Tom King addresses concerns over Catwoman and responses to his run

>Newsarama: Tom, we got quite a shock at the end of the last issue about Catwoman, and that came after another surprise concerning her incarceration. Do you have a specific vision for your version of this character? How would you describe the Catwoman you're writing - who she is?

>Tom King: To me, she's Batman without Alfred. She's someone who got broken as hard as Batman got broken - an orphan who had to raise herself - but instead of sort of relying on others, she had to do it with her own willpower and put herself back together.
>So I think her story is as powerful as Batman's and maybe even more powerful, because she had to rely on herself in a way that Batman never had to. She's not the rich kid, she didn't have the privilege he had.
>But the truth of Catwoman is not to think of her in terms of Batman and how she foils Batman, but to think of her as a separate character on her own. At least I think so.
>And I think that makes her something special in the DCU, because when you build yourself up like that, you realize that you don't have time for all the rules everyone else has.
>You have to cheat, or else you die.
>When there's no food and you steal for food, you realize that some of the obstacles that are put in the way of you are obstacles of willpower and obstacles of law. And I think she sort of sees through the law and sees through that stuff, and she sees a more perfect justice than I think even Batman sees. That makes her a unique character.

Other urls found in this thread:

newsarama.com/32231-catwoman-s-claws-are-out-for-batman-in-12.html
twitter.com/SFWRedditImages

>Nrama: She is unique, but I hear within your description that Batman and Catwoman are similar - and maybe that's where the attraction lies - even if they had to climb out of their childhood pain in different ways.

>King: Yeah, I think that's right. And I think what makes them just a perfect romance for the DCU is that, because they're similar in that way, they see through each other. They kind of see through the bullsh*t that everyone else sees.
>That's why I have them call each other "Cat" and "Bat" in this. It's sort of a tribute to the fact that, like, Selina's smart enough and she knows enough to know that Bruce Wayne and the whole act - that's all an act, that's all it is, and that what's at the core of Batman is Batman.
>Batman's smart enough to see that same thing in Catwoman. What's at the core of Catwoman is not this Selina identity she was born with, but the Catwoman identity that she adopted to get through the pain.
>And they see that in each other, and they respect that in each other.
>They're uniquely the only two people that see it in each other, that sort of see each other through the masks - that see the masks under the masks. I think that's the way I put it in this issue.
>And I think that's what makes great soul mates - it's the people who see all your faults and love you still. And I think that's what they have in each other. Someone's like, "OK, you see right through me. You see all the things that I'm afraid everyone's going to judge me for. They're out on the table. And somehow, you like that about me. And you even love that about me."
>That's what makes them unique, and that's also what makes them uniquely vulnerable and makes them fight - the fact that when they're standing in front of each other, they are so vulnerable that their defense mechanisms kick in.

He's saying the right things about Selina, good to know he gets the character

>Nrama: Being interested in exploring that as a writer, is that why you chose the structure of these issues? The narration switches around a bit, and some are written in the form of letters, right?

>King: Yeah, I mean, anyone who knows me knows that I have these structure-y things. I mean, it's five issues, right?

>Nrama: Yeah.

>King: Issue #1 is a comic, issue #2 is a letter, issue #3 is a comic, issue #4 is a letter, issue #5 is a comic.
>So they're purposely there to mirror each other.
>You see Catwoman's take on herself and her relationship to Batman, and her explaining a decision she made that came from her pain. And then you get the parallel of that - Batman sort of responding to her and explaining a decision he made, based on his pain.
>It's a chance to get inside the characters and get to know how they feel about each other.
>I like that idea that they can see that pain in each other, and when they kiss, the pain goes away, because they're just not alone for a second. Because I think, when you're really sad, when you're really in a bad place, your big thought is, "I'm by myself." And that's the first thing you have to overcome, is to realize that you're not by yourself.
>So when they're together, when they feel that they're not alone, that the pain goes away. There's something there that's important.

Based

>Nrama: Let's talk about the way you've chosen to have this team come in from all different directions to attack Bane, without revealing the plan to the reader. I've seen that before in your writing. Is that something you like to do with mission-type stories like this?

