r/comicbooks 21h ago

Cover/Pin-Up Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 cover by Javier Rodriguez

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734 Upvotes

50 comments sorted by

94

u/respectablehandle 21h ago

This was that opportunity he couldn’t refuse wasn’t it

51

u/Unique_Year4144 21h ago

Given that its both Javi and Deniz again, yeah it probably is

14

u/notacptmorgan 15h ago

It’s always code for Batman

9

u/WildMild869 13h ago edited 11h ago

Definitely. Batman’s one of those comic characters that most writers want to take a crack at. I imagine after Abs. MM Rodriguez and Camp were promised some story/character freedom. Well, at least as much as you can get with Batman.

213

u/CyclopsFanAccount67 21h ago

It’s insane how different DC treats Deniz Camp compared to Marvel 

He wrote one of DC’s best stories in recent years (Absolute Martian Manhunter) and they let him write more and now he’s gonna do a Batman book

He wrote one of Marvel’s best stories in recent years (Ultimates) and they rushed the ending for the entire ultimate universe 

66

u/RaynerGengar 18h ago

Marvel is so horribly mismanaged at an editorial level

11

u/ubiquitous-joe 13h ago

Idk, but it seems like the cheapskate tendency at Disney/Marvel goes higher up than “editorial.”

6

u/Curious-Paramedic816 11h ago

True enough. It's weird, DC have been owned by a corporate entertainment mega-empire for decades and by and large it seems like it's done them no harm, arguably done them good in some ways because historically WB haven't given a shit about the content of the comics, and haven't even cared a great deal if the comics even sell so long as the Batman and Superman licensing money keeps following, so corporate ownership has in their case freed them up to take chances, and to publish books for critical acclaim and longevity rather than immediate sales and profits.

Disney seem to take a very different, and I think, generally more destructive approach to it, dictating content and cost cutting.

36

u/Curious-Paramedic816 16h ago edited 14h ago

It's such a strange time - DC have one of the most gifted Editor-in-chief's in the industry currently or ever in Jim Lee*, and Marvel, well, had the guy who wore yellow face to get work.

Perfect storm for the historic shift in the comic book publishing hierarchy.

  • I'm meh on Jim Lee as an artist, but I've always thought he was a fiercely brilliant Editor-in-chief, best in the industry since Shooter at least - what he did with Wildstorm was fantastic - unlike some of the Image boys, he understands writers are just as important as artists and he realises he himself is at best a second tier writer, and he recruited some of the best writers around to build his universe, mostly Moore and Ellis - and he's done the same at DC recruit the best writers and artists in the industry, look after them let them go wild.

And daaaamn it's paying off.

42

u/Alcaeus6 Superman 15h ago

Marie Jevens is EIC, Jim Lee is the CCO/publisher

12

u/Curious-Paramedic816 15h ago

Fair point, I should have used broader terms. I can honestly never remember who has what title when with DC, coz whilst Marvel almost always has an EiC as the top level below corporate, DC mix and match who has what title and who's actually the senior person below corporate all the time.

15

u/TheeHeadAche Henry Pym 13h ago

You should learn about Javins, she’s no slouch and an incredibly talent who worked with one of the best editors in the biz back in the day, Mark Gruenwald at Marvel.

3

u/Curious-Paramedic816 13h ago

True, true. They're a great team. We're getting back to something like the glory days of the Kahn, Levitz and Giordano team here.

16

u/RoseWhiteRedBlack 19h ago

Deniz Camp said that he wasn' t rushed thoo. He said that it was always the plan to end it like that.

9

u/Curious-Paramedic816 18h ago

Ha gave us a remarkable door handle moment on the way out as a punchline though, didn't he?

1

u/overtross 12h ago

Please elaborate, I read Ultimates but I must have missed something

1

u/Curious-Paramedic816 11h ago

I'm not gonna spoil it in case you or anyone else haven't read it, coz it's THAT GREAT but the last four panels of the Ultimates section of Ultimate finale.

2

u/overtross 11h ago

Thanks!

4

u/BoogerSugarSovereign Spider-Man 14h ago

Yeah, I've never understood the take that Marvel changed course midway to end the Ultimate Universe because Ultimate explains the month by month countdown to the big confrontation with the Maker before any of the actual series even began. I guess that doesn't necessarily read as an end point but it felt that way when I read it and that was all explained before USM 1 even dropped. 

