Screenwriter Mattson Tomlin, who co-wrote the upcoming movie The Batman, will be creating a new DC Black Label series with artist Andrea Sorrentino (“Gideon Falls,” “Joker: Killer Smile”), titled “Batman: The Imposter.” The three-issue miniseries looks at Bruce Wayne early into his second year as Batman in a more visercal, realistic Gotham City, where another Batman has taken the city by storm with his form of lethal vigilantism. The duo will be collaborating with colorist Jordie Bellaire (“Batman,” “Headlopper”).
Mattson Tomlin made his screenwriting debut with the 2018 script for the Netflix film Project Power, which brought him widespread attention, and allowed him to co-write Matt Reeves’s The Batman, alongside Reeves and Peter Craig. That feature film bears an immediate resemblance to Tomlin’s project here, with a younger Batman more immersed in institutional corruption and personal dogma. Tomlin is also currently working on screen adaptations of Rick Remender, Tony Moore and Jerome Opena’s “Fear Agent,” as well as James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan’s “Memetic.” This, however, will be his comic writing debut.
“As a lifelong Batman fan, putting my spin on Gotham City has been a dream come true,” said Tomlin. “Taking the question of ‘What if Batman was real?’ as far as narratively possible conjured incredible potential that hasn’t recently been explored in the comics. ‘Batman: The Imposter’ treats Bruce Wayne and the people around him as tragically flawed and vividly real, with the obstacles Batman faces coming from a reality that closely mirrors our own.”
“I’ve worked on Batman as a supporting character in a couple of books, but this was the very first time I had the chance to work on a ‘Batman’ title, and it was amazing,” said Sorrentino. “I’ve been a huge fan of Batman ever since I was a kid and saw Tim Burton’s Batman movie in 1989, so having the chance to work with Mattson and Jordie on this take on the Caped Crusader was like an early Christmas present!”
Andrea Sorrentino first worked with DC for 2011’s “I, Vampire.” His work on “Green Arrow” in 2013, however, became a touchstone for his style, leading to a continuous eight-year streak of collaborations with writer Jeff Lemire. Lemire and Sorrentino’s “Primordial” will be publishing concurrently with “Batman: The Imposter.” Sorrentino previously worked on “Joker: Killer Smile” with Lemire during their tenure on “Gideon Falls,” culminating in another Batman one-shot, “Batman: The Smile Killer.” That makes “The Imposter” Sorrentino’s second title centered on the Caped Crusader, as well as the second time he has balanced a Black Label miniseries with a creator-owned project.
“Having been a fan of his for years, working with Andrea Sorrentino is an absolute gift,” said Tomlin. “His vividly graphic art and truly genius layouts brought this story to new heights, and Jordie Bellaire’s astounding color work has truly spoiled me for my first outing with DC.”
“Batman: The Imposter” #1 (of 3) releases October 12 with a cover by Andrea Sorrentino, with variants by Lee Bermejo and Kaare Andrews. The presige miniseries will be collected into a hardcover edition on February 22, 2022, shortly before The Batman‘s theatrical release on March 4, 2022. For an unlettered, four-page preview, click here.