>King: Yeah, I do, yeah. Batman readers are the smartest readers in the world. I don't have to hold their hands. I don't have to give them the training scene of the team coming together. They've seen that in a thousand things. They can just assume that's there.
>I want to skip to the action and the tension.
>I think you see the intelligence of the readers in the reaction.
>I mean, the reaction to Catwoman was vitriol. Like, I got people who hated it, saying this is out of character. This is terrible. This is not who this woman is.
>And I was like, "Yeah, you're exactly right. I agree with all of you. And thank you for complaining. And you know who else agrees with you? Batman agrees with you."
>That's what you see in Batman #12, is that Batman has that same reaction to her.
>I wanted my readers to be exactly where Batman is, because that way they can related to him. They're as frustrated with Catwoman as Batman is, and they're as frustrated with this decision that seems out of character as Batman is. And their love for the character mirrors Batman's love for her.
>I think that takes you into a story and makes it more real for you, as the reader.

>Batman readers are the smartest readers in the world
lol

>Nrama: We've also found out that Batman is forming the Justice League of America when it launches in February 2017. Were you at all in on that decision? Is this meant to lead up to that, because I know he hand picks that team?

>King: Yeah, I was. Steve [Orlando, writer on the new Justice League of America title,] and I are good friends, so we went through that step-by-step. He led me through that.
>Now, I don't need to tell Steve how to write a comic book, so I was more, like, listening and saying, "Yeah, that's awesome" than really contributing to it.
>But it's all part of this great plan. We've got the DC Universe planned out past 2019 now. And there's sort of this spine of stories that's going through it.
>You've seen it in Batman from the beginning - in Batman #1, Hugo Strange appears, and that's connected to Amanda Waller, you find out in Batman #3. And that leads to Suicide Squad.
>And in Batman #13, which is coming out in just a few weeks, you'll see how Amanda Waller and Hugo Strange, how that leads directly into the Justice League vs. Suicide Squad story, and that's going to lead into the JLA.
>So it's one thing leading into another. That's how great shared universes work, because we're all obeying the same rules. We're all on the same page.

>Nrama: Dan DiDio also wrote a letter to readers within last week's Direct Currents #1 that said the Flash and Batman are working together to forensically analyze the Watchmen button. Is that something that's going down in your Batman title at all?

>King: I can't say too much about the long-term plans, but, like you saw in issue #9 with Saturn Girl, these story threads are still continuing.
>The Flash/Batman thing - yes, that's going to play out. They're both great detectives.

>Nrama: Maybe the two best forensic detectives in the DCU?

>King: I don't know about that.

>Nrama: I suppose you think Flash can't hold a candle to Batman.

>King: You know what Batman is? He's on time. That's all I'm saying.

He's trying to justify it, but we all know that batman and catwoman are only understanding of each other because bat and cat rhyme.

>King: You can't be a great detective and show up late.

>Nrama: There's a good chance Psycho Pirate gets captured soon, and you've already told me that he remembers past continuities. Can you reveal anything that's coming up? If not related to Psycho Pirate, maybe to your "I Am Batman" trilogy in general? You said this part is five issues - how does that lead to what's next?

>King: Yes, this is "I Am Suicide," and then we'll get a post-script to this story where I'm bringing in Mitch Gerads, who did Sheriff of Babylon. He's going to come on for two issues and do the after-action of this huge story.
>And the focus of those issues will be on Catwoman and Batman.
>And then we'll launch into "I Am Bane," which is so simple. I don't want to say how this story ends, but at the end, Bane and Batman are not happy with each other. And that plays out in the next arc, which leads to this huge confrontation between these two characters, where both of them sort of decide that one of them has to live and one of them has to die.

>Nrama: OK, so answer me this - did Bane break Batman's back at the beginning of this storyline? Or what happened there?

>King: I think he had his back dislocated. That's what I think. And he re-fixed it.

>Nrama: And this arc will finish up the work by Mikel Janín? This week's issue really shows off his work.