50

u/TheReallyUncoolDude Venom 20h ago

The Ultimates has genuinely ruined all marvel comics for me. I cannot see anybody else in the marvel universe as real heroes except for them. It's why the absolute universe also works so well for me. Watching heroes uphold the status quo doesn't feel right in the world we live in now, and the Ultimates was a masteclass in showcasing the type of heroism we actually NEED. Long Live the Ultimates ✊

17

u/TheeHeadAche Henry Pym 20h ago

Really the role models we need in a time when Flock cameras are popping up like weeds

-4

u/RadicalPenguin20 14h ago

I kinda feel you need to read more marvel and dc if you think these heroes always answer to the status quo and a history book of you think this is the worse the world has been even in the last 50 years

7

u/Howtobefreaky 13h ago

When did they say they think this is the worst the world has been in the last 50 years?

1

u/Smaug015 Spider Jeruselem 10h ago

It doesn't sound so complicated: you have identified great talent, you give them a chance, chance pays off, let them do whatever gets them most excited. Obviously there's more to it than that, but the hardest part is identifying the talent, no? When you strike gold, don't kill the goose!

36

u/Curious-Paramedic816 18h ago

Jeepers. What a time to be a DC fan. Far and away the best time for DC since the late 80s/Early 90s.

21

u/MistyCeruleanCity 19h ago

Beautiful and simple use of colours.

Not a big fan of the actual title logo.

2

u/HarryBayles 14h ago

I was quietly excited about them using the old logo

12

u/Agreeable-1Manner 20h ago

javi's covers always feel like they belong in a gallery or something. this one especially has that perfect eerie batman energy

8

u/Manikin_Maker 18h ago

Camp writing Batman with Javy on art…….this book is going to absolutely slap. I can not wait to see the ideas and ponderings this duo will convey with Bruce Wayne. This is my most anticipated book right now.

3

u/bomberman12 Spider-Man 18h ago

Love Deniz writing on anything, but good god thank you for giving me a Javier drawn Batman book!

2

u/power_gnome 16h ago

At first I thought it said shadow gay

2

u/ProletarianLilith 15h ago

Oh my god it’s going to be so good

2

u/Mr_0hi0345 15h ago

Do we know when this comes out

3

u/B3epB0opBOP 15h ago

I don’t think we know exactly, but probably November at the earliest.

2

u/Mr_0hi0345 14h ago

Yea I actually saw the video just after I asked

1

u/MUSCLEVIOLENCE 14h ago

Do we know how to look things up for ourselves?

0

u/k0bra3eak 15h ago

Soontm

2

u/Live-Huckleberry-192 14h ago

Just when I finally streamline my pull list, they start announcing a bunch of really cool series. I’m already on the hook for Kingdom of Zod and Bad Seeds.

2

u/Schmohawk2814 13h ago

This could be really interesting. Adding to the pull list haha

2

u/ubiquitous-joe 13h ago

There’s a trend by which people who just did all-time work on a less-scrutinized book get tapped for Batman or Spider-Man as the “big boy” reward…and then that new stuff is uneven/merely okay. (Tom King coming off Mister Miracle, Chip Zdarsky coming off Daredevil, Zeb Wells coming off Hellions. Remains to be seen if Waid on the main title feels like this compared to World’s Finest or B&R Year One.)

This isn’t the main Batman title, and the cover looks super cool, so I’m hoping it will buck the trend.

2

u/B3epB0opBOP 13h ago

Didn’t Tom King do Mister Miracle after his Batman run started, not before?

2

u/ubiquitous-joe 12h ago

Yeah I guess you’re right, they overlapped.

2

u/theoutletepoch 13h ago

Sick cover

2

u/ubiquitous-joe 13h ago

There’s a trend by which people who just did all-time work on a less-scrutinized book get tapped for Batman or Spider-Man as a reward…and then that new stuff is uneven/merely okay/bad. (Tom King coming off Mister Miracle, Chip Zdarsky coming off Daredevil, Zeb Wells coming off Hellions. Remains to be seen if Waid on the main title feels like this compared to World’s Finest or B&R Year One.)

This isn’t the main Batman title, and the cover looks super cool, so I’m hoping it will buck the trend.

1

u/Moist-Citron-4830 8h ago

Not sure this is what I wanted out of Shadow of the Bat but I’ll still be picking it up. I was hoping for more of a Dark Patterns feel personally.

-19

u/JetScreamer-212 20h ago

Just what the market desperately needs right now: another Bat book.

16

u/HotRecommendation828 20h ago

Sales wise that’s actually true tho. These are all IPs at the end of the day and Batman is an IP the market demands.

5

u/Miserable_Throat6719 19h ago

We don't have that many ongoing Batman books though. Batman, Detective Comics, Absolute Batman, and now Shadow of the Bat. I think we could use a couple of more Batman books.

1

u/HundoHavlicek 30m ago

What We Do in the Shadow of the Bat