Today sees the release of “Future State: Nightwing” #1, the start of a two-issue series by Andrew Constant (“The Demon: Hell is Earth,” “Swamp Thing: New Roots”) and Nicola Scott (“Wonder Woman,” “Black Magick”). Dick Grayson is in Gotham, fighting the magistrate, despite his mentor, partner, and friend Bruce Wayne being ‘dead.’ The issue shows Dick with a more hardened attitude, but still acting as the conscience and connection of many in the DC Universe. We spoke to Constant and Scott about the issue, Dick’s status quo, and what other stories are to be told in this setting.
Written by Andrew ConstantCover by Yasmine Putri
Illustrated by Nicola Scott
Colored by Ivan Placensia
Lettered by Wes AbbotBatman is gone! Now, Nightwing has taken on the mission of keeping the citizens of Gotham City safe from the Magistrate. But to do that, he’ll have stay one step ahead of the Magistrate! And you know things have gotten bad in Gotham when the safest place for Dick to hide out is the abandoned Arkham Asylum! When Nightwing gets a visit from a mask claiming to be the new Batman…does he fight like one? Pick up this dark peek into the future by writer Andrew Constant and artist Nicola Scott to find out!
Andrew, in this first issue, a character refers to Nightwing as being ‘grimdarker’ than he used to be. Dick is one of the most positive characters in the DC Universe, was it difficult to add a little bit of grime and grimace to his character?
Andrew Constant: Not at all. ‘Future State Gotham’ is a brutal place, especially for heroes. Couple this with some deeply personal losses, and we see a Dick that really has been changed by the arduous emotional gauntlet that he’s been forced to run. He’s still very much a good guy, a true hero, but that meaner, darker persona we see him “wear” as Nightwing sometimes? He’s not wearing it anymore. It’s under his skin.
Nicola, the costume Dick wears here is a nice mixture of a few different looks, from his 90s “Knightfall” era textures to his ‘Rebirth’-era design. What were you going for, in terms of Dick’s look for this series?
Nicola Scott: I had this idea that, while tech is available to create new gadgets and hardware, Dick wouldn’t necessarily have the same access to the full Bat-fabrication of yore so some of his elements might have to be scavenged from previous uniforms and accessories, old utility belts, pouches and armour plating. That’s not directly part of the story so I wanted to imply that idea by being reminiscent of previous designs. And then adding bulk. This is real warfare so armour was a necessity and I used the grid-iron silhouette as a starting point.
This story is set in a ‘possible’ future, but it is one that is shared with the other books in ‘Future State.’ How much coordination, both from a scripting and a visuals perspective, was there between this team and the editors/creators behind the other Gotham-set ‘Future State’ titles?
AC: I actually wouldn’t know. From my point of view, it was all damn smooth and easy. Thanks to the great editorial team I was working with – Jessica Chen, Ben Abernathy and Ben Meares – I had a clear understanding of what it was they were trying to achieve, and a clear framework to do it within.
My only concern was making sure I wrote an exciting Nightwing story for Nicola Scott to draw. That’s a tough enough challenge without any other distractions.
NS: There were a number of covers in place, a few Gotham related character designs and a handful of interiors done when I started and I used them as a guide for my designs and cityscapes. Our editors kept as much reference material coming as they had.
Gotham has such a unique visual lane at DC, but this timeline messes with that somewhat. Nicola, what were the joys/challenges of this ‘new’ Gotham?
NS: Our editor, Jess Chen, had to keep reminding me to “future” up the backgrounds and such in the beginning. We aren’t out and about in the city too much in our story.
Andrew, you got to write a sequence between Dick and the Tim Fox, the ‘Next’ Batman. What were the important elements that you had to include to let the reader know, in terms of how he acts and what he says, that this isn’t Bruce Wayne under the cowl?
AC: I think, comparatively, Tim Fox might be a little bit more talky, a little bit looser, with a word than what Bruce would be, but Bruce is a “why use a word when a look or a grunt would do” kind of guy. No one can be Bruce, and really, would you want to? Baggage for YEARS.
But Tim IS Batman, with the gravitas, presence, drive and skill equal to anyone who has worn that pointy cowl. Read the story and you’ll see.
Finally, if you had more time to play around in the time of this story, what sort of stuff would be most fun to have Dick do? What would be your dream ‘Future State’ Nightwing story?
NS: Dick is such an interesting character, having been part of the Gotham vigilante scene for almost as long as Batman but with much less of the burden. Now, with Bruce gone, he’s bearing the full weight of the hero community. He’s always been up to the challenge, he’s a natural leader, but seeing him graduate to full responsibility is a perfect place for him. He has a real agenda in our story so getting the chance for him to see it through would be fantastic.
AC: There is SO much I’d want to do, it’s such a great sandbox – A darker nightwing, in a cool Cyberpunk-esque future, leading the resistance against a huge domestic army, while also still trying to keep the twisted, monstrous, gothic bad guys of Gotham in check? The stories are pretty endless, actually. I already have quite a few stewing, that include characters such as Killer Croc and Penguin and—
–Look, lets’s just say that I’d LOVE to do more, and if I do, I’m going to write the sort of tales that’d make Nightwing fans cartwheel with joy.
This is the most Nightwing appropriate response I can imagine.
