This interview contains spoilers forAll-Star Batman#1 and the series.
His Batman is imposing, whether hes smiling with a mouth full of blood or scowling.
Den of Geek: Scott, I was surprised by the humor in the first issue.
I mean, Batman is hilarious when fighting the bug villains, which are hilarious in their own right.
Was writing more humor into your scenes a focus for you in this arc?
Scott Snyder:It was.
You know, theres something liberating about writing Batman outside ofBatman, the main series.
I did a lot of soul searching when I realized that Greg [Capullo] was going to leave.
What I realized was that I still had stories that were very personal to me to do on Batman.
So I wantedAll-Star Batmanto have a different tone.
The Batman inAll-Staris the ultimate confident badass.
Is that juxtaposition something that was planned out?
SS:Toms become one of my closest friends, honestly.
We talk pretty much every day or two.
Both stories are deeply about things that are Batmans weak spots and vulnerabilities.
And Id like to start from the other end and work my way towards the middle.
And then, little by little, we wear him down.
Youre Batmans cruel puppeteer, Scott.
SS:Thanks, dude!
Youve been forming this Two-Face story for a while now.
Why do you think now is his era?
SS:Its a story thats very much about this moment.
Its not overtly political in any way, and it doesnt particularly take sides.
Theres this feeling of things being more and more urgent.
People think of me as this hero.
I can show them that things will be alright.
Am I the hero of this story or are you?
Before, a few years ago, people were just getting used to the craziness of the world.
That was the Jokers time.
Now its my time.
Now theyre used to it and theyre reacting to it.
When they react selfishly or poorly or angrily towards each other, thats who they really are.
That was a great spot to jump into the character.
This is just a blast!
Ive finished the second issue, and Im working on the third issue.
Its getting better and better.
Then theres [inker] Danny Miki and [colorist] Dean White working on it.
And Scotts words are making this so much fun.
SS:Let me just echo what John was saying about Danny and Dean.
And talking to Dean about trying new things color-wise.
It makes it really exciting to go to work knowing that were all equals on the team.
Everybody contributes ideas to the book.
So you feel ownership of it together.
I hope thats clear on the page.
Then youre bringing him into a position where there are less shadows.
Hes out in the middle of nowhere with the sun beating down on him.
It relates to the story.
All it is is a different set of reference.
Its a helpless feeling.
Hes targeted and he cant hide in the shadows.
So it ended up being a slight challenge visually, but a lot of fun as well.
SS:Im trying to give you a lot dark train tunnels to make up for it.
Theyll go under a dark bridge or something!
Scott, how deep into Batman lore are you going for the C-list villains?
Are we finally going to get your great Condiment King story?
SS:If only!
Actually, Ill be totally honest.
SS:But it wasnt working, you know?
I thought maybe Id put it on the condiments.
WithAll-Star Batman, were going really deep into it, honestly.
The first issue is actually probably the least deep.
The second one…youll see!
I dont know if people caught it, but the cover for issue #3 has KGBeast on it.
He becomes a really big person in the series.
Theres are a lot of fun returning villains, from Killer Croc to real deep cuts like Amygdala.
It really is a celebration of all of Batmans rogues and villains from A to Z.
Ultimately, its a story about Two-Face saying, Deep down, everyone wants to embrace their inner villain.
They like us more than you.
Its over-the-top fun and its hugely energizing to be on it just because of the craziness.
JRJR:Scott just wants to see how many characters he can dump on Romita Jr.!
SS:The fun thing too is that a lot of them get to be redesigned.
Even the details of the characters, the small elements that make them pop off the page, thatisright.
Oswaldwouldwear his hair that way.
Black Maskwouldsort of lean that way.
Scott Snyder and John Romita Jr., thanks so much!All-Star Batman#1 is out now.
John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek.
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Or check out all his work athis website.
