|
|
| Tom King | |
For Tom King, author of Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham, a key aspect of this new Rebirth tale is that "it goes back to basic Batman," which includes "Batman with James Gordon on the roof, the Bat Cave" and other well-known, original aspects of the Batman story. "It can appeal to anyone," King says. "It can appeal to a 10 year old or to a 50-year-old guy who's a fan of the old TV show."
With that connection to basic Batman established, Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham brings out deeper themes that King describes as "what makes Batman a hero and what makes him a hero at the moment." In particular, as a hero without powers, "how does he function in a world with Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman" and others?
To address this theme, Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham introduces two superheroes called Gotham and Gotham Girl who say that while Batman can save Gotham City from the Riddler and the Joker, for example, because of their powers, Gotham and Gotham Girl can save Gotham City in ways Batman can't, such as from a crashing asteroid or a plane falling from the sky, à la September 11. This is a challenge for Batman, who is suspicious of the new heroes, especially when they may be manipulated to work against him--and he wonders what he can do for Gotham City when others can do more.
King has an unusual background for a comic writer: after September 11, he joined the CIA, where he worked for seven years in counterterrorism both overseas and domestically. That experience, he says, "influences Batman thematically on every page." He explains it this way: "A CIA officer gets as close to the enemy without becoming them; they use every technique without being compromised. Similarly Batman has to embrace the insanity of villains without crossing the line. The only way to overcome darkness is to embrace darkness. But how do you find the light again?"
When he ended his CIA career, King turned to writing, which he did at night while taking care of his kids during the day. "I was being Mr. Mom," he says with a laugh. The result was the novel A Once Crowded Sky, in which superheroes have all lost their powers. "I'm very proud of that book," King says, and notes that he learned to write because of it. "I read all the books on writing," including those by Stephen King and John Gardner. That has made his current writing all the better: "I bring all the tools of the novelist to comics," he says, adding, "I wrote a novel to become comic book writer."
After A Once Crowded Sky, his work has included the Sheriff of Babylon series--based on his experiences in Iraq, each issue of which has had to be approved by the CIA--and Omega Men and Vision. He notes that Omega Men and Vision didn't do as well as comics as they did later in graphic novel form, a success he attributes to booksellers and librarians, who "paid respect to the graphic novels." (King adds a deeply appreciative "thank you" to all booksellers and librarians!)
Now King is focusing on Batman: I Am Gotham. He praised the artwork by David Finch, "one of the classic Batman artists, one of the most popular in the history of comics. He's known for putting in more lines than anyone else." The result is "gorgeous art and a Gotham you've never seen. It's like looking into a 3-D picture. You get sucked into it."
Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham collects in one paperback edition the first seven comics of Batman: I Am Gotham, which appear every other week, and includes the first three months of the series. It's the first part of a trilogy. Each of those parts will be self-contained, King notes, but one can read "the full epic story over a year."