SDCC 2024: Tom Taylor on Making Batman “Incredibly Accessible” in Detective Comics

It’s a new age for the DC Universe and big changes are coming to the series that brought Batman to the world. DC Comics has revealed its upcoming initiative, DC All In, an era that’s seeing numerous creators moving on to new characters and books.

For the last several years, Tom Taylor has been dazzling readers with his award-winning run on Nightwing. He also took the reins on Titans as they stepped up to be the DCU’s premier superhero team. But this October, Taylor is moving on to Detective Comics, and he sat down with Screen Rant to reveal what the future holds for the Dark Knight in his series.

Screen Rant: Tom, congratulations on the Eisner for Nightwing #105. How does that feel?

Tom Taylor: Oh, it feels great. It’s hard to describe. I didn’t describe it last night because I just got up there hyped up Bruno, and then forgot to acknowledge the award or say thanks. But yeah, it’s ridiculous to come from Melbourne and fly across the world to where all your peers and the people you admire and idolize are. Then they call out your name and give you a clap. And it seems absurd.

You did mention Bruno Redondo. It seems like you guys were the secret sauce that really made this run work. Do you want to talk about the working relationship you’ve had with him?

Tom Taylor: Bruno and I have basically been comic book married for about 14 years. I think our first work was DCUO Legends, pinch-hitting for Marv Wolfman and we did this great little Green Lantern story. I guess we just showed everybody what we could do in that moment. We went on Star Wars and then we came back and I brought him in on Injustice and ever since then, we’ve done Suicide Squad and Nightwing and it’s been great. When I write comics, his is the art I see in my head. We have a really we have an amazing synergy.

We’re talking a run of over three years. That’s like an eternity in comic book time. Did you ever think this was gonna last as long as it has?

Tom Taylor: Yep! I did. Yeah, I always thought our mission was omnibus or bust. When we first took the job, they offered us a bunch of different books. And a lot of those would have been seen as being higher profile. And I was like “No, I want Nightwing.” Bruno wanted Nightwing. We wanted to show Nightwing was A-list and put him back on the pedestal were we thought he belonged. And now he’s leading the entire DC Universe through multiple events. Leading the Titans. It’s great to see all the fans embrace him in that role.

We know DC All In is coming. We know shake-ups are coming because your time on Nightwing and Titans is ending. Is it bittersweet or are you excited to get onto a new project?

Tom Taylor: Oh, it was bittersweet. I will miss Dick Grayson. I love him as a hero. I love that inspiration and the way he tries to help everybody and lift everybody around him. I’ll definitely miss writing him. But having said that, the honor of taking on Detective Comics, this thing that has existed for so long in Batman’s 85th year? This kid from Melbourne? I write this now. It’s ridiculous. And I’m incredibly grateful.

One of the things I’ve noticed with Detective Comics is that sometimes writers try to do something that differentiates it from the main Batman title. When I got into comics, Batwoman was the main character. Did you ever think about how you’d make your run stand out?

Tom Taylor: No, for me, I want to make this a really accessible. I want Batman to be cool for everybody. So getting to tell the story that actually hits on his origin a bit that’s that’s really exciting for me. We do have a new villain coming. Bruce Wayne is going to have to be offered something that he may or may not accept. There’s not a lot I can tell you. But there is at the heart of it. There is a big murder mystery. And I think that’s always great Batman.

Yeah at the Gotham panel, I noticed you called this a “proper detective story“, which feels natural for a book like ‘Tec. You said you were a fan of mysteries, correct?

Tom Taylor: Yeah, but mysteries are hard to write. But Batman is the world’s greatest detective. Well, that’s not true. Detective Chimp is the world’s best. But writing a detective story with him and a proper one. There’s something that’s happened earlier in his life and there’s lots of resonating things. It should be a fun Bat book. And the Mikel Janín on art is just incredible. Just crushing it.

What does Janín bring to this book and how does it serve what you have in mind?

Tom Taylor: He’s just a brilliant artist. We wanted to work together for a very long time and schedules finally aligned and on this book, for the first time, he’s coloring himself and that’s just extraordinary, just stunning work. His action is beautiful. His people are stunning. Everything you want in great comics, Mikel brings. And he’s he’s a great storyteller as well. And that’s all you look for. That’s the first thing you look for as a writer.

I was just talking to Ram V. You’re coming hot on the heels of “Gotham Nocturne”. You talked about how you wanted this to be very accessible and there’s readers who are going to come off of “Gotham Nocturne” and into your run.

Tom Taylor: No, we wanted to make this the most new reader friendly thing possible. Ram…I love his writing. Great guy. Stunning writer. Has written an incredible run on Detective. But it’s very him. It’s a story only Ram could tell. And I’m going to tell the story only Tom Taylor could tell, hopefully. I just wanted to be incredibly accessible and hopefully, get fans of Batman excited and get people talking.

For your story, we’re talking Batman’s origins, which for a lot of people is off-limits and you’re promising big revelations.

Tom Taylor: I’m not promising BIG revelations. I’m promising this something…I can’t even hint about it (laughs) I am saying we have to go back in time a bit and I can’t say more than that. And Batman’s origin is hallowed ground. That’s sacred territory. So getting to play in that loop a little bit is exciting.

All In is this really big shake up and I’ve talked to so many creators in the last couple of days. But what does All In mean to you?

Tom Taylor: What it means to me is here is the moment where every reader can pick up a DC comic and go “Okay, I can read this from page one.” and just be excited. It’s a great jumping-on point, whether you’re reading the Absolute stuff or whether you’re reading the core titles. This is the time when you can pick up a DC comic in October, and just go and hand it to your friend and say “You can jump on here.”.

I feel like I’m seeing so much more coordination between you all, more so than I’ve seen the previous years. Was there any sort of like discussion about what you wanted the grander idea of Batman to be for DC All In?

Tom Taylor: Not really. Chip and I have chatted a bunch. We’ve got Rob Levin now in there. There is a bit of coordination going about where we want him to sort of start where we want him to be. He’s been a very different place. I don’t know how much how much I’m allowed talk about it. So I’m skating this question quite a lot. But we want him to be in a more recognizable place. A place that fans understand, because he’s been on some massive journeys over the last few years, but we want people to pick it up and go “Oh, this is Bruce Wayne.”.

So when we think about Detective Comics and the presence it has to the company, are you intimidated at all writing your name on this giant pillar?

Tom Taylor: Yeah, absolutely. It’s intimidating, but it’s also an honor. I mean everything’s intimidating. This is the game we play. If I’m writing Superman, it’s like “What?!”. I’m writing Nightwing? “This is ridiculous.”. Like it’s all everything’s intimidating, but it’s also incredibly exciting. Every time you get on a new title, and you go “Oh, I get my name on that?” Like when you got your bucket list, it’s like “Check!”.

Circling back to the Titans, there was this idea that we were going to see them as the leading figures of the DCU. How do you feel they did as the world’s ‘Justice League’?

Tom Taylor: I think, particularly during “Beast World”, because I jumped on this book and then we started talking about how we want it to lead into this event. So in a big way, our book had to serve as the event. And I think especially during “Beast World”, you saw them come together to take on this ridiculous threat that was a threat to the entire universe, and for them to conquer that and to come together. And show why only they could come to that in that moment. So I think they did incredibly well during “Beast World”. I think it’s been a great time for the Titans and I’m really excited about John Layman coming on as a writer and seeing what he’s gonna do next.

Detective Comics #1090 is available on October 23rd from DC Comics.