Batman Updates at NYCC 2016

Oct 10, 2016
7 min read

New York Comic Con is one of the most awaited comicbook conventions by fans and enthusiasts. It is definitely one of the biggest and most exciting conventions there is. With a lot of things happening during NYCC, The Dark Knight Ph has summarized all Batman news that was announced during the panels.

BATMAN & BILL FINGER DOCUMENTARY PANEL

The Finger heirs' battle for intellectual ownership over Batman is one of the most documented case in the comicbook industry. For the longest time, the heirs of Bill Finger asked for the recognition of their late father as one of the co-creators of Batman. As he should, DC finally acknowledged Finger as a contributor last year. The documentary emphasized the importance of recognizing Bill Finger as one of the minds behind the creation of the Bat. This documentary will be available in Hulu this coming October 14.

People started to know Bill's contribution when Jerry Bails published, "If the Truth be Known: A Finger in Every Plot." To counter Bails' article, Bob Kane wrote an open letter to Batzine, "Batmania," to deny Finger's claim on the character.

SCOTT SNYDER SPOTLIGHT

DC's golden boy was given the spotlight Saturday evening at New York Comic Con 2016. Recently, Snyder has been compared to Frank Miller in terms of their creative innovation in bringing new and interesting stories to the Batman mythos.

One of the highlights during the panel was a questioned asked about the three (3) Jokers. Snyder answered, "That is Geoff Johns' story, and one he has had planned at a while - he told me about it at Wonder Con, and he's got a great story to tell." Snyder also dropped a bomb regarding the New 52 and Rebirth. [SPOILERS, JUST IN CASE. MOVE TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW] Snyder said, "Rebirth is not putting the New 52 out of canon - Doctor Manhattan changed the heroes, took years out of their lives, but the events of the New 52 occurred. It's just a matter of missing years."

Snyder said that he's working on a summer event with Greg Capullo, and it's going to have a cast with a HUGE SWATH of the DCU, including the cosmic, magic and scientific realms. He said it's no attached to anything else like the Watchmen. However, it's related to Batman. Although he can't reveal the title yet, he teased everyone by saying, "It's our capstone to everything we've done on Batman."

Last question was asked.

Q: If you had to write to the Gotham Gazette for the "What is Gotham?" column, what would you write? A: Gotham is you.

FRANK MILLER SPOTLIGHT

This spotlight on Frank Miller is a special one-on-one interview hosted by Dan Didio. To start off, Didio asked Miller what made him decide to write comics. Miller answered that his childhood was highly influenced by Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes. For him, no bad ideas come out of it.

Frank Miller is a one-man team. He told Didio that he always wanted to become a comicbook writer and an artist at the same time. He believes that comicbook are like newstrips--there's no reason that one person can't do it."

Miller also explains the story behind the great stories he's written. For The Dark Knight Returns, he told Didio and the crowd that he only wanted to write a good story. In the Q&A portion, a fan asked how Miller felt writing TDKR. He said he didn't write it. Rather, he drew the story and the words followed. Batman: Year One, on the other hand, started out as draft notes when he was writing TDKR. Miller likens Year One to a long but enjoyable process.

Miller emphasized how fond he is working with Brian Azzarello. According to him, they have a lot of ideas--some are fun, most are just plain whacky. When asked about Dark Knight 4, Miller dodged the question and said that he has "other" plans.

BATMAN FAMILY PANEL

One of the most dynamic families in the DC Universe, the Batfamily is a team you don't want to mess with. During the Panel, Batman writers like Scott Snyder, Tom King, and Tim Seeley take center stage and just talk about what we can expect from them.

Tom King praised David Finch by saying that Finch is one of the best artists in the industry. King lost interests in comics before but Finch's art in New Avengers brought him back to comicbook writing. King also joked that Scott Snyder broke Batman and he stole the writing duties from him in order to fix the title. But after all the laughs, he praised Snyder's run as "the greatest in history of Batman." In his next story Arc, King promises that Batman will form his own Suicide Squad--The Ventriloquist minus Scarface,, Punch and Jewelee, Bronze Tiger, and Catwoman.

Scott Snyder was given a chance to come back at King's joke. He said that he wished DC would hire the worst writer to replace him so that the latter would make him look good. But after that, he praised King, saying that they are great friends and that he feels proud to have his favorite character in such good hands with King and James Tynion IV. Snyder said All-Star Batman was inspired by his desire to tell stories with classic Batman villains he hadn't written in his run like Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and a "mystery villain." For Snyder, writing All-Star is the most fun he ever had. He says that the next arc will involve Mr. Freeze with art by Jock.

