand one another. The tension between magic and science is great fodder for story-telling and character development.
DAN ABNETT: Vital. They are two of the fundamental (and contrasting) sources of wonder.
SCOTT SNYDER: To me, incredibly. I grew up on horror comics - my favorite Batman comics when I was a kid were the horror ones - from Arkham Asylum and DKR to Red Rain and Gotham by Gaslight. But mostly things like Swamp Thing, House of Mystery, the reprints of Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow... I love the idea of having a place within the DCU where monsters dwell - a place anyone can visit but only some can endure.
PAUL CORNELL: One of the joys of a super hero universe is that all the genres that shouldn't exist together get thrown in to bounce off each other. Just like in real life.
Each of you writes scary characters. But what frightens these, well, monsters? What phobias might these characters have?
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: In our first arc, the "monster" is consumed by emotion. She's driven by anguish and guilt, and terrified of living out a cursed existence alone. In upcoming issues, we start introducing some other monstrous villains -- one fears being discovered for what he truly is; one fears failure; another fears losing power; yet another fears getting old. And on some level, they all fear Batwoman.
PAUL CORNELL: Etrigan is living his nightmare every day, being trapped inside Jason o'the Blood, and vice versa. Xanadu's life, balancing those two against each other, is also a life of fear. The Shining Knight is afraid of dying without ever finding what she (sorry, he) is looking for. The Horsewoman fears confinement, as will become obvious. Al Jabr and Exoristos' fears we'll discover. And Vandal Savage fears nothing. Actually, that's not true, as we'll see.
DAN ABNETT: Mitch Shelley probably has a thing about coffins that are hard to open from the inside.
ANDY LANNING: Yup, enclosed spaces, oh and rats! He gets to see a lot of rats!
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: That, to me, is the drive behind I, VAMPIRE. The sheer fear that Andrew has that his one mistake will lead to the absolute destruction of mankind. And, y'know, that's the plan. Don't tell my editor, Matt Idelson, yeah? He specifically told me I couldn't wipe out all of mankind.
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think on some level that what all human based monstrous characters fear the most is losing their humanity beyond where they may currently find themselves. And if there is some outside force that does scare them, I don't think I want to meet it.
SCOTT SNYDER: Well for Alec, I think the big fear we're dealing with is the creeping suspicion that deep down, he has always known that he was meant to be a monster - Swamp Thing. The fear that this creature is - and always was - his destiny and he knew it, even as a child, and now it's here.
What's the scariest scene you've written so far in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52? you on Halloween? Can you tease at something in an upcoming issue that might frighten readers?
BRIAN AZZARELLO: There's gonna be a birth. Nothing scares me more.
DAN ABNETT: There’s a sequence in Resurrection Man 3 where Mitch’s powers have deserted him, and he finds that the hellish things that have been chasing him are nothing to do with the REAL Hell at all...
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s a toss up between a scene in issue 3 or another in issue 4. The one in issue 3 touches on deep emotional context and the meaning of loss, and how that loss relates to who we are, what are we now that we've lost something important in our lives. While the other in issue 4 is very beastly and grotesque and raises some provoking thoughts about different roles we play in society, all through subtext and symbolic characterization.
SCOTT SNYDER: I think a scene coming up in Batman - involving a dead person, a slowly cracking open mouth and an owl - that's all I can say though!
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I think Issue 3 has some truly terrifying moments for Batwoman as she faces the Weeping Woman and starts to discover the scope of the villain's powers. It all impacts Kate on a very emotional level. And in Arc 2, without giving too much away, we have a villain who literally drools blood, and her first appearance creeps me out.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: There's a moment in issue 4 when Andrew meets another vampire, and he unlocks something in that vampire almost accidentally that creates, well, a monster. It's one of those moments that to me, speaks to the devil inside us all. All it would take is a tiny push and a good many of us would switch sides, no problem.
PAUL CORNELL: I think the cliffhanger to Demon Knights #3 is something that might be rather tough to read. Everyone's going 'oh, it's such a *jolly* title!' I hope by now readers have worked out what I do. My wife calls it 'ha ha bang.'
ANDY LANNING: Issue #4 gives us a glimpse into Mitch’s past and there’s some really gruesome stuff there but that’s nothing to where he finds himself at the end of that issue, it’s a shocker for sure!
So far, who do you think is the scariest character (that you’re not writing) to emerge out of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52?
ANDY LANNING: I really like what Jeff and Scott are doing with the concepts of the Red and the Green, real creepy stuff there that’s only getting creepier!