>King: Yes, Mikel is killing it. He's going to be everyone favorite artist, especially after issue #12. I mean, I changed my credit, because Mikel was doing so much brilliant art, I changed it to "storytellers," because I just had to credit the transcendent work he's doing on this comic.
>Batman #12 is a special issue – it's eight to 10 splash pages. There are no panels in the whole thing.
>And to tell a story that way is something utterly unique, and I think it's something only Mikel could do. And I'm just crazy proud to be working with him again.

newsarama.com/32231-catwoman-s-claws-are-out-for-batman-in-12.html

> We've got the DC Universe planned out past 2019 now
>Palmiotti and Conner still on Harley in 2019

Just kill me already

I'm pretty sure that means they've planned out the major universe plotlines that far.
1) that doesn't guarantee consistent creative teams
2) the Harley Quinn books have never been strictly part of the main DC canon

Fair enough. I think it's still a shitty thing to throw in there, but I'm willing to see where it goes.

>King: You know what Batman is? He's on time. That's all I'm saying.

OOOOUGH DAYUM!

> the Harley Quinn books have never been strictly part of the main DC canon

Uh-huh, just wait until tomorrow to those two doing a prelude to the 3 Jokers story

Anyone with the slightest bit of reading comprehension would be able to see that storyline has nothing to do with Rebirth's "3 Jokers"

Just check out the preview, man. Harley clearly says that she sees two differents Jokers in her dreams

>don't have to hold their hands.
>They can just assume that's there
>because kingfags will bend over backwards and wedge their heads up their own assholes to justify this shit
The emperor is literally naked.

>google "Harley Quinn Pre-"
>autocompletes to "Harley Quinn Pregnant"

I'm fed up with this world

I think people are completely reading too much into that. At *most* that's just a brief nod to the fact that there are multiple Jokers in line with how Didio wants to "weave the forever war plotline through all the titles" but that's as far as it will go. Connor and Palmiotti are the last team that are gonna get involved with company wide events.

You mean the one where she goes on a Wizard of Oz style adventure?

Yep, that one.

Dunno man, it's clearly pointing that Harley could have a major role through the 3 Jokers thing

>Harley could have a major role through the 3 Jokers thing
I think there's a slight possibility that the character would be involved, but it's not going to be in her book, which has been solely devoted to deadpool ripoff adventures.

>it's a "rich people are less human than us" episode

Nah it's just the "Bruce Wayne is the REAL mask" meme again

Nothing ever ends.

>a perfect romance for the DCU
Ok, King, you got me, I'm a Bat/Cat shipper. Please continue.

at this rate I am bane will be about how Batman is a plague to the people he cares about and puts them in danger constantly by existing

I came with the intention of getting upset, but I'm really not. He says mostly right things, and even what I think it's wrong it's interesting and I can see where he's coming from.
Still don't like mass murderwoman though

>Harley and Joker fans
>reading comprehension
Pick one

>And I was like, "Yeah, you're exactly right. I agree with all of you. And thank you for complaining. And you know who else agrees with you? Batman agrees with you."
>That's what you see in Batman #12, is that Batman has that same reaction to her.
>I wanted my readers to be exactly where Batman is, because that way they can related to him. They're as frustrated with Catwoman as Batman is, and they're as frustrated with this decision that seems out of character as Batman is. And their love for the character mirrors Batman's love for her.
>I think that takes you into a story and makes it more real for you, as the reader.

You cheeky cunt. We Hypercrisis now

>at this rate I am bane will be about how Batman is a plague to the people he cares about and puts them in danger constantly by existing


>yfw Batman says "I am bane" in the arc.

>the truth of Catwoman is not to think of her in terms of Batman and how she foils Batman, but to think of her as a separate character on her own
>she's Batman without Alfred

It sells

Urg king cancer.

>Ok, King, you got me, I'm a Bat/Cat shipper. Please continue
All things that would make me want to drop this title .

Man, tom king was a bad choice to take over Batman. what next?

In any case, King has proven himself to be a terrible, terrible choice to write about Batman.

No. You just have horrible taste and probably terrible reading comprehension.

