Next on our list of amazing artists who’ve stopped by to talk Batman is Dustin Nguyen, who’s put together an impressive run on Batman, first with DETECTIVE COMICS and now on BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM. And as you can see from the piece below, not only is Dustin one of the nicest guys in comics, he’s a damn fine artist as well. Let’s see what he has to say. Take it away, Dustin:

“It’s sort of a stained glass look at Gotham. This one, instead of trying to show the gritty side of the city with it’s dark streets and noir-ish aspects , I aimed to showcase all of the colorful villains that make up who Batman really is.

“I think what makes the Batman mythology great, is that everyone and everything in Gotham ties back to him somehow. Gotham is definitely a city created for the character, and has evolved through the years. He’s a personal favorite because he was the first popculture icon i was introduced to when i first came the US. I was about 5 or 6 years old, and there was just something about a character that wears a mask with horns and a cape jumping off buildings that amazed a kid.”

We’ve already gotten a glimpse at Andy Kubert’s contribution to the anniversary epic that is BATMAN #700. But why stop there? Now, we close out the day with comments from the mega-talented David Finch, who also pencils a sequence in Grant Morrison’s time-twisting tale of The Batman. What say you, David?

“I’m a huge fan of dystopian futuristic stories and art, so this page really grabbed me. It was an opportunity to draw angry robots, rubble, and homemade, stitched together costumes for Batman and Robin of the future. This page is a bit of a re-imagining of a story from the fifties, and I tried to come up with a look that blended some of what was in the original work, with a more contemporary feel. It was a bit of a challenge, but it was fun.

Batman works for me the best when he’s up against insurmountable odds, and this page really captured that for me. Everything he knows is in ruins, and pockets of humanity are hunted by evil, weird looking robots. He’s a soldier fighting for this people’s way of life, and this page, page shows that in it very stark terms.”

If you picked up your copy of JONAH HEX a the comic shop today, you noticed that the issue featured an exclusive interview between JONAH HEX movie director Jimmy Hayward and the writers of the JONAH HEX comic series, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti. With minimal help from yours truly, the conversation touched on a wide range of topics, including Hex comics, the film, Westerns and the movie’s soundtrack. But some stuff got left on the cutting room floor for space reasons. But fear not, Source gang. We’ve got the full transcript right here for you to read. So click below and enjoy.

Read the rest of this entry »

With BATMAN #700 upon is, we’re continuing our spotlight on all things Batman. Today, we look at one of the hero’s key stories.

Everyone knows what happened to make Bruce Wayne become Batman. But the story had never been told with such flourish and panache.

BATMAN: YEAR ONE, for me, is hands down the best piece of super-hero storytelling I’ve ever read.

The story features writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzuchelli at the top of their games, in the wake of WATCHMEN and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, reinventing and reinvigorating the classic concepts that made Batman an icon. Gotham. Commissioner Gordon. Catwoman. Bruce Wayne.

Telling the parallel story of a young Bruce Wayne learning the ropes as Batman and a young(ish) Jim Gordon entering the squalid pond that was the Gotham City Police Department, BATMAN: YEAR ONE brought an unheralded level of maturity and realism to a character that was already ahead of the curve. This Gotham wasn’t a dark but livable metropolis — it was a cesspool of crime and deception, with no light at the end of the tunnel. The GCPD wasn’t a stable of white knights battling back the evil elements — they were as corrupt as the “crime” they faced.

Enter Batman — fresh from his world travels and looking for meaning and a way to best defend the city that had swallowed up his youth.

Miller’s script is forceful and jarring, more Mean Streets and Godfather II than whatever preconceived notions people had about comic books at the time. Richard Lewis’ grays outweighed the blacks and whites to create a murky, between-the-lines pallor that matched the ethical murkiness of the characters and set the stage Mazzuchelli’s masterful artwork. His storytelling — frighteningly precise and beautifully fluid — makes you feel like you’re awkwardly cowering in the back of the room, as Batman slams a goon’s face into the ground. Cinematic stuff, for real.

A shattered window. A flying bat. A legacy born.

And, all the above aside, the highest compliment I can pay this book? Whenever a friend that doesn’t read comics asks me for something to get started with, this is what I hand them.

We’d be remiss if in all this BATMAN #700 hoopla we didn’t go right to, well, the source of it all: writer Grant Morrison.

Grant’s been driving the Dark Knight to some amazingly different and intense places, and it only gets more engaging in the pages of BATMAN #700, which features the superstar writer teaming with a cabal of amazing artists, including Tony Daniel, Andy Kubert, David Finch and frequent collaborator Frank Quitely. So what does he have to say about not only the character, but the issue? Take it away, Grant!

“The opportunity to work on a Batman anniversary issue comes once in a decade and with this one I chose to celebrate the past, present and future of the world’s favourite hero.

With Tony Daniel on Batman of Yesterday, Frank Quitely and Scott Kolins on Batman of Today, Andy Kubert on Batman of Tomorrow and David Finch drawing the Batmen of the Future, Batman 700 tells a complete story spanning the entire history and career of the Dark Knight which can be read on its own, or as part of the ‘Batman 700′ event, leading to the upcoming return of Bruce Wayne to the present day DC Universe.”

In part 3 of “The Flood,” Oracle faces off against the Calculator, while Batgirl is forced to team up with the Calculator’s daughter in an attempt to save the citizens of Gotham City from a crippling techno-plague. But who will save Batgirl from an infected and rampaging Man-Bat?

BATGIRL #12 hits 6/9, courtesy of writer Bryan Q. Miller and artist Lee Garbett.