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: It'd have to be Jeff Lemire's Maxine Baker from Animal Man. That kid scares the crap out of me.
SCOTT SNYDER: I think Strife in Wonder Woman is one of the creepiest characters I've ever encountered. But the Hunters in Animal Man freaked me out, too! Lots of scary characters in the new DCU! It's my kind of place.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: It's scary how good Swamp Thing is...
BRIAN AZZARELLO: Dan DiDio. Makes Darksied look like a piker.
DAN ABNETT: The centaurs in Wonder Woman. Proper horror, at its best.
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think John Constantine has the potential to be the most profound. In Vertigo's Hellblazer, he has shown to be a very scary personality when you examine some of things he has done.
PAUL CORNELL: Those skeletal pets in Animal Man freak me out. And Wonder Woman's aptly alien gods.
The bogeyman. The monster in the closet. The things that go bump in the night. They show up, sometimes, in a good spooky story. But what gives us nightmares, what really keeps us up late at night, can't always be named.
With Halloween just around the corner, we sent thirteen questions about horror to some of the smartest writers in the comic book industry to get to the heart of why we love horror. Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are all currently writing characters traditionally associated with horror. Paul Cornell's writing a dark fantasy book chock full of fear and the supernatural. Brian Azzarello, J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are injecting horror into superhero epics. They all took time out to share their thoughts on what we're calling the New Horror in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Their answers will run here on the SOURCE in three parts, but you can keep the conversation going on Twitter with the hashtag #thenewhorror.
On Writing
What is the most important ingredient to crafting a horror story?
SCOTT SNYDER: Honesty. You have to write about what frightens you yourself, as a writer. Those fears can take the form of a certain kind of monster or ghoul, but they have to be there on the page. For example, Stephen King's Pet Semetery - it's about a guy who loves his son so much, he can't live with his death and so turns him nto a monster just to have him around. And he writes it when his kids are young. It's so scary to him he can't even finish at first. That's good horror.
PAUL CORNELL: That it brings the reader nose to nose with the worst possible thing that could happen.
(Dan Abnett)
DAN ABNETT: Atmosphere is really important, along with timing and-- what was that noise?
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: A very well-developed and believable protagonist that is at least somewhat competent. The more we can relate to the protagonist, the more terrifying it is to see her threatened by the "monster." But if we can't connect with her, or she does something moronic that alienates us, then we start rooting for the monster.
BRIAN AZZARELLO: A threat to flesh. There's real terror in all of us about having the bag we inhabit split open.
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I'd say it’s finding the single piece of the plot that skews every other aspect into something else, the key unexpected element. By doing this, you can present things that throw the reader or viewer off balance, and once they are, you've got them like a fish on a hook.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: Finding the identifying moment, the thing that really taps into a fear that every person on earth has. Whether that's making a mistake that haunts you for eternity (like Andrew) or losing someone you love (like Mary), finding the grounding to your story is what makes it genuinely haunting.
What attracts you to writing the horror genre?
DAN ABNETT: I dunno. Sitting alone here, at night, with only my own thoughts for company, I-- seriously. What was that noise?
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I just like writing what I'd like to read.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: It's way easier than comedy. Seriously, though, every story I tell starts in a place of "What's the worst thing that could happen?" and sort of extrapolates itself from there. So, even my books that aren't horror have a strong root in the genre.
SCOTT SNYDER: I've always loved stories where characters face their worst fears, whether those stories are literary, mysteries, action stories... Horror (good horror) just lends itself easily to this idea though.
PAUL CORNELL: It's a relief for the writer too. You know, this stuff isn't doing you any good if it's kept inside. Mind you, I wouldn't call DEMON KNIGHTS horror – it's more dark sword and sorcery.
J.H. WILLIAMS III: What I find so attractive about it is that you tap into something that is very primal in all of us. And by doing so, you create an atmosphere of doubt in what the world is about. It causes a questioning of what is our reality. And Horror can be a great tool of getting someone to think about themselves or the world differently than they had before. Horror, if done well, is visceral but with intelligence.
What horror cliche do you always aim to avoid?
PAUL CORNELL: There isn't really a cliche that doesn't work, if done right, and we're talking about archetypes and nightmares here, so the recurring stuff can be mined many times. Mind you, in real life, I doubt anyone splits up to search the house. But what was the last movie when anyone did that? I mean, why did they do that the first time?
BRIAN AZZARELLO: Giant ants.
