In May, not only will the Night of Owls crossover take place in a number of the Bat-books, but the crossover is also set to take place back in the 1880's. What better place for that, than the DCU title that takes place in that time frame? All-Star Western has been loosely tied to the Bat-books with Amadeus Arkham serving a supporting role for Jonah Hex. That will change in May with the Night of the Owls crossover. Comic Book Resources talked with Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti about what readers can expect for the crossover event.
CBR: Jimmy & Justin, "All-Star Western" has done an admirable job introducing Jonah Hex to the New 52 and connecting him to the greater DC Universe. How will Jonah be interacting with the Court of Owls in Issue #9?
Justin Gray: The mythology that Scott [Snyder] is developing so admirably in "Batman" lends itself directly to "All-Star Western" because it encompasses the history of Gotham long before the caped crusader existed. To that end, using both The Court of Owls and the Talon fit seamlessly into our existing plans for the book. In fact, we're already seeding ideas and images in "All-Star" that come into play not only with #9, but also all the way through the end of our first year.
Jimmy Palmiotti: The fun of working on this series and with other offices is all the planning and executing of interesting ideas and storylines — stories that actually mean something to all the books involved and the interaction with the other titles. Issues #9-12 build on many of Scott's fantastic ideas and build up our own vision of early Gotham and Jonah's place in the world.
CBR: Will readers see a tangible link or cause-and-effect relationship between what's happening during the modern day in the rest of the Bat-books and the Court's activities in the 1880s?
Justin Gray: The great thing is we're working over a century earlier so it doesn't have to directly impact what Scott is doing in "Batman" unless he feels it is integral to his story. That's also the beauty of this kind of cross-platform storytelling as opposed to a traditional crossover. It is a win-win for fans of both titles and for anyone looking to pick up both. These books stand-alone and yet they share many common elements that can further a reader's enjoyment of the story. Personally, I think this is a great model of storytelling that involves multiple books, because it allows each creative group to follow their own path.
Jimmy Palmiotti: Unlike the "Jonah Hex" series we worked on for years, "All-Star Western" is now part of the DCU and we are excited to take full advantage of the situation. The idea of the cause and effect is always present now in just about everything we do with the book and as you can imagine, we will be taking full advantage of it in Gotham and other places as well.
For the entire interview, including talk about what else is coming up in the series, head over to Comic Book Resources. All-Star Western #6 is available next Wednesday, February 22.
Posted by Dustin Fritschel