Per an interview at ComicBook.com, writer Chip Zdarsky will be taking over the main “Batman” series with artist Jorge Jiménez, and colorist Tomeu Morey in July. The creative team’s run will begin in the oversized “Batman” #125 with the six-issue arc ‘Failsafe,’ which sees Bruce Wayne suffering from nightmares about the future, while “a startling enemy from Batman’s past [emerges with] one relentless goal: to end Batman, no matter what it takes.”
Zdarsky told the site, “When DC approached me to write Batman, I immediately thought about things that could really challenge the character mentally, physically, and in terms of his relationships. ‘Failsafe’ is his Doomsday. When I started mapping out the story I got really excited about where it could take the title.” Commenting on Tim Drake’s presence on the cover for issue #125, he said, “I wanted to really highlight the ‘Batman & Robin’ aspect of the characters while still maintaining the darker feel we’re going for. Tim Drake is a favorite of mine and being able to highlight him here has been a lot of fun.”
Zdarsky takes over the series from Joshua Williamson, who will be taking Bruce Wayne through the crossover ‘Shadow War‘ (starting next month) and this summer’s ‘Death of the Justice League/Dark Crisis.’ Jiménez previously worked on the title during James Tynion IV’s run. “He’s a superstar!” Zdarsky said about Jiménez. “Not just as an artist, but as a person! He’s really delightful and excited about the character and the direction we’re going in, which is great. We talked about going darker with the book and he’s been all aboard, with some really stunning pages that showcase the tone. I honestly can’t say enough good things about Jorge. He creates beauty at an amazing speed. I’m angry that he’s also so handsome as it’s just not fair.”
On Substack, Zdarsky added he will continue to write Marvel’s “Daredevil” (which is relaunching in June), explaining, “[artist] Marco [Checchetto] and I are in a pretty grand home stretch [on that book] right now. But, hey, maybe Marvel will fire me? Maybe they know that a writer doing both ‘Daredevil’ and ‘Batman’ at the same time could open up a ‘gritty-ninjaesque-white-dude-with-stubble-and-tragedy-on-a-gargoyle-in-the-rain’ wormhole in the space-time continuum and destroy all of reality? We’ll see!”
“Batman” #125 will be released on Tuesday, July 5, with variant covers by InHyuk Lee and Simone Di Meo, which you can see with additional interior art at ComicBook.com.