(Andy Lanning)
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it really is impossible to avoid clichés. Everything has been done before. So it becomes a matter of presentation, by twisting the idea into a new shape.
SCOTT SNYDER: The girl running away from the killer, through the forest, in her nightshirt, tripping over a root.
DAN ABNETT: He’s behind me, isn’t he?
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: I think that they all work and they all suck, simultaneously. Finding ways to transmute these overused tropes into something new and fresh is the challenge.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: None. My preference is to take the clichés and try to reinvent them in some way.
What is your favorite horror based character to write?
BRIAN AZZARELLO: It was, and will always be John Constantine. Because unlike me, he actually likes it.
PAUL CORNELL: I've only ever really written horror with my own characters. I mean, I got to use Dracula, but that was in super hero comics genre trappings.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I like writing strong heroines -- as a kid, I was always a fan of Halloween and the original Nightmare on Elm Street, both of which I feel have resourceful and brave protagonists. I also really like monsters that are a bit tragic, like Frankenstein's Monster.
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I like creating powerful female characters. It’s always so much more gratifying seeing a triumphant heroine than a male character for me. They are the more complexly motivated gender, and therefore much more fascinating. I also like classic monster types as well, but I think the strongest for me is trying to create something very nonhuman. Trying to create a horrific idea or creature that is hard to define by human standards. If successful, it can be a most terrifying story experience. Junji Ito, a master of horror manga is amazing at doing that. He quite often presents things that you cannot define, making them so much more scary because it cannot be explained.
SCOTT SNYDER: Pearl Jones.
DAN ABNETT: The one standing behind me.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: I can say that I'm jealous as hell of Lemire getting to have his way with Frankenstein's Monster.
DC Comics
The bogeyman. The monster in the closet. The things that go bump in the night. They show up, sometimes, in a good spooky story. But what gives us nightmares, what really keeps us up late at night, can't always be named.
With Halloween just around the corner, we sent thirteen questions about horror to some of the smartest writers in the comic book industry to get to the heart of why we love horror. Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are all currently writing characters traditionally associated with horror. Paul Cornell's writing a dark fantasy book chock full of fear and the supernatural. Brian Azzarello, J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman are injecting horror into superhero epics. They all took time out to share their thoughts on what we're calling the New Horror in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. Their answers will run here on the SOURCE in three parts, but you can keep the conversation going on Twitter with the hashtag #thenewhorror.
On Horror
For the last decade, our culture is overrun by creatures of the night and the undead. Why is the horror genre currently so popular?
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV (I, VAMPIRE): Horror has been a part of our culture from the dawn of time. But, it especially pops up during times of drastic change... from the Victorian era to the Depression to the Watergate era, and, yes, even the 80s. And horror always reflects the secret fears of the world around us. There's a reason that a society of sex and consumerism is so fascinated with Vampires and Zombies right now.
BRIAN AZZARELLO (WONDER WOMAN): In post-modern times, we like to be distracted from what's really frightening.
(Shining Knight as a vampire in DEMON KNIGHTS #4)
DAN ABNETT (RESURRECTION MAN): There is an inherent strand of dark romance running through horror that is often lacking from, say, science-fiction. Science-fiction generally deals in wonder and scale, but horror is almost always personal. It’s about loss, emotion, melancholy. Plus, if we proved tomorrow that the world of the supernatural existed, nobody would be very surprised. Its appeal lies in the notion that it’s just a step away us in the shadows, and it’s been there all the time.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN (BATWOMAN): I don't think horror has ever stopped being popular. The genre ebbs and flows like anything else, with different types of horror taking center stage at different times, but every decade has its big horror franchises and best sellers. Today, I think horror allows us to test ourselves in a "safe" environment -- we know that we won't ever really encounter a ghost who drowns children or a shape-shifting alien in the arctic, but we can brave the fictional versions and get a small glimpse of what it might be like to meet the real thing. And "surviving" that experience gives us a rush that is difficult to come by in our often protected and ordinary lives.
J.H. WILLIAMS III (BATWOMAN): I feel that horror really hasn't been unpopular, but does move to the mainstream in times of cultural or societal crisis. It's a powerful form of escapism that allows you to experience something beyond the troubles in one's own life, it subconsciously can give perspective to real life, by giving form to real emotions through prompted fears that we suppress otherwise. Through horror genres, we allow ourselves to manifest what is deeply in our subconscious minds. We can face down our darkest thoughts without judgments.
