Warning: This article contains spoilers forBatman#85 and preceding issues.
All good things must come to an end.
The ending was bittersweet, because Batman finally did end up pledging his love to Catwoman.
Credit: DC Entertainment
Alfred would be proud.
Read EW’s concludingBatmaninterview with King below.Batman#85 is on sale now.
It’s a reflection of that.
Mikel Janin/DC Entertainment
He gave these two vows: One to his parents and one to Selina.
Is this the kind of thing you hope will be around long-term?
It’s out of my control.
Mikel Janin/DC Entertainment
All of that is up to other writers.
I don’t own these characters.
Both of those powers are more powerful than I am and will decide.
Mikel Janin/DC Entertainment
The death of Alfred is another pivotal moment in “City of Bane.”
You previously said you were astonished some of your plans for “City of Bane” even got approved.
Was Alfred’s dying part of those big changes you wanted to implement in Batman?
Mikel Janin/DC Entertainment
It’s not like I wanted Alfred to die!
I love that character.
How much do you see that death looming over Batman and the world?
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But it’s an utterly insane thing that saved the world.
That’s what interested me about it.
To me, it showed how well Alfred had raised him.
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When he was this little boy, he was cut off and just stuck being a little boy.
I’m old enough now that I’ve lost people close to me.
There’s a maturity to it.
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I know you’re going to be like me.
When Alfred died, it broke me.
This is going to break you.
It goes back toAlan Moore’s famous book [Writing for Comics].
He said, Bruce was the first second-dimensional comic book character.
That’s whatStan Leewas famous for: He made a bunch of two-dimensional characters.
They’re not motivated by one thing because life is so complicated.
All that stuff is what makes a three-dimensional character.
This will kill you."
Hopefully, through 85 issues, we’ve gotten to see Batman is a three-dimensional character.
He says, “I’m not a child anymore.
That’s not going to break me.
I make my own choices.”
At what point did you decide that Thomas would end up being the ultimate big bad of your run?
I mean the title “City of Bane” was a little tricky feint, right?
Bane is also the feeling, the motivation of Thomas Wayne.
If I look back at my run, I couldn’t say this until now.
In the beginning, it started out with Bane as the big bad.
You even mentioned that Gotham quarterback Campbell would have a role.
What made that the right way to end the story in your mind?
I stuck to it!
I’m a big Charles Schulz fan.
He’s the Michael Jordan of comics, or the Michelangelo.
No one’s done it better, he’s a god among men to me.
Kite Man has always stood in for this Charlie Brown conversation.
Because of course Kite Man’s name is Chuck Brown.
So to me, it was a conversation with that existential dread ofPeanutscomics I was raised with.
That’s what a lot of comics are about: There is no progress.
But Batman throws back to him that there can be progress.
It’s this endless dialectic between storytellers.
It’s the idea: Will Chris Campbell finally reveal himself as a football player?
And then you doThe Sopranoscut to black, and I let the audience decide if there’s progress.
She gets a very positive resolution here!
Can you talk about that and how you’ve grown to love this character?
It’s positive in one aspect, and negative in the other.
It’s so positive I’m not sure anyone’s gonna write her again.
I took away all her angst and sadness that writers are attracted to.
“But Gotham Girl’s inBatman#1, and she ends the run.
After 85 issues, I wanted to do a little tribute to my daughter.
She was 5 when it started and she’s 9 now.
She came up with the story forBatman Annual#1.
Clay Mann gave me this beautiful splash fromBatman#24 that’s homaged in this issue.
Clay gave it to my daughter, she’s got it hanging above her wall.
I gave her a happy ending so my daughter could get a happy ending.
You’re not done with Batman yet, or Catwoman.
You haveBatman/Catwomanminiseries coming up in the new year.
From what we know so far, it’s going to bring inMask of the Phantasm.
What’s the pressure like bringing this iconic character into comics?
It’s fair to say that on some level I am kind of done with Batman.
The Batman that will exist now will be James' Batman, not mine.
That’s where the story goes.
What I have to say about the characters, I’ve said it.
If you read this 85-issue story and never pick upBatman/Catwoman, you’ll still get my version of Batman.
That said,Batman/Catwoman’s gonna be the best book ever!
I’m working with the best artist in comics,Clay Mann.
I’m literally writing it now, I’m writing issue 4.
It’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing.
I’m trying to make great comics and do for someone else what Charles Schulz did for me.
YourBatmanrun was originally planned for 100 issues, and then it got shortened to 85 andBatman/Catwomanwas announced.
And it would be Batman and Catwoman together, falling back in love.
That was the original plan, to do that with all the artists I’ve worked with before.
That’s the conversation they would’ve had.
Anything else you’re proud of?
One silly thing is if you read #85 closely, there’s a bajillion easter eggs in it.
I put in little things like that for people who want to have fun with it.
That Kryptonite that Gotham Girl gets is from the Secret Files issue.
My grandmother had just died and our president had just been elected.
