It was announced yesterday that a new creative team will be taking over on Detective Comics. John Layman will be handling the writing duties on the title and spoke with Comic Book Resources about what we can expect from the new creative team.
CBR: Batman, traditionally, is a pretty straight shooter. I mean, he's the Dark Knight for a reason. "Chew" and "Mars Attack" are both really funny. Are you bringing the bwa-ha-ha to "Detective"?
John Layman: It's not going to be a comedy and I am not going to treat the character with disrespect, but I don't think it's going to be as heavy as some of the other series. Scott Snyder does fantastic Batman stories, but he's got more of a horror writer background and it shows. This is a delicate question. I don't want it to sound like I am making Batman into a wuss, but I would like to concentrate on more of the detective part of the character. I want to make very smart, surprising stories and make them a little bit more adventure-y rather than horror.
CBR: The teaser cover by Jason Fabok features Penguin more prominently than Batman. Certainly, part of Batman's appeal is his stellar rogues gallery. Will Penguin and the rest of the rogues play a major role in your run?
John Layman: Absolutely. I am trying to do this like "Chew" in that every issue will be a case or its own self-contained adventure. I am not a huge fan of decompressed storytelling where you spend three or four bucks and you get one scene of one guy doing one thing. I am going to try and satisfy everyone, every issue, while leading to a bigger story. I am doing that with "Mars Attacks" and I am doing that with "Chew." That's how I think comics give you the most satisfying experience for the non-trade waiters.
As for the rogues, my first pitch had all this villain stuff and they were like, "Where is Batman in this story?" [Laughs] Instinctively, I do think about the villains first. The name of the first arc, or at least the name of the arc that I am doing, because you never know how long these things will last, is called "Emperor Penguin." But I don't want to go into details, because it's one of those things where Scott Snyder certainly didn't explain the Court of Owls right out of the gate. The story is not going to become apparent initially, so I don't want to spoil it other than it's called "Emperor Penguin."
For the entire interview, including talk about Layman's other work, head over to Comic Book Resources. Detective Comics #13 featuring Layman's first work on the series will hit stores this October.
Posted by Dustin Fritschel