PAUL CORNELL (DEMON KNIGHTS): Because we live in troubled and fearful times. Actually, being human, we always live in troubled and fearful times. That's why there's never been a time, in cinema, where it's a thrill ride and you can scream out loud, when horror wasn't popular. Stephen King apart, though, the genre isn't doing well right now in terms of prose. That's because we live in troubled and fearful times.
ANDY LANNING (RESURRECTION MAN): Horror always seems to be most popular when times are at their bleakest. It’s always reassuring to watch a parade of monsters and ghouls and people doing terrible things to each over on the screen or in a book then return to the relative safety of your own home. It makes the real horror in the world easier to deal with.
SCOTT SNYDER (SWAMP THING, BATMAN, AMERICAN VAMPIRE): I think it's always popular, people just notice it when at different moments, when there happen to be waves of things about one particular monster.
Why do we like to be scared?
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I think it’s a very primal thing. To be scared or startled releases chemicals in our bodies, like a drug. Therefore providing a thrill, or an elevated sense of self. Unless we do something truly dangerous, we don't get to experience these profound chemicals any other way than through our imaginations being triggered by horrific concepts presented to us.
BRIAN AZZARELLO: The fear of death makes us feel alive.
ANDY LANNING: It’s a rush, a thrill ride that’s totally safe.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: For me personally, it provides a rush akin to sky diving or driving really, really fast.
PAUL CORNELL: We like to be scared and for it then to be okay. They say laughter evolved from a hunting call of 'phew, it's all right.' The pleasure for us is in the relief.
SCOTT SNYDER: As to why, I think scary things are a way for us to deal with our real world fears in a way that's manageable. Good horror movies have the heroes facing their worst fears, manifested as monsters or serial killers. And by facing them in the form of Jason or a haunted house, it makes us feel more in control (at least for the couple hours it takes to watch or read something scary).
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: Because it makes the real pains of life so much less upsetting. We need it because it's something we can conquer in the way our real lives just can't be.
DAN ABNETT: It’s a thrill. It allows us to experience some of those primal responses that we don’t feel as much in modern life.
If monsters are commonplace, is horror still scary?
BRIAN AZZARELLO: No -- but it's thrilling. And that feeling shouldn't be discounted.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: The monsters are never the scary part, it's the consequences, so as long as the stakes are kept real, horror will always work.
J.H. WILLIAMS III: Monsters in some way represent distortions or grotesque ideals of humanity. They symbolize inner thoughts or ideas that we all may think about, but rarely voice. This is why they will always remain scary, because we can see our twisted darker sides in them, things that we all feel under the surface from time to time.
ANDY LANNING: There will always be a new bogeyman, even if the world were full of monsters, there would be something out there that would scare people, even the monsters are afraid of something. Probably Tickle Me Elmo.
PAUL CORNELL: Are monsters commonplace? If it's commonplace, it's not a monster.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I see "monsters" as only one part of the entire horror landscape, and it's clear that even monsters can still be scary - especially when they are reinvented to feel familiar but new. We have primal fears that these monsters represent -- fear of death, fear of strangers, fear of aging, fear of disease -- and as long as those fears are still hardwired into our brains on some level, the monsters that embody these fears will remain scary.
SCOTT SNYDER: Of course! Monsters are commonplace because they're enduringly scary.
DAN ABNETT: I think horror is still scary, but I think scary is (and always was) better than horrible. The best scares have nothing to do with obvious blood and gore.
Vampires or zombies? What’s your favorite creature?
SCOTT SNYDER: I write AMERICAN VAMPIRE. Do you have to ask?
ANDY LANNING: Vambies or Zompires. I love em both!
J.H. WILLIAMS III: I have to base my choice on what I find scarier. As vile as Vampires can be portrayed, I have to go with Zombies. It boils down to rationality for me. Vampire motivations can be explained with understandable reasons for their behavior, on why we should fear them. But it is very much sort of a food chain construct, they're higher up on it than us. They have emotions and needs relatable to human ones, so they can be rationalized. Where Zombies are a totally insane concept. There is no rational thought to them, just relentless eating, unfeeling things that seem to serve no real intelligent purpose, just overwhelming and futile. They represent total loss of all relatable human ideas, complete grotesque annihilation. There is no explaining them properly, their motivation is completely alien, and there is no wrapping your head around it. The unknown is a powerful thing in creating total panic and fear.
PAUL CORNELL: Vampires. I'm bored with zombies. And as Jane Austen once said, who could ever be tired of vampires?
DAN ABNETT: Uhm, the one that’s gonna save me from the vampires and the zombies?
