Today over at IGN, it was revealed that both digital titles of Batman Beyond and Justice League Beyond will be getting new creative teams. Current Nightwing writer Kyle Higgins will be taking over the writing of Batman Beyond from Adam Beechen, with Thony Silas doing the art. For Justice League Beyond, Christos Gage will be handling the writing for that title, with Iban Coello as the artist. But also announced was that a new Batgirl will be appearing in the Batman Beyond universe, and will make her debut in July, in a new story arc to be written by Scott Peterson, with art by Annie Wu. IGN also had a chance to talk to Kyle Higgins and Christos Gage about what we can expect in their new Batman Beyond and Justice League Beyond stories.
IGN: What interests you about tackling this era of the Batman mythology?
Kyle Higgins: First and foremost, my interest lies in the characters. Terry, Bruce, Barbara, Dick… the chance to explore and push these guys within the context of the DC Animated Universe is — bar none — one of the coolest opportunities I could ever hope for. If you look at my stuff on Nightwing and Gates of Gotham, I think it’s pretty evident that “my” Batman — I imagine every writer has “their” Batman — is very much from the animated series. With that in mind, my take for the book is designed around exploring the next stage of Terry’s life, and the lives of everyone else we’ve come to know and love. Our first issue opens after a bit of time has gone by and a number of things have changed. I don’t want to give away too much, but I can say that Terry’s in college now, he and Dana are no longer speaking, the relationship between Terry and Barbara (Commissioner Gordon) is different… there’s definitely a “what happened?” mystery that weaves in and out of the book. And when you see what did happen… yeah, I’ve probably already said too much! [laughs] Oh, and our way into the story is through the lens of a big murder in Neo-Gotham. So, there’s that, too.
IGN: So Christos, what can fans look forward to in your take on the Justice League Beyond?
Christos Gage: The same kind of large-scale storylines they're used to in a Justice League book, hopefully without ever forgetting that it's the characters who make it all matter. For our first arc, Superman faces a situation he's encountered before — his powers going out of control — but he chooses to deal with it in a way that is unique to the Superman of the Beyond Universe. The solution will come to involve all his teammates, and hopefully lead to some interesting character moments… and there'll prove to be an old and deadly member of Superman's rogues' gallery behind it all. The storyline will also introduce a brand new character with a familiar name. And best of all, fans can look forward to the amazing art of Iban Coello, an artist who I think will really turn some heads… this guy can do it all!
You can check out the full interviews with Higgins and Gage over at IGN. The new creative teams work in the Batman Beyond universe will begin this summer.
Posted by Dane Haji
