Letters to Batman: Gotham Knights #1

I didn't think you'd use my cover. With the (very well done) trimmings like the title and names it certainly looks very futuristic surreal.

So, here's a spattering of initial thoughts:

Very enjoyable Joker, very menacing without losing his sense of showmanship. Generally dramatic opening blasts, powerful punches to bring in a new Batman title, and to kick off the new universe again.

Did you mean to rename Lucius? Luscious has very different connotations.

A nice way of bringing in characters, with the opening pattern of thought and then scene.

You do a good job of giving Bruce a knightly, medieval quality in the bat-cave. In the way you describe his armour, his 'throne', his insignia, etc. We see Bruce bloodied and beaten on the battle-field, then skulking and brooding in his lair, his allies and social persona gone. This Batman is a warrior.

Nice Wildcat reference. It's like a Gotham Central who's-who with some good old-fashioned police banter to put the icing on the crime scene.

Generally a good start for the title. The cut-away ending leaves what I assume is an arc for a new Robin (though I'm willing to be mistaken), and the tone is set well by warrior Dark Knight/explosive deaths/brooding/crime scene. The elements of a good Batman title if ever I saw them.

Also provides a nice parallel to Earth One, where my Inc. title and (at some point in the near future) VintageViktor's 'Tec run present a Batman who's on top of his game, who's nearer the end-point of his campaign to build himself into the perfect crime-fighter. Earth A returns us to a more human caped crusader, and one with past defeats and disasters rather than successes to work from.

Looking forward to more.

Hi Fantomas, Thanks for the feedback.



I asked for someone to color it, and you did!

I wanted the Earth A titles to have a distinct look, so just by looking at the cover, you can tell where the story takes place. The futuristic look was something I was going for and I'm glad it came across.




Glad you liked the Joker. He's a lot of fun to write. I wanted to start this universe off with a bang (pun kinda intended) and make it different from Earth One right off the jump.



God no, that is an example of spell check gone wrong.



That wasn't by design initially. I noticed it during a re-write and carried it through all of the scenes.



His quest is all he has left and we'll see how that effects him going forward.



If anyone was wondering if Ted Grant exists on Earth A, he does.



Gotham Central is one of my favorite all-time series. They will have a big role in this title and be featured in a backup tale in the future.



nods head...



I think you pretty much nailed the differences between the Earth One and Earth A Batmans. Batman Inc. and Knight and Squire are two titles on my reading list and I promise to get to them soon.

Thank you for the kind words.

I've been meaning to comment on this. I love your Joker! Mixes both of my favs, Heath Ledger and Mark Hamill. The style of writing fits the dark knight perfectly. Keep up the good work.

What can I say that hasn't already been said ? I don't think I have seen Joker written so perfectly anywhere before. He completely came off the way I see him in my head. I loved the use of character's inner thoughts. Batman is obviously still working through some issues. Great use of the "background" cast of characters. I really enjoyed the dynamics of the conversation between Essen and Bullock. I would assume that the ending leads into a new Robin eventually. But, I am open to whatever curves are thrown along the way.

Jay

Thanks for reading Peter. One of the great things about Earth A is we can take a lot of chances with our stories and that's something I want to be reflected on Earth A for all of our stories. We should be telling stories we can't on our more iconic earth (Earth One). Hopefully, if you're still around, the stories will get better and you'll like the direction we are going.