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: It depends... Are we talking about the tragic, misunderstood vampire who just wants to be good; or the moody, angst-ridden vampire; or the vicious, narcissistic and murderous blood sucker? The shambling Voodoo zombie; or the ravenous flesh eater; or the super-strong, invulnerable zombie? To me, one of the coolest things about these archetypes is that they can be continually reinvented.
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV: As a native Pittsburgher (better known as the land of George Romero), my gut tells me Zombies, but, considering the world we live in, and how much fun I'm having writing I, VAMPIRE’s Andrew and Mary, I'm going Vampire.
This Wednesday will bring the final week of first issues from DC Comics-The New 52. The press buzz hasn't quieted down yet!
CBS SUNDAY MORNING profiled DC Comics-The New 52 yesterday. Keep checking back to THE SOURCE, as we will post the video here once it becomes available for viewing online. We don’t want to spoil anything, but if you missed yesterday's segment, be sure to watch the entire video. It has a particularly cool ending.
PARADE MAGAZINE ran a piece on some of the changes to Superman in DC Comics-The New 52. “We take him back to a time when he had to struggle more, when he was more vulnerable,” Jim Lee said to them about the Man of Steel. Want more Superman? Head on over to COMIC BOOK RESOURCES to check out their exclusive preview of SUPERMAN #1, which hits stores this week.
YAHOO’s ASSOCIATED CONTENT interviewed DETECTIVE COMICS writer and artist Tony S. Daniel. “I wanted to nail down a more vintage detective/crime story aspect to the storytelling, a film noir style to my stories,” Daniel told them of the series. “The style here is the bleak, pervasive menace to Gotham City in Batman's world.” DETECTIVE COMICS #2 hits stores next week.
GAWKER’S IO9 interviewed BATWOMAN creative team J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman about what to expect from the series. “We're trying to establish that Batwoman operates in more of a supernatural portion of Gotham,” Blackman teased. Her opponents and some of the storylines have a supernatural bent to them, which in my mind makes them feel very different than the other Bat-stories. We're combining horror with romance with vigilante action, but there's also that strong supernatural angle as well.”
And if you’re still not sure what titles to pick up this week, there's a number of high profile exclusive previews to check out. In an interview accompanying their exclusive preview of TEEN TITANS #1, Scott Lobdell tells USA TODAY that the first issue is "designed specifically so that as you're sitting down to read this book, you're learning about Kid Flash, Red Robin and Wonder Girl. Pretty much what you see on the paper is what we know about them and what they know about each other." THE LOS ANGELES TIMES’ HERO COMPLEX and IGN channeled their dark sides with their respective exclusive previews of I, VAMPIRE #1 and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1. UGO has the exclusive first look at THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN #1, while MTV GEEK premiered their exclusive preview of THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #1.
To be continued …
Yesterday on THE SOURCE, you got a backstage pass into the insights and personal stories of some of the writers and artists working on the JUSTICE LEAGUE family in DC Comics-The New 52. Today, beginning with BATWOMAN’s W. Haden Blackman, get to know some of the writers and artists working on the BATMAN group books.
THE SOURCE: How do you write the first line of a new series?
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: For us, the first line in the first issue of Batwoman was really driven by the desire to introduce a new villain immediately and set the tone for the entire first arc. We wrote in some placeholder dialogue, which we then revised after we had a strong first draft of the entire issue. As wit all the dialogue, we revisited it a few times, and made revisions after the first round of lettering- when we could finally see how it all fit together.
How do you introduce a new hero?
We hope that we were going to be both reintroducing Batwoman to fans, and also introducing her to new readers, so we do provide some recap to bring everyone up to speed. But it was more important for us to show how Batwoman's past impacts her decisions, actions, and attitudes in the present. For example, we don't dwell on the fact that she went to West Point or rehash her expulsion under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - that story has already been told - but you will see how her training as a soldier influences how she operates as Batwoman and relates to other "superheroes." In terms of her actual entrance, we wanted it to be heroic, but also immediately set up the central conflict of arc one -- it isn't just a standard "let's watch her beat up some bad guys to establish that she can" intro.
How do you introduce characters?
For me, it always comes down to trying to identify something unique -- or at least interesting -- about that character, and building a scene around that. On Batwoman, we're also very interested in making sure each major character has her own mission as well, which we try to establish as early as possible. The ways in which these missions conflict or complement Batwoman's own create a lot of interesting dynamics.
How do you introduce a new villain?
