By Todd Allen

For the moment, it looks like the rumor mill was wrong on the Bat-book backups being linked.  At least if they are, it isn’t in an obvious way.  DC has announced the backup in Detective Comics will be a 10-page feature about Harvey Dent, A.K.A. Two-Face.  Since this is going to highlight Dent’s history, I suppose it’s possible the Court of Owls (the backup in Batman) will pop up in Dent’s past, but that’s not the first thing that comes to mind.

The Two-Face feature will still be written by Tony Daniel.  As with Batman (and All-Star Western, for that matter), the same writer(s) is involved with the entire book.  Say what you will about these $3.99, 40 page comics, but if you’re going to do them and fill out the book with a backup, consistency in the writing across the features is probably the best way to go… if you’re not expanding the existing lead feature from 20 to 30 pages.  (Yes, there are still a few artists who can keep up with that.)

Joining Daniel for the backup will be artist Szymon Kudranski.  If that name doesn’t immediately leap out at you, he did the backup/short story in Detective Comics #5, which just came out.  He’s also on the current Penguin miniseries, did some Streets of Gotham and also some Spawn.  Hmmm… Greg Capullo, over on Batman, used to draw Spawn.  Daniel did a little bit of Spawn for Image.  Now Daniel gets an artist for his backup feature that’s drawn some Spawn.

Anyway, Kudranski isn’t coming out of nowhere and it’s interesting that he’d have a short piece in Detective so close to the announcement of the backup.  That’s most likely a coincidence, with 3 issues to go before the backup starts, but interesting none the less.  Detective fans can pick up the most recent issue that still warm off the presses and see who’s coming to play.

1 COMMENT

  1. Excited for the Court of Owls backups. Less enthusiastic about back-ups re-telling Two-Face’s origin, which can’t be all that much different than it was pre-New 52. It’s kind of like the current Penguin miniseries — I’m less interested in re-hashing the already-twice-told origins of these characters than I am in seeing writers take the characters in new, forward-facing directions.

  2. Dude, just imagine the possibilities for Two-Face back ups. Get Geoff Johns to write them, he’ll reveal that a young Harvey Dent visited the set of Sesame Street and was molested by the puppeteer that controlled the “2” during an educational segment.

  3. Since they are bumping the price back up to $3.99, from the sounds of this article, so much for holding the line at $2.99.

  4. Actually – they ARE still holding the line. 20page books for $2.99, increased page counts are $3.99. That’s the way it has always been spelled out from the beginning and it’s been consistent. It’s people’s perceptions or misunderstanding of the initial push that goes all over the place. So… so much for snark.

  5. Mikael that wasn’t snark but an opinion. To make a big deal that you are holding the line for keeping comics at $2.99 but then start adding content to your biggest selling relaunched titles five issue so that it bumps the price back to $3.99 isn’t holding the line.

    To me that is bait and switch. You got reader to buy it at $2.99 and now hit them with the extra pages for $3.99 since they are in habit mode knowing you will keep more than lose if it had been $3.99 at launch.