Itll be just like Morrisons run. You fags will hate on it the whole time cause you don't understand it then Sup Forums will have to explain it to you over and over again until you finally understand it then you will think its great.

I thought Morrison's run was good but plebs that got into Batman with the Nolan films consider it a masterpiece and Snyder's run a great runner up.
So far, King's run has been meh to kind of good, but after reading Vision and Omega Men i wanted to see if he lived up to the hype.

>muh Morrison run is deep!!

Whatever you say

You cant be mad at someone who hasnt read something better Sup Forumsmrade, this board is filled with plebs because of the movies.
And even before, its not like anybody on Sup Forums reads comics.

Then why is his Catwoman a murdering bitch?

> I'm a Bat/Cat shipper
Patrician.

Morrison's run is the definitive Batman run. Snyder's and King's are fucking abominations that demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of the character and what constitutes good storytelling. If you've actually read a lot of comics you would know this.

See You stupid fuck. Read the interview, you feel this way cause King wants you to.

>Morrison run is the first Batman run I read

Please tell me how writing a Bruce that loves and cares about his family while also being commited to his crusade is "out of character". Name one fucking moment in King's run that has been "out of character" for Bruce.

he didn't use some meme Tibetan technique and didn't say HH in any issue

Nope, I came to Morrison's run after I decided to jump back into comics after abstaining for a few years and was familiar with 90% of the stories he was weaving together.

This is more in character than Bruce has been in a long time. Man Snyder really fucking confused all these casuals that started with his run. They think a wildly out of character Bruce is how he should act.

This Batman is literally Snyder Batman 2.0

>talks in short burst
>loves his family
>doesnt quip

No.

Morrison's run was entirely about realizing that he needs to put his trust and love in other people, and that despite constantly pushing them away he had managed to create something larger than himself over the years, a family. King's run has Batman accepting his death in the first issue and revealing he's a cutter in the 12th while Alfred is a dick and he falls in love with the all new all different OCs that happen to have no discerning personalities beyond being shallow and obvious reflections of Bruce and/or facsimiles of well established characters.

>More in character than Bruce has been in a long time

I am vengeance
I am the night
I am SUICIDE

>implying Snyder's Batman quipped all the time
>implying his remarks were even quips
>implying Batman didn't love his family

You guys should actually read runs that you complain about

Your reading comprehension is trash. King's whole run has been about how Bruce is afraid to fail his family but knows his crusade has to come first. Jesus Christ that theme has been everywhere.

Really, you consider Morrison's run to be the definitive Batman run.
W e w

>talks in short burst
>doesnt quip
>the REAL Batman

Man, Snyder really did do a number on Bat-fans, huh?

You guys both have no idea what the fuck you are talking about.

Well he hasnt smacked Dick yet, so there's that.

I don't really agree, I've always thought Selina was a fair bit saner and less inclined to think of herself as catwoman as first. More like parallels, not one in the same, imo

>Bruce is afraid, like he always is and always has been!
>This run is all about his family, except for the arc about the shitty new OC that lazily paralleled Bruce, the vapid crossover where he fought monsters, and the new one where he wants to break Bane's back and we find out he cuts himself and his love interest is a serial killer! Oh and his actual family is tossed by the wayside and his father figure is a snarky dick to him all the time!

Just stop

I'm not gonna sit here and explain the run to you idiots time and time again. If you cant comprehend the thematics and core message of each arc you are a fucking idiot. Your analysis is laughable and you utterly missed the point of Monster Men and the I am Suicide arc. The fact that you are so triggered by OCs is also hilarious.

It absolutely is. I read every story I could get my hands on as a kid, from Robin Dies at Dawn to There Is No Hope in Crime Alley. Morrison managed to distill the essence from the various interpretations of Batman over the years while keeping him thoroughly modern and elevating him to mythic status.

Just because King tries to hit certain themes doesn't mean he's doing it well. In fact he's been blatant about his core ideas throughout the series almost to the point of explicitly stating them. But instead of exploring those ideas through doing and the plots themselves, King takes yet another trip down "look I can write PTSD stories" lane, but this time dumbed down to fit in with what he describes as a summer blockbuster.