It all depends on the villain, I think. With the Weeping Woman, who is introduced in the first issue of Batwoman, I had a lot of goals... I wanted her to be somewhat enigmatic with the possibility of even being sympathetic on some level, but also clearly frightening and monstrous. I also really wanted to be true to the legends that inspired the character, establish right away why she is a threat to Gotham, and suggest some of her powers. So, we approached it from the standpoint of a witness statement from someone who has been victimized by the Weeping Woman and can describe first hand what it is like to see her, be in her grasp, and hear her speak.
What was the first comic you ever worked on?
As a teenager, I did a self-published one-shot with a friend about a group of superheroes trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. My first "professional" work was a short story for Star Wars Tales about an alien space pirate.
Who was the first character you followed?
A tie between Swamp Thing, Firestorm, and Green Arrow -- I tried to buy everything they appeared in.
What was the first series you collected?
Swamp Thing. I remember traveling to every comic book shop in Southern California trying to find as many issues back issues as I could. I think I have at least two full sets of the original series. I'm only missing a first printing of House of Secrets #92.
Who was the first writer you followed?
Probably a tie between Len Wein and Steve Gerber, both guys who wrote stories about swamp monsters...
Who was the first artist you followed?
Hands down, Bernie Wrightson. I really credit him with getting me to read comics, although I first saw his work in Stephen King's Cycle of the Werewolf. There are some images in that book that I will never forget – a werewolf stalking after a boy while clutching the string of that kid's kite, a werewolf embracing a lonely, middle-aged woman, a severed pig's head on a post... I sought out everything he had done previously, which led me to Swamp Thing. And I still wish that someone would do a proper film version of Frankenstein based on his illustrations -- I think it's the most disturbing yet sympathetic version of the Monster imaginable.
What was the first convention you attended as a fan?
Various small conventions in Los Angeles, mostly in search of back issues.
What was the first convention you attended as a professional?
SDCC, to appear on a Star Wars panel.
What was the first comic book you read?
A weirdly oversized Howard the Duck that had three or four stories in it, including one where he fights a vampire cow. I still have it on my bookshelf.
What was the first piece of original art you bought?
A rejected cover sketch for an issue of Star Wars Republic by Tomas Giorello, which he was kind enough to ink for me as well.
What was the first digital comic book you downloaded?
In general, I still prefer my weekly trip to the comic book shop, but I have been checking out a lot of motion comics lately to see how they handle creating a sense of movement and integrate audio -- specifically, the voice acting, which really makes or breaks a motion comic for me.
On your creative process:
When writing any story, I try to start with a one-liner, or even short description of a character arc, that interests me. For a comic book arc, I'll then turn that into a very detailed outline akin to a film treatment. Next, I do a very quick breakdown of the individual issues, estimating the number of pages required for each scene, just to make sure everything is going to fit comfortably and that I'm taking advantage of even page reveals whenever possible. This becomes my rough skeleton, though I usually throw out big chunks of it when I actually start writing and new (and hopefully better) ideas surface. When I write a first draft, I try to avoid getting bogged down in detailed descriptions or polishing dialogue until it's "just right," because I rarely know exactly what needs to be shown and said in every panel until I get to the end of an issue. I do sometimes write some scenes multiple times, though, to try out different ideas, perspectives, or hooks. After I barrel through the first draft, the next revision focuses largely on all the description I think is necessary; then I do at least two dialogue passes, not reading or touching anything but the dialogue. And finally a polish looking for typos or any dialogue that really calls attention to itself (which I hate). Working with Jim on Batwoman has been a similar process. The biggest difference is that we need to be a little more rigid about how many pages we devote to each scene because we are following some rigorous design principles -- every first and last page is always three panels, and every scene with Batwoman is a two-page spread. After we get the breakdown done, we divvy up the first draft, lobbying for first crack at the scenes that interest us the most (and if neither of us wants to write a scene, we know that there's something wrong with just the idea of the scene...). Then we swap our scripts and suggest revisions to one another, and usually end up on the phone for editing sessions where we read and reread the dialogue together.
This October, Gotham City will be overrun by new villains. In DETECTIVE COMICS, Batman will face the Gotham Ripper. In BATGIRL, Barbara Gordon will take on Mirror. Mysterious villains will be terrorizing Gotham in BATMAN, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT, BATWOMAN and NIGHTWING. And around the globe, evil takes new forms in BATWING and RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS. Can the Bat family defeat all these foes or is the fate of Gotham – and the world at large – permanently doomed?
