"Little did I suspect when I accepted the BATMAN writing assignment back in 2006 that I’d wind up spending the next six years writing the longest continued comic story I’ve ever attempted. I thought I’d said most of what I had to say about the character with Arkham Asylum, Gothic, and Batman’s appearances in JLA. Clearly, I was wrong.  

The original pitch was for 15 issues winding up with BATMAN R.I.P. but something happened along the way and, as I was researching his rich history, I became fascinated by the idea that every Batman story was in some way true and biographical - from the savage, young, pulp-flavored “weird figure of the dark” of his early years, through the smiling, paternal figure of the 1940s and the proto-psychedelic crusader of the ‘50s, the superhero detective of the ‘60s, the hairy-chested globetrotting adventurer of the ‘70s, to the brutally physical vigilante of the ‘80s and snarling, paranoid soldier of the ‘90s.

By taking his entire publishing history as the story of his life, I was able to approach Batman from a different angle and the multifaceted character that was revealed became the subject of my story.

What would such a man be like, realistically? This was a man who had saved countless lives, faced innumerable perils, and even prevented the destruction of the world itself. This was a master of martial arts, meditation, deduction, yoga and big business. This was a man who had tamed and mastered his demons and turned personal tragedy into a relentless humanitarian crusade.

Taking that man seriously meant I had to throw out a few of the accepted ideas about Batman as a semi-unhinged, essentially humorless loner struggling with rage and guilt. The totality of his history and accomplishments made that portrayal seem limited and unconvincing, so instead, my Batman was a true superhero at the height of his powers and the peak of his abilities, surrounded by a network of friends and associates, all of whom had been inspired by his lead.

I chose to build my story around the basic trauma, the murder of his parents, that lies at the heart of Batman’s genesis. It seemed to me there would be a part of Bruce Wayne that resented his parents for leaving him and especially resented his father for not being Batman that night, so the principal villains were an archetypal bad father figure in the form of Dr. Hurt and a dark mother in the form of Talia, our villain for the concluding chapters of the story.

This master theme of damaged and ruined families was nowhere more in evidence than in the creation of Damian, the first “Son of Batman” to be acknowledged in the canon. In many ways this has been Damian’s story as much as it has been the story of Bruce Wayne and it’s a story that had its end planned a long time ago - for what son could ever hope to replace a father like Batman, who never dies?

And so, via Batman, Batman and Robin, Return of Bruce Wayne and Batman Inc. this epic tale has finally reached its finale.

Thanks to all the artists who helped realise the story – Andy Kubert, JH Williams, John Van Fleet, Tony Daniel, Ryan Benjamin, Lee Garbett, Frank Quitely, Philip Tan, Cameron Stewart, Andy Clarke, Frazer Irving, Scott Kolins, Chris Sprouse, Ryan Sook, Yanick Paquette, Georges Jeanty, David Finch, Scott Clark and of course, Chris Burnham.

Thanks to the inkers, colorists and letters and to my indefatigable editors.

Thanks to the readers who joined in the fun and contributed to the thought-provoking debates and analyses online.

The conclusion is finally here, with only four more issues to go. Four issues which take Batman to dark places he has never had to visit before. Four issues and I’m done, while Batman himself continues into as yet unimagined future adventures. He’ll still be here long after I’m dead and forgotten; long after all of us have come and gone, there will be Batman. It’s been a joy and a privilege to spend so much time in the company of pop culture’s greatest character but it’s going to feel weird waking up and not having Bruce Wayne’s calm, commanding, ever-so-slightly cynical voice in my head.

Batman forever…

- Grant

Scotland, December 2012"

It’s hard to believe that we’re already almost one full year into DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. To celebrate this monumental anniversary, each day this week on THE SOURCE we’ll be spotlighting a different paperback collected edition being released this month. With the launch storylines of these critically acclaimed series collected for the first time in their entirety, it’s a great way for new readers to join the growing DC Universe. Today, we shed a spotlight on SWAMP THING VOL. 1: RAISE THEM BONES.

“I couldn't be more excited about this release. SWAMP THING VOL. 1: RAISE THEM BONES is the first part of a story I've been dreaming about doing since I arrived at DC,” writer Scott Snyder told THE SOURCE. “The old Wrightson/Wein run I used to read over and over as a kid for its great gothic monster mashups and creepy storytelling. And then the Moore/Bissette run showed me how wickedly smart, frightening and inspiring a comic book could be. What I'm getting at is that Swamp Thing has long been one of my very favorite characters. And for me, doing this story meant trying do what so many great creators had done before us on the character - making something that was very much our own, something new, while still honoring the great Swamp Thing stories of the past. So this is our attempt to do that - in it, we give you a human Alec Holland, a man haunted by the knowledge that all his life, he's had a mysterious connection to the Green - the earth's plant life. A man who knows he is likely destined to become the monster known as Swamp Thing, the warrior and protector of the Green. What he doesn't know, though, is that he isn't just destined to be a Swamp Thing. He's destined to be the greatest protector the green has ever known - a warrior king Swamp Thing - a legend come to life, the savior of the Green in its time of greatest need.  And it does need Alec Holland, and need him desperately. Because in the American desert, a different kind of monster is rising, a lord of death and pestilence, a horror of storm, building a bone kingdom to spread across the world. That's my pitch. I hope you'll take a look. Yanick Paquette has done the work of his life on this book, and I couldn't be prouder of him, or it. And Marco Rudy and Victor Ibanez, Val Staples and Nathan Fairbairn all brought the world of Swamp Thing to life in wonderfully nightmarish ways. So come to the swamp. The Green is waiting.”

“Swamp Thing has played a major role in my love of the medium itself,” added artist Yanick Paquette. “My first real art crush was Bernie Wrightson who I discovered looking in a French, black and white copy of SWAMP THING #4 (the one with the werewolf). I hunted down Bernie's work frantically and my early drawings have his stamps all over it. But it's the Moore, Bissette, Totleben, Yate and Veitch run on SWAMP THING that really deeply changed my vision of what American comics could be. Their works not only defined the character but, for me at least, became a fictional genre of its very own: poetic horror, terror and beauty told by daringly exploring the medium emotive possibilities.”

“When my turn came to contribute to SWAMP THING, it was that rich, intimate legacy that came to mind. It's not just drawing a character. That book is a genre of its own. And as I ventured in the swamp and built my corner, I’ve felt like openly acknowledging my forebears for who I’m so tributary.”

“I love this opening set of stories so much, both for its horror and its humanity,” concluded series editor Matt Idelson. “And while no one can replace Alec Holland as my favorite character of the piece (and rightly so), William is one terrifically twisted adversary!”

SWAMP THING VOL. 1: RAISE THEM BONES will be available in comic book stores on August 22 and in bookstores everywhere on August 28.