Summary
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DC Comics presents DC All In, and Tom Taylor moves from Nightwing to Detective Comics in October.
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Taylor discusses his longtime collaboration with artist Bruno Redondo and their mission to create an A-list Nightwing.
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Detective Comics will focus on the murder mystery of Batman facing new challenges, promising new revelations and accessible storytelling.
It's a new era for the DC Universe and big changes are coming to the series that brought it Batman in the world. DC Comics has revealed its upcoming campaign, DC All In, an era where many creators are moving on to new characters and books.
Over the past few years, Tom Taylor has been amazing readers with his award winning streak Sleeping at night. He took over again Titans as they rise to become the superhero team of the DCU. But this October, Taylor is moving on Detective Jokesand sat down with (((THENEXUS))) to reveal what the future holds for The Dark Knight in his series.
(((THENEXUS))): Tom, congratulations on the Eisner Sleep #105. How does that feel?
Tom Taylor: Oh, that sounds good. It's hard to explain. I didn't explain it last night because I just got up and raised Bruno, then I forgot to accept the award or thank you. But yeah, it's ridiculous to come from Melbourne and fly across the world to where all your peers and people you love and admire are. Then they call your name and clap your hands. And it seems absurd.
You mentioned Bruno Redondo. It seems like you guys were the secret sauce that made this run work. Do you want to talk about the working relationship you've had with him?
Tom Taylor: Bruno and I have been a comic book couple for almost 14 years. I think our first project was DCUO Legends, Marv Wolfman's little hit and we did this little Green Lantern story. I think we just showed everyone what we can do at that time. We went on Star Wars and then we came back and I brought him on Injustice and since then, we've done Suicide Squad and Nightwing and it's been great. When I write comics, his art is what I see in my head. We really have an amazing synergy.
We are talking for more than three years. That's like an eternity in comic book time. Did you ever think this would last as long as it did?
Tom Taylor: Yes! I did. Yes, I always thought our goal was omnibus or explosion. When we started work, they gave us a lot of different books. And most of them would be seen as high profile. And I was like “No, I want Nightwing.” Bruno wanted Nightwing. We wanted to show that Nightwing is A-list and bring him back to the top if we thought he belonged. And now he leads the entire DC Universe in many events. Leading the Titans. It's great to see all the fans accepting him in that role.
We know DC All In is coming. We know shake-ups are coming because your time is open Sleeping at night again Titans it ends. Are you excited or excited to embark on a new project?
Tom Taylor: Oh, it was fun. I will miss Dick Grayson. I love him as a hero. I love that motivation and how he tries to help everyone and uplift everyone around him. I will definitely miss writing for him. But having said that, the honor of taking over Detective Comics, this long-standing thing in Batman's 85th year? This kid from Melbourne? I am writing this now. It's funny. And I am incredibly grateful.
One of the things I noticed about it Detective Jokes that sometimes the writers try to do something different from the main one Batman the subject. When I got into comics, Batwoman was the main character. Have you ever thought about how to make your run stand out?
Tom Taylor: No, for me, I want to make this really accessible. I want Batman to be good for everyone. So telling a story that touches a little bit on his background is what I'm most excited about. We have a new villain coming. Bruce Wayne will have to be offered something that he may or may not accept. There's not much I can tell you. But there is something in your heart. There is a big murder mystery. And I think Batman is always good.
Yes on the Gotham panel, I saw you called this “proper detective story“, which sounds natural for a book like 'Tec. You said you're a fan of mysteries, right?
Tom Taylor: Yes, but mysteries are hard to write. But Batman is the greatest detective in the world. Well, that's not true. Detective Chimp is the best in the world. But writing the story of the detective is also the right one. Something happened earlier in his life and there are many things that make sense. It should be a fun Bat book. And Mikel Janín in the art is amazing. Just crushing it.
What is Janín doing? bring this book and how does it work for what you have in mind?
Tom Taylor: He's just a brilliant artist. We wanted to work together for a very long time and the schedules finally aligned and in this book, for the first time, you color yourself and that's amazing, just amazing work. His action is good. His people are amazing. Everything you want in a good comedy, Mikel delivers. And he is a good conversationalist too. And that's all you want. That's the first thing you look at as a writer.
I was just talking to Ram V. He's coming on hot in “Gotham Nocturne”. You talked about how you wanted this to be more accessible and that there are readers who will come out of “Gotham Nocturne” and work with you.
Tom Taylor: No, we wanted to make this something new that's good for readers. Ram…I love his writing. A big guy. An amazing writer. He has written an amazing performance in Detective. But he is very much. It was a story only Ram could tell. And I'm going to tell a story only Tom Taylor could tell, I hope. I wanted to be incredibly accessible and hopefully, make Batman fans happy and get people talking.
In your case, we are talking about the origin of Batman, which for many people is forbidden and promises big revelations.
Tom Taylor: I promise no BIG revelations. I promise this…I can't even suggest it (laughs) I'm saying we'll have to go back a little bit and I won't say more than that. And Batman's origins are sacred. That is a holy place. So playing in that little loop is fun.
All In is this big shake-up and I've talked to a lot of creators over the past few days. But what does All In mean to you?
Tom Taylor: What this means to me is the time when every reader can pick up a DC comic and go “Okay, I can read this on the first page.” and just be happy. It's a great jumping-off point, whether you're reading Complete material or reading core topics. This is the time when you can pick up a DC comic in October, and just go and give it to your friend and say “You can jump here.”.
I feel like I'm seeing a lot more interaction between you all, more than I've seen in years. Was there any kind of conversation like that that wanted the big idea of Batman to be DC All In?
Tom Taylor: Not really. Chip and I talked a lot. We have Rob Levin now in there. There is little communication when we want him to start where we want him to be. It has become a very different place. I don't know how much I'm allowed to talk about. So I answer this question a lot. But we want him to be in a well-known place. It's a place that fans understand, because he's been on a big tour for the last few years, but we want people to pick it up and say “Oh, this is Bruce Wayne.”.
So if we think Detective Jokes and its presence in the company, are you at all afraid to write your name on this big pillar?
Tom Taylor: Yes, absolutely. It's scary, but it's also an honor. I mean, everything is scary. This is the game we play. When I write Superman, it's like “What?!”. I write Nightwing? “This is ridiculous.”. Like it's all scary, but also incredibly exciting. Every time you get a new title, you say “Oh, I got my name on that?” Like when you get your bucket list, it's like “Check!”.
Circling back to the Titans, there was this idea that we would see them as the mainstays of the DCU. How do you feel they have acted as the 'Justice League' of the world?
Tom Taylor: I think, especially during “Beast World”, because I jumped on the book and we started talking about how we wanted it to lead to this event. So, in a big way, our book had to function as an event. And I think especially during “Beast World”, you saw them come together to take on this irrational threat that was a threat to the universe, and to overcome that and come together. And show why they only add to that at that time. So I think they did very well during “Beast World”. I think it's been a great season for Titans and I'm really excited about John Layman coming in as a writer and seeing what he does next.
Detective Comics #1090 available October 23 from DC Comics.