Letters to Justice League Vol. 2 #12

Will the phrase "Galactically Stupid" be used?

I'm a big fan of the Batman / Wonder Woman relationship. I used to get JLA trades from the library-- Grant Morrison's run, Mark Waid's-- but the first ongoing run I picked up, at the shop, was Joe Kelly's, starting in 2002.

One of the running subplots of his series was the emotional connection between Bruce and Diana, something teased subtly through the book before him, but something he pushed to the forefront of his run. In "The Obsidian Age", moments before their deaths at the hands of the ancient Justice League, Batman and Wonder Woman kissed, and when they're resurrected, this plays on them both. Wonder Woman says it best:


The two of them plan dates, Bruce cancelling because of crime fighting reasons and because he's terrified, and Diana hangs out with Alfred instead-- but nothing really comes of it. That is, until JLA #91, Joe Kelly's final issue, when Wonder Woman decides to figure out what's going on in her head once and for all.

What follows is one of the most beautiful comic books of all time, ably drawn by Chris Cross, follows Wonder Woman as she uses a Martian device to plunge into her subconscious and face her deepest thoughts. Different versions of reality, different possible futures all spring to life, and they're sad, and beautiful, and hopeful, but when all is said and done, Diana emerges knowing that Bruce and she are not meant to be. They're best friends, and they don't want to risk losing that relationship in favour of one that might not work out. Bruce says the same and the two leave the room, an echo of a possible future whispering out of the machine, the most hopeful and beautiful of potential realities...

I loved it. Now, I've been teasing the relationship in my own way since I returned to the title at the start of this year. Glances, knowing looks, you can find the hints if you go looking. Before #50, and before we head into 2016 and all the adventures we have planned, I wanted to make this thing real. No kisses before dying, no confusion... Diana initiates a kiss with Bruce, knowing that life, even for immortals, is too short. Bruce reciprocates (as per the cover), and that's how we leave the issue. Two friends potentially turning into something more, an adventure we can have during the 2016 period.

When I realised I wanted to do that story, I knew that I could make What Comes Before And After-- the answer is "the Storm", by the way, because aren't I clever ho ha ha ha-- into what later became called "the romance issue" when discussing it with Jamie (who had to drop out of cover duties due to business in the season, but which led to another amazing piece by Roy). I wanted to have a breather before all the dense plotting next year, reiterating the relationships that already existed and maybe exploring those that we haven't looked in on for a while. Katar and Kendra, Ray and Jean, teasing things between Ted and Kimiyo and Vic and Angie, which we've seen across the site before. There were other less romantic relationships to explore. Harper interacting with two completely alien figures in Marlowe and Majestros-- now going by Majestic-- to touch on the ongoing threat of Daemonites. A thread we won't ignore as we head into the new year.

All in all, I ended up feeling pretty happy with the end result. #50 is wrapped, the cover is well in hand (and it's going to be a blast) and next year is going to be a good one. Still, we'll be taking January off to try and catch up with ourselves again, but until then, feel free to check out what's come before! We'd-- me'd?-- would love to hear what you think of the series.

Successful few days of writing! Issues #51-53 written, #54 started, #55 complete and progress made on #56 and #58! It'll all make sense when the issues hit.

Also wrapped the back-up feature and it pushes us into the next phase of adventures so I'm going to see what I can do about sorting out a nice new package for that. I'm glad we're taking January off... I'm wondering if I can get us a straight run till September sorted before February's issue hits, so I can focus on other projects... Christmas is my DC2 writing binge period!