BATMAN #2
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and cover by GREG CAPULLO and JONATHAN GLAPION
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
Variant cover by JIM LEE
1:200 B&W variant cover by GREG CAPULLO
On sale OCTOBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Bruce Wayne is back in the cowl, hunting a new and deadly killer in Gotham City – a killer with a vendetta against Bruce Wayne! But who is this mysterious killer in an owl skull mask? And is he the key to unlocking one of Gotham’s oldest and most terrifying secrets? Be there for their first brutal encounter!
BATWING #2
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and cover by BEN OLIVER
On sale OCTOBER 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
He is called Massacre, and he brings death. What does the soldier in service of Batman Incorporated do when he’s met his match? When he’s been brought so low and been wounded so badly? What does he do when lost Super Heroes begin turning up as victims? Batwing fights back!
DETECTIVE COMICS #2
Written by TONY S. DANIEL
Art by TONY S. DANIEL and RYAN WINN
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
On sale OCTOBER 5 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Batman sets his sights on the Gotham Ripper, who in turn has his sights on Batman. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne explores a budding romance with television journalist Charlotte Rivers, who’s visiting Gotham City to cover the gruesome slayings – while also trying to uncover Bruce’s own mystery. But time is running out as both Commissioner Gordon and Batman work to uncover the true identity of this new serial killer.
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #2
Written by DAVID FINCH and PAUL JENKINS
Art by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND with JAY FABOK
Cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
On sale OCTOBER 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Something sinister surges through Arkham Asylum, and Batman finds himself bombarded by his greatest foes in this second sensational issue from superstar creator David Finch!
Bigger, meaner, and more powerful than ever before, the inmates of Arkham Asylum run rampant as the entire Bat Family struggles to keep the walls from falling down, unleashing Gotham City’s worst criminals on the unsuspecting population. And you won’t believe the jaw-dropping final page! Just keep repeating, “It’s only a comic book. It’s only a comic book...”
BATMAN AND ROBIN #2
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY
Cover by PATRICK GLEASON
On sale OCTOBER 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Batman’s fears about Robin’s tendency to dish out more pain than necessary are growing! And who is the man named NoBody, visiting Gotham City to say hello to his old friend Bruce Wayne and find out where he went wrong in his battle against crime.
BATGIRL #2
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by ARDIAN SYAF and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by ADAM HUGHES
On sale OCTOBER 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The nightmare-inducing brute known as Mirror is destroying the lives of Gotham City citizens seemingly at random, and an explosive confrontation between Batgirl and Mirror leads Babs to question wearing the cape and cowl at all!
The riveting adventures of Batgirl continue in stunning fashion, with script by fan-favorite Gail Simone and stellar art by superstar Ardian Syaf!
BATWOMAN #2
Written by J.H. WILLIAMS III and W. HADEN BLACKMAN
Art and cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III
On sale OCTOBER 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Horror! A terrifying new villain stalks the innocent children of Gotham City! Intrigue! A threatening government agency is hot on Batwoman’s trail. Romance! Kate Kane’s new relationship is heating up!
Can Batwoman stop the new evil rising from the damp back alleys of Gotham’s barrios? And overcome the many challenges she faces as both Batwoman and Kate Kane? 2011’s most anticipated new series intensifies in this exciting second issue!
NIGHTWING #2
Written by KYLE HIGGINS
Art and cover by EDDY BARROWS and JP MAYER
On sale OCTOBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
When a mysterious assassin targets Dick Grayson, Nightwing must work fast to uncover the killer’s plot before he strikes again. But as Haley’s Circus continues to perform in Gotham City, Dick finds himself torn between two lives: His old one as a circus performer and his new one as a Super Hero. And they may be more connected than he ever realized!
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #2
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT and BLOND
On sale OCTOBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Red Hood is already globe-trotting in an effort to find the ancient assassins behind the slaughter of those who taught him some of his darkest skills... and if Roy and Kori are going to be of any help, well, they’ll just have to tag along – whether Jason wants them to or not!
BIRDS OF PREY #2
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art and cover by JESUS SAIZ
On sale OCTOBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
An explosion in a secure Gotham City airport terminal hurls Black Canary and Starling headlong into a nightmare involving stolen pharmaceuticals, terrorists for hire and killers in stealth suits who can appear – and disappear – at will. When Canary calls in backup, Starling’s not so sure a vengeful samurai who talks to her dead husband in a sword is the best choice.