As promised, we’ve got an all-star lineup of posts, art and comments rolling out this week. All celebrating the 700th issue of BATMAN. First up, we have a look at an interior page from superstar artist Andy Kubert’s contribution to Grant’s BATMAN #700 story, along with comments from the venerable Mr. Kubert himself. Take it away, Andy!

“Batman has always been one of my favorites growing up, and still is today. I loved the old campy TV. Show. But my love for the comics started with the Batman comics that were drawn by Neal Adams. When I was a kid, I didn’t even know who was drawing what (except I knew my dad’s stuff!), but learned that it was Neal’s work that appealed to me. It was exciting, pleasing, easy to follow and visually appealing to me. I always looked for Neal’s work not only on Batman stuff, but also on any other comic that had his name. And I still do!

To me, the costume is simply perfect. It’s a great costume to draw and I guess the way I approach my drawing and the feel for any character is influenced by the Batman costume itself. You can pretty much do anything with the costume and cape, stretch and pull it anyway you want to make it look appealing, and it still comes across as Batman. You can hide him halfway in shadows or put him in a silhouette, and it still is recognizable and cool looking. Also, I approach Gotham City in the same vane…you can do anything with it. It’s not New York City or any realistic city…it’s organic. I approach Gotham as if it’s another character along with Batman and Robin or Damian.

One of my favorite characters I have drawn in my career is Damian Batman. I love the whole look with the scalloped trench coat and spiked gloves and yet he still retains the original cowl. He’s also a very violent Batman, which is always fun to draw!

In the page that’s shown, Batman wears a gasmask that’s essential to the story. I had to come up with a design for that gasmask and it was difficult not to make it look clunky or out of place. So I decided (after a ton of sketches) that going simple was the best way. It’s a plastic piece that fits over the faceplate and has a few “gills” on either side. It doesn’t fight with the cowl design and you still see him as Batman. There’s also a new character in this chapter that Grant and I created based off an established character that’s currently one of my new favorites!

I approached the art a bit differently for Batman #700 than I had before with other comic work. Besides using straight pen, brush and ink, I used ink wash and pencil for certain effects. I tried to use the greatest contrast where I wanted the reader to focus first (that’s usually where the straight black ink work is) and to achieve depth I would use the gray ink wash where hopefully the reader’s eye would flow over that area next. I think Brad Anderson has done the best coloring of his career on this stuff; it seemed like he was reading my mind as to what I wanted. I’m VERY happy with the results!

Batman was the hero every kid could aspire to be.

Well, at least that was the logic a skinny, geeky kid in Miami used. See, I never expected to be bitten by a radioactive anything, and as far as I knew, I hadn’t been born on another planet — despite sometimes hoping that was the case.

But Batman, yeah — that was at least doable, you know?

My earliest memories of the character weren’t in comics — Super Friends. The 60s television series reruns. The first Keaton film. All vastly different interpretations of the same core concept — a man so driven to succeed, he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the strongest beings on the planet and hold his own. The conceit, which has stuck with me since was always there: if you work hard enough, you’ll succeed.

Somewhere around that time, I stumbled upon an old issue of BRAVE AND THE BOLD (#126, “What Lurks Below Buoy 13,” by writer Bob Haney and artist Jim Aparo) and I was hooked. Not only did Batman have the coolest costume I’d ever seen, but he wasn’t just a muscle-bound bruiser. He was part Sherlock Holmes. Part James Bond.

Whether he was crashing through the ceiling to disrupt a gangland meeting or going toe-to-toe with a mad god, Batman’s story was always the most compelling to me as a reader. And it’s because of the simplicity of the concept that he’s managed to last this long in a myriad number of incarnations and interpretations — from gun-toting vigilante to whacked-out sci-fi explorer to hippie hero to gritty protector.

Batman was a constant for me — from middle school, to high school, to college, to, well now — even while some titles would drop and other, newer ones would find their way into my weekly haul, I couldn’t go very long without checking in on my old friend. And as the years passed, it almost felt like I was along for the ride, through the good times and the bad. Jason Todd. Barbara Gordon changed forever. Tim Drake. A broken back. Taking back the cowl. A shattered city. Officer down. Hush. R.I.P. “Death” by Darkseid. The list goes on.

It’s not uncommon for someone to pop into my office and remark “Think you have enough Batman statues in here?”

Nope. Never enough.

So, happy 700th issue, Batman. Here’s to 700 more.

And those villains? Wow. More on that later this week.

What kind of people call themselves “The Brotherhood of Evil”? Not this group; not if a certain pan-dimensional business tycoon has anything to say about it. After all, image is everything. But it doesn’t matter how they rebrand themselves – the Doom Patrol has found them, and it’s not going to be pretty.

DOOM PATROL #11 hits 6/9.

This week, DC’s ongoing BATMAN title hits a major and rare milestone: 700 issues.

Listing every key creator to have contributed to the Dark Knight’s legacy would be a week’s worth of blog posts in and of itself. But this week, we’ll be taking readers into the pages of the amazing BATMAN #700, featuring a story by innovative and kinetic writer Grant Morrison and an all-star cast of artists that include Frank Quitely, David Finch, Andy Kubert, Tony Daniel and more. The story, which touches on every aspect and era of Batman is the perfect centerpiece for an issue that celebrates the past, present and future adventures of the Dark Knight.

We’ve got a week’s worth of cool art, engaging comments and a few surprises to commemorate the issue here on The Source, kicking off right now with a teaser page from the issue.

Make sure to swing back tomorrow for more comments from some of comic’s biggest names (and the biggest contributors to BATMAN #700) on Batman and his world.