Recently, we posted an article covering the rumors heard among the comic industry that sensational comic book writer Tom King was ending his initial one hundred issue run on his Batman on issue 85 due to unknown causes.
Some of those causes may have been revealed as Tom King is now officially working as a screenwriter with Ava DuVernay for her live-action New Gods movie for Warner Bros., which might explain why he would be pivoting from comics for the time being. His joining the feature film likely has a lot to do with his work on his Mister Miracle solo run.
There is a chance that King might be asked to tackle other DC Comics films in the future as well.
While it’s still unknown why his run his getting cut short (possibly likely due to a recent dip in sales and overall fan reception of the series) DC Comics came out with a press release shortly after the publication of our article on May 24th stating that King would be able to finish his tale on the Dark Knight in an upcoming miniseries coming in 2020 known as BATMAN/CATWOMAN. This 12-issue miniseries written by Tom King and illustrated by Clay Mann will pick up after the ‘City of Bane’ arc from issue 75-85 in King’s original Batman run and will essentially act as King’s ending to his Batman tale.
Issue 85 should be released around December of this year and fans won’t have to wait too long for King’s finally since this miniseries will begin to be released in January of 2020. As the title suggests, this series will focus on the dynamic between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle following their disastrous wedding in Batman #50 which saw the groom left at the altar by his betrothed.
King had this to say regarding this new series and his departure from the main Batman title, “Batman and Catwoman is a chance to do what Morrison and Quietly did in Batman and Robin: launch an ambitious, accessible, beautiful, thrilling new series that concludes years of stories and defines what Batman is, can, and will be. This will be a comic about what the best Batman comics are always been about, how our greatest hero turns fear into bravery, pain into hope, trauma into love. It’s the story I always wanted to tell…” (DC Comics). Perhaps we’ll see the Bat and the Cat live happily ever after in this story? Will Batman remain to be a brooding loner? We’ll just have to wait for January to find out.
Here is that full press release via DC Comics.
DC fans can expect an exciting future as the publisher revealed early details on its strategy for 2020, beginning with stories featuring tight, intertwined narratives across DC’s comic book lineup. Leading this charge into the future is Batman, the World’s Greatest Detective and a cornerstone of the DC universe.
Beginning in January 2020, DC’s ongoing BATMAN comic book, currently shipping twice-monthly, will return to a monthly schedule, allowing DC to incorporate the monthly BATMAN title into the larger DC universe and continuity. BATMAN will ship alongside a new 12-issue BATMAN/CATWOMAN series by Tom King and Clay Mann, while Bat-Family titles DETECTIVE COMICS, CATWOMAN, NIGHTWING, BATGIRL and others will continue into 2020 with no immediate changes to their shipping schedules.
“We’re making changes to our comic book publishing line to set DC up for continued success,” said DC’s editor-in-chief Bob Harras. “We’re starting with the bestselling BATMAN comic after ‘City of Bane’ wraps up in December. ‘City of Bane’ is an incredible story and an integral part of our overall ‘Year of the Villain’ campaign, and a new Tom King and Clay Mann Bat/Cat series in 2020 fills the gap once BATMAN begins to ship monthly.”
Featuring art by Tony S. Daniel, ’City of Bane’ kicks off in BATMAN #75 on July 17th, 2019, when, after three years being broken down by Bane, Bruce Wayne falls to his lowest point. Bane’s minions have moved into Gotham City, taken control and are ruling with an iron fist…and Batman is nowhere to be found. This extra-sized anniversary issue kicks off a storyline that ties together all the threads of the first 74 issues of Tom King’s epic BATMAN run. ’City of Bane’ will run 11 issues with artwork by series regulars Daniel, Mikel Janín and Mann, concluding in December 2019 with BATMAN #85.
“Batman and Catwoman is a chance to do what Morrison and Quietly did in Batman and Robin: launch an ambitious, accessible, beautiful, thrilling new series that concludes years of stories and defines what Batman is, can, and will be,” said Tom King. “This will be a comic about what the best Batman comics are always been about, how our greatest hero turns fear into bravery, pain into hope, trauma into love. It’s the story I always wanted to tell, and I’m telling it with the man I consider to be the greatest artist in comics, my brother Clay Mann.
“It’s tough to leave Batman,” added King. “It’s a gift and a joy to be on that book. But I’m leaving it to work on the biggest, most ambitious projects of my career, comics I get to make with the best collaborators in comics. And that’s a gift and a joy too.”
“We’re excited for fans to get more of what they love from DC,” said Harras. “With Joëlle Jones continuing on CATWOMAN, a new creative team on BATMAN, plus titles like DETECTIVE COMICS, BATGIRL, NIGHTWING, RED HOOD: OUTLAW and BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS, our Gotham City protectors and the talent behind them will continue to offer great stories that cater to the tastes of as many Bat-fans as possible in 2020 and beyond.”
SOURCE: DC COMICS