You can't maintain superiority while defending an author who thinks it's a good idea to make Bruce a cutter. But great points all around. You've convinced me that Duke Thomas and Gotham Girl are great characters and worthy additions to the Bat Family.

Superior taste mein negger

ah

yes because duke thomas has been such a proeminant character in this run i am right

Alfred has always been snarky.

young Bruce being an emo twat makes sense to me.

...

Mate though, poser art looks trashy as fuck

That is fine and dandy, but here is the question that bugs me. Batman trained with the some of the best the world had to offer, so how did Catwoman get on Batman's level? You don't learn skills like that just living on the streets. We you put others that didn't put in hard work on his level, it makes all to the years that were written about him mastering new skills and styles pointless. Just saying...

>poser art looks trashy as fuck
RIGHT? How this is allowed on THE flagship title is beyond me.

Fuck off shill

Catwoman is still white so eat a dick cuck

I don't think anyone has ever said Catwoman is on Batman's level. She knows how to fight, steal, and run rooftops. That's the extent of her supervillain power set, as far as I'm aware.

ITT: didn't read lol

Seriously are you faggots just feigning contempt just to be cool? Because you all decided back in March that you were going to hate on King because it was part of le Sup Forums culture? Or "Sup Forumslture" as named via your retarded autistic standards?

You all need to mate with a rope and stool tbqh fammerjammers smmfh

Yeah, no shit. Stopped reading there.

>You know what Batman is? He's on time.
Heheheheh

>Psycho Pirate gets captured soon, and you've already told me that he remembers past continuities.
yay

>And I was like, "Yeah, you're exactly right. I agree with all of you. And thank you for complaining. And you know who else agrees with you? Batman agrees with you."
>That's what you see in Batman #12, is that Batman has that same reaction to her.
>I wanted my readers to be exactly where Batman is, because that way they can related to him. They're as frustrated with Catwoman as Batman is, and they're as frustrated with this decision that seems out of character as Batman is. And their love for the character mirrors Batman's love for her.
There are people here right now that doubted based King.

Mitch Gerads seems like an incredibly odd choice for the romance issues...his art isn't exactly sexy like Janin's is.

I'll never understanding said shipping. Catwoman is a selfish whore and thief.

She's his manic pixie dream girl.

duke is such a minor character it belays how absolutely triggered you are to the point of total irrationality

your complaints are baseless and your butthurt blinds you to analysis that holds merit

this

There's a difference between frustration and trying to wrap my head around a body count of over 200 people. It's excessive. It's irredeemable. It beggars belief.

If she'd killed maybe 30, Batman's reactions would be justifiable. As is, this is ridiculous. She should have gotten the chair.

>their love for the character mirrors Batman's love for her.

The only relationship that is appropriate for Batman is either with Talia or Selina.

If it's not them I don't want him to be in a relationship with anybody.

What about Robin?

>She should have gotten the chair
You are so stupid you either talk comics you don't read or didn't catch she's on death row currently and are too stupid to comprehend a Batman comic book.

>You can't maintain superiority while defending an author who thinks it's a good idea to make Bruce a cutter.

You do realize you're having this debate over a boy who, in order to cope with his trauma, decided one night to dedicate his entire life to dressing up as a giant bat and punch mentally ill people in the face and hasn't ever strayed from that path in his adult life?

Silver is the best relationship.
Either that or someone that isn't a super villain but just a normal person to remind Batman why he is fighting this war on crime and trying to save Gotham.

In other words what based Snyder did

>Silver is the best relationship.

I love Silver, but her entire point was to show he can't have it both ways, he can't be happy with a qt.gf AND be Batman.

You're a good, non-autistic Batman fan,

>Either that or someone that isn't a super villain but just a normal person to remind Batman why he is fighting this war on crime and trying to save Gotham.

I agree.

...

unique and vulnerable, sees through bullshit

unique and vulnerable, sees through bullshit

unique and vulnerable, sees through bullshit

unique and vulnerable, sees through bullshit

Gee, no wonder the guy writes characters who repeat themselves.

"I'LL BREAK YOUR DAMN BACK"

...