Tom Taylor on making Batman “incredibly accessible” in detective comics

It’s a new era for the DC Universe and big changes are coming to the series that brought Batman to the world. DC Comics has revealed its upcoming initiative, DC All In, an era that sees many creators moving on to new characters and books.

For the past several years, Tom Taylor has been dazzling readers with his award-winning run on Nightwing. He also took the reins Titans How they stepped up to be the DCU’s premier superhero team. But this October, Taylor is moving on to Detective ComicsAnd he sat down with Screen Rant to reveal what the future holds for the Dark Knight in his series.

Screen Rant: Tom, congratulations on the Eisner for Nightwing #105. How does that feel?

Tom Taylor: Oh, it feels great. It is difficult to describe. I didn’t write it last night because I just picked up Bruno, and then forgot to acknowledge the award or say thank you. But yeah, it’s ridiculous to come from Melbourne and fly across the world to where all your peers and the people you admire and admire are. Then they call out your name and give you a shock. And it seems wild.

You mentioned Bruno Redondo. It seems like you were the secret sauce that really made this run work. Do you want to talk about the working relationship you had with him?

Tom Taylor: Bruno and I have basically been comic book married for about 14 years. I think our first work was DCUO Legends, pinch-hitting for Marv Wolfman and we had this great little Green Lantern story. I guess we just showed everyone what we can do at the moment. We went on Star Wars and then we came back and I brought him into Injustice and since then, we’ve done Suicide Squad and Nightwing and it was great. When I write comics, his is the art I see in my head. We really have an amazing synergy.

We are talking about over three years. That’s like an eternity in comic book time. Did you ever think it would last as long as it did?

Tom Taylor: Yes! I did. Yeah, I always thought our mission was omnibus or bust. When we first took the job, they offered us a bunch of different books. And many of them would be seen as higher profile. And I was like “No, I want Nightwing.” Bruno wanted Nightwing. We wanted to show Nightwing is a list and put him back on the pedestal where we thought he belonged. And now he leads the entire DC Universe through multiple events. Leading the Titans. It’s great to see all the fans embracing him in the role.

We know DC All In is coming. We know that shake-ups come because your time on Nightwing And Titans is endless Is it bittersweet or are you excited to get a new project?

Tom Taylor: Oh, it was bittersweet. I will miss Dick Grayson. I love him like a hero. I love the inspiration and the way he tries to help everyone and lift everyone around him. I will definitely miss writing him. But after that, the honor of taking on Detective Comics, the thing that’s been around for so long in Batman’s 85 years? The kid from Melbourne? I am writing this now. It’s ridiculous. And I am incredibly grateful.

One of the things I’ve noticed with Detective Comics Is that sometimes writers try to do something that differentiates it from the main Batman Title. When I got into comics, Batwoman was the main character. Have you ever thought about how you would make your run stand out?

Tom Taylor: No, for me, I want to make this really accessible. I want Batman to be cool to everyone. So to tell the story that actually affects its origin a little bit, that’s really exciting for me. We have a new villain coming. Bruce Wayne will have to be offered something he may or may not accept. There is not a lot I can tell you. But it is the heart of it. It’s a big murder mystery. And I think that’s always great Batman.

Yeah at the Gotham panel, I noticed you called this a “Proper detective story”, which feels natural for a book like Tech. You said you’re a fan of mysteries, correct?

Tom Taylor: Yes, but mysteries are hard to write. But Batman is the world’s greatest detective. Well, that’s not true. Detective Chimp is the best in the world. But write a detective story with him and a proper one. It’s something that happened earlier in his life and there are a lot of resonant things. It should be a fun bat book. And the Mikel Janín on art is just incredible. Just crushing it.

What is Janín doing? Bring to the book and how does it serve what you have in mind?

Tom Taylor: He’s just a brilliant artist. We wanted to work together for a very long time and schedules finally aligned and on this book, for the first time, he is coloring himself and this is just extraordinary, just stunning work. His action is beautiful. His people are amazing. Everything you want in great comics, Michael brings. And he is also a great storyteller. And that’s all you’re looking for. This is the first thing you look for as a writer.

I was just talking to Ram V. You’re coming hot on the heels of “Gotham Nocturne”. You’ve talked about how you want this to be very accessible and there are readers who will come away from Gotham Nocturne and into your run.

Tom Taylor: No, we wanted to make this the most new reader friendly thing possible. Ram…I love his writing. Big guy. Stunning writer. Wrote an incredible run on detective. But it is very him. It is a story only Ram could tell. And I will tell the story only Tom Taylor can tell, hopefully. I just wanted to be incredibly accessible and hopefully get Batman fans excited and get people talking.

For your story, we’re talking about Batman’s origins, which for many people is off-limits and you’re promising big revelations.

Tom Taylor: I’m not promising big revelations. I’m saying something… I can’t even point to it (laughs) I’m saying that we need to go back in time a little and I can’t say more than that. And Batman’s origin is hallowed ground. That’s sacred territory. So getting to play in the loop a little bit is exciting.

All In is a really big shakeup and I’ve talked to so many creators over the last couple of days. But what does All In mean to you?

Tom Taylor: What it means to me is here is the moment where any reader can pick up a DC comic and go “Okay, I can read this from page one.” And just be excited. It’s a great jumping-on point, whether you’re reading the absolute stuff or whether you’re reading the core titles. This is the time when you can pick up a DC comic in October, and just go and hand it to your friend and say “you can jump on here.”

I feel like I see so much more coordination between all of you, more than I’ve seen in previous years. Was there sort of like a discussion about what you wanted the grander idea of ​​Batman to be for DC All In?

Tom Taylor: Not really. Chip and I chatted a bunch. We have Rob Levin in there now. It’s a bit of coordination about where we want him to start where we want him to be. He was a very different place. I don’t know how much I let myself talk about it. So I skip this question quite a lot. But we want him to be in a more recognizable place. A place that fans understand, because he’s been on some massive tours over the last few years, but we want people to pick it up and go, “Oh, that’s Bruce Wayne.”

So when we think about Detective Comics And the presence it has to the company, are you intimidated at all writing your name on the giant column?

Tom Taylor: Yes, absolutely. It’s intimidating, but it’s also an honor. I think everything is terrible. This is the game we play. If I write Superman, it’s like “What?!”. Am I writing Nightwing? “This is ridiculous.” Like everything is intimidating, but it’s also incredibly exciting. Every time you get on a new title, and you go “Oh, I got my name on what?” Like when you get your bucket list, it’s like “check!”.

Back to the Titans, it was thought that we would see them as the leading figures of the DCU. How do you feel they were the world’s justice league?

Tom Taylor: I think mainly during “Animal World”, because I jumped on the book and then we started talking about how we wanted to carry it in this event. So in a big way, our book has to serve as the event. And I think, especially during “Animal World”, you saw them come together to take on this ridiculous threat, which was a threat to the entire universe, and they should take it over and come together. And show what only they could come to that at the moment. So I think they did incredibly well during “Beast World”. I think it’s been a great time for the Titans and I’m really excited about John Layman coming on as a writer and seeing what he’s going to do next.

Detective Comics #1090 is available on October 23rd from DC Comics.