Kyle Higgins is fairly new to the world of comics. But in the short time he has been writing comics, he has quickly made a mark on the Bat-books. with the Nightrunner back-up story in the Batman and Detective Comics annuals last year to his current story in the pages of Batman: Gates of Gotham, Higgins as DC says is a "hot new writer". In September, Higgins will be bringing Nightwing back with Dick Grayson returning to the role. Newsarama had a chance to talk with Higgins about what we can expect from the series.
Newsarama: What interested you about Nightwing?
Kyle Higgins: He's my all-time favorite character. I'm not saying that as lip service. Literally, he was my way into DC comics when I was younger and in grade school. I remember stumbling across issue #15 or #16 of the Chuck Dixon/Scott McDaniel book where it's Nightwing on the cover fighting Man-Bat and his clothes are shredded. From there, I went back and started finding the earlier issues. It's really the first book I started collecting every month. From that point on, I read every issue that was ever published. So Nightwing is what kept me in comics and reading comics.
The chance to take him forward after, in my opinion, what Scott did in Detective Comics redefined him, I'm very excited about.
Newsarama: As you launch a new #1, how are you keeping new readers in mind?
Kyle Higgins: We're really hitting the ground running, and we're starting with Dick Grayson as Nightwing. We're stating that he's the best he's ever been, simply because he was just Batman, but it's really a new start for the character.
Newsarama: As you take over Nightwing, Dick Grayson is a little different than he's ever been before, isn't he? Simply because he's been Batman?
Kyle Higgins: That's a big part of what we're doing in the series. I don't think you could do a Nightwing book at this point without dealing with the fact that he was just Batman. I'm not sure I should say much more than that, except that one of the reasons he's Nightwing now is because of him just being Batman. You'll have to keep reading to find that out.
But in terms of his skills and confidence level, Nightwing has an even greater experience behind him now. So in our comic, he's become the best version of Nightwing that he's ever been. It's what has made him better.
Newsarama: He's working out of Gotham in this title, right?
Kyle Higgins: Yeah. Gotham City was always the one place he'd always avoided, but now he's been successful there. So he's staying in Gotham because the city has changed around him, and he feels like the city genuinely needs him.
Newsarama: Since he's in Gotham, does he bump into other people in the Bat-universe?
Kyle Higgins: Yeah. The thing about Dick Grayson, and it's something we're playing a lot with in Gates of Gotham, is that in his nature, he's a very social person. That's one of the big things that separates him from Bruce.
He works well with people. He works well with other members of the Bat-family. So yeah, there will be people popping up in the comic. And Dick's direction in Gotham City is tied to him continuing his mission, because he feels the city needs him and he's done avoiding this place as he has over the last few years, which Scott has explored wonderfully in Detective Comics. So it's not just him isolated in the city.
Newsarama: Will we see familiar villains from his rogues’ gallery? Or will you try to add to that?
Kyle Higgins: There will be some of both. With the direction he's going, as well as the fact that this city has changed around him and is still changing, there are a lot of new threats. That's not to say we're getting rid of, or jettisoning, the old villains. But because this is a new #1 and we're making this really accessible, this is a jumping-on point and there will be new characters and villains.
For the entire interview, including how Higgins got into the industry, head over to Newsarama. Higgins' work can be seen in the pages of Batman: Gates of Gotham and Nightwing #1 will hit stores in September.
Posted by Dustin Fritschel