CATWOMAN #2
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH
On sale OCTOBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
She’s a thief who lives to steal just for the thrill of breaking the law. He’s The Dark Knight, obsessively driven to battle evil with every ounce of his strength. They should keep each other at arm’s length, but...they just can’t seem to help themselves! Don’t miss this issue – things are gonna get messy!
(The cover for BATWOMAN #1 by J.H. Williams III)
On September 14th, the eagerly anticipated BATWOMAN #1 will fly onto stands. Co-writers J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman talked to us about what’s in store for Kate Kane including the reveal of new villains and where issue one begins.
THE SOURCE: What about DC's new 52 titles excites you the most?
J.H. WILLIAMS III: There's seems to be the possibility of re-grounding things, and some surprising entries for new titles.
W. HADEN BLACKMAN: I'm really fascinated by how each of the creative teams is going to tackle the notion of a "New #1," especially with some of the characters who have had complex histories or been portrayed in different ways over the years -- characters like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Hawkman. I'm also very happy that BATWOMAN is part of this -- we've been working on the series for quite some time already, and it'll be fantastic to finally see Issue #1 on stands.
How and why are you shaking up the series' status quo?
JHW: It's hard to say how much we're shaking up the status quo for Batwoman because there is still so much to explore. However, this series will be the place to see more otherworldly aspects of the DCU. But don't think we'll be settling for just that. The series is going to be a wild ride over the first 3 arcs.
WHB: A big mantra for us with BATWOMAN is "There Is No Status Quo." Since this is a new ongoing, we wanted to make sure that Kate Kane/Batwoman is always moving forward, always changing and evolving as the series progresses. We never want you to read an issue and feel like it doesn't matter to the characters or that things can just easily "reset" after each arc. When we open, Kate is estranged from her father, embarking on a new romance, and trying to figure out if she's mentor material. But by the end of the first arc, all of these relationships will have changed in some meaningful way.
What new characters will debut in the series?
JHW: Well first off we'll be focused on developing a rogue's gallery for Batwoman, and leading that charge will be The Weeping Woman. It's very important for heroes to have strong villains. This is what helps define a hero's character. Right now Batwoman only has Alice for the most part. We're going to change that in a very big way. By the time the second arc wraps we'll have established no less than 5 new villains. We're excited over the impact this will have in the life of Batwoman, Kate Kane and the rest of the cast.
WHB: We really want to create a strong Rogue's Gallery for Batwoman, so we're using the first arc to introduce a new (and very creepy) villain called the Weeping Woman, based on a figure from Mexican folklore. She's one of my favorite types of monsters - someone who does horrifying things, but is also tragic and sympathetic in many ways. The second arc features even more new villains, and a new take on a Gotham local.
Will we see new character designs?
JHW: Well, any new designs pertain to what I said above. But for Batwoman herself? No. But there will be some interesting things to develop for some of the cast over the first year of the series that will lead to bigger things.
WHB: We'll definitely see one new uniform in the first art, but not necessarily for Batwoman …
What's the first line of dialogue in the first issue?
JHW & WHB: "She is a terrible thing..."
What's the biggest surprise you've had working on this character/book?
JHW: Just how invigorated I am over the results. We're developing something multilayered and nuanced that, if readers stick with us, will see it pay off in some very surprising ways. We're very gratified in seeing how much we can twist the superhero genre as we move from arc to arc, but yet retain this clear momentum that all makes sense by the end of our third arc.
WHB: That my favorite scenes to write are actually the "quiet moments" between Kate and her significant other.
What secret has been the hardest to keep?
JHW: Well, this is a trick question isn't it. I mean if something is supposed to be secret until revealed in the story, then I really can't give you an answer without spoiling things can I?
WHB: The release date. And details about the new villains.
What’s the unofficial tagline for this series, in your own words?
JHW: There is a reason that so many horrible things happen in Gotham.
WHB: "It's not a costume; it's a uniform." We keep coming back to this notion that Kate was trained as a soldier, and still views herself in that light. She dons the uniform to do a job, complete a mission. But under the mask, she's always still Kate Kane -- there aren't two identities that she shifts between. What happens to Kate in her "civilian" life affects Kate as Batwoman, and vice versa.
What were your thoughts about the day-and-date digital announcement?
WHB: I think it's a really important step for the industry as a whole to stay relevant and evolve. Whether people like it or not, digital distribution is here, for everything from movies to games. For me personally, nothing is going to replace going into my local shop and getting my stack of comics every Wednesday, but digital distribution provides more choices to readers, and hopefully opens the door to new readers.