Shawna and Julie Benson are the writers for Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. The siblings narrate why they love working for DC so much. They mistakenly submitted a script with some funny marginal notes. To their surprise, the editor encouraged them to inject their humor in the book. They said that Oracle's identity will be revealed in the next arc and an unnamed character will join the team.

Tim Seeley commented that he's been waiting for an email saying that "it's on" for Nightwing/Birds of Prey crossover. Seeley said that Dick's transition from a spy back to superhero in the story was his way of realigning the character in his mind and reestablishing his world. After Monster Men, Seeley said that Nightwing will have an encounter with Superman which will make him return to Bludhaven.

Steve Orlando co-wrote most of the issues for Monster Men. He said that the task was a bit intimidating but he also said that he had fun doing an event like Monster Men because it brought his own voice to the project while also working inside the established characterization.

James Tynion IV said the biggest challenge for Detective Comics was making it something unique and not just as the 'other Batman book'. He told the crowed that he finally created the Batman team he's been waiting for his whole life. Tynion told everyone that Harper Row and Jean Paul Valley will show up in the next arc. In reassuring Tim Drake's fate, Tynion said DC has BIG PLANS for him. He even told Geoff Johns that he wanted to be the one to put the pieces in place.

HARLEY QUINN: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

Harley Quinn is DC's cashcow. She is probably the female equivalent of Batman, at least in terms of sales. And as expected, the panel is jam packed with Harley fans!

Much of Harley Quinn's character was influenced by Arleen Sorkin's work on Days of Our Lives as a joker in harlequin costume. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm had so much fun with the character that they made Harley a regular. The creators credit the cosplayers for making the character as popular as she is today. If it weren't for the cosplay community, the creators can't imagine where Harley will be right now.

Jimmy Palmiotti describes Harley as a person whose emotions are on her sleeve. She's interesting because the only guessing involved is what she'll do next. Amanda Conner, for her, Harley does all the goofy things that make her fun.

The couple talked about censorship and creator controls by editors. They said that there was a pushback at first but not anymore. They try to put in as much naughty materials as they can and let the editors sort it out.

They also gave their opinion as regards Harley's origin in Suicide Squad the movie. They pointed out that the cause of her "craziness" was the shock therapy applied by the Joker. But according to the couple, her character was always there inside of Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel. Joker merely unlocked the door.

BATMAN '66 MEETS WONDER WOMAN '77

DC celebrated Wonder Woman's 75th anniversary during New York Comic Con 2016. One of the biggest announcement during the Wonder Woman panel was the crossover between Batman '66 and Wonder Woman '77.

It will be a six-issue series written together by Wonder Woman '77 writer, Marc Andreyko, and Batman '66 writer, Jeff Parker. Alex Ross and Mike Allred will provide for covers while David Hahn and Karl Kesel will take interior duties.

MEET THE PUBLISHERS PANEL

For the Meet the Publishers Panel, Dan Didio and Jim Lee talks about Rebirth what they have in store for DC Fans. Most of the Panel was about Rebirth's success. They also talked about Justice League vs Suicide Squad by Joshua Williamson and Jason Fabok.

According to Didio, he realized that New 52 deviated froman immersive world where the DC characters can interact with each other. The concept of JL vs SS is basically to re-establish that all of the DC cracters are bound in the same universe. Didio said that it was a challenging to have characters interact because every writer have different interpretation of the character, but once DC refound the voice and motivations of the characters, it became much easier to have crossovers like the 'diametrically' opposite Justice League and Suicide Squad.

INSIDE GOTHAM PANEL

With its third season, Gotham is in its "election" season with Oswald Cobblepot. David Mazouz, Robin Lord Taylor, and Erin Richards makes their NYCC appearance during the Inside Gotham Panel.

To break the ice, Taylor started by joking, "At this point, Penguin looks pretty freakin good, right?" Obviously referring to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. David Mazouz talked about the challenge of playing dual characters--one as Bruce Wayne, and the other as Bruce Wayne's clone. He gave high praises to Danny Cannon on how he directed and helped him embrace the dual role.

Erin Richards talked about Barbara's end goal by mentioning that her character wanted to be her own Kingpin. She also mentioned how she loves each and every set for the show. Her favorite was Nygma's room. According to her, its where she takes her naps.

OTHER INTERESTING BAT-HAPPENINGS DURING NYCC

Detective Comics #27 (1939) made its appearance was was being offered to people for a whooping $725,000.