Earlier this week, a rumor began circulating about Tom King’s possible ouster from DC’s Batman series at the year’s end. Now, it looks like that story has been confirmed, but the publisher is giving King another means to tie up any loose story threads. Via CBR, King is teaming up with artist Clay Mann on an upcoming 12-issue miniseries simply titled Batman/Catwoman.
The miniseries will function as a direct sequel to King’s work on the flagship Batman title. Focusing on Batman and Catwoman’s relationship makes sense, since that’s largely what drove King’s work on the main series. The announcement was accompanied by an official statement from DC editor-in-chief Bob Harras, who offered an explanation for King’s reassignment.
“We’re making changes to our comic book publishing line to set DC up for continued success,” said Harras. “We’re starting with the bestselling Batman comic after ‘City of Bane’ wraps up in December. ‘City of Bane’ is an incredible story and an integral part of our overall ‘Year of the Villain’ campaign, and a new Tom King and Clay Mann Bat/Cat series in 2020 fills the gap once Batman begins to ship monthly.”
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Meanwhile, King admitted that it’s going to be “tough” for him to say goodbye to the primary Batman series. Regardless, he seems to be optimistic about what the future holds. He even compared his and Mann’s efforts on this new project to those of another iconic Batman creative team.
“Batman and Catwoman is a chance to do what Morrison and Quietly did in Batman and Robin: launch an ambitious, accessible, beautiful, thrilling new series that concludes years of stories and defines what Batman is, can, and will be,” King said. “This will be a comic about what the best Batman comics are always been about, how our greatest hero turns fear into bravery, pain into hope, trauma into love. It’s the story I always wanted to tell, and I’m telling it with the man I consider to be the greatest artist in comics, my brother Clay Mann.”
You can check out the first artwork for Batman/Catwoman below. Will you be picking up a copy of the first issue when it hits comic store shelves in 2020? Let us know in the comment section!
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