SM: I wrote an essay in Issue #2 about Jason Todd being the first Robin, and it explains how it was sort of an accident, so rather than correcting it, I thought “why don’t we keep going with this, and see what happens!” Sometimes I wish I could go back and fix it, other times I’m actually glad for the challenge. Jason being the angry Robin works well as the first Robin, but I know a lot of readers will be grumpy at me for messing up the order of the Robins…haha.
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SM: I love all the episodes you mentioned! I really like the “Meltdown” episode as well. Fries is one of my favorite characters, and I thought it was a really great sendoff for the character—and I LOVE that they brought back his red goggles!
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SM: Thanks for the question! The Bruce/Tim universe meant the most to me, but I love throwing in easter eggs from the movies as well. I think reading Frank Miller gave me the courage to make the book more political as well. There’s so much great Batman over the years, that it’s hard to pick just one!
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SM: I don’t do as much concept art as people expect—I often design on the page. I bet DC gets annoyed that I can’t always provide more back matter LOL…but for future editions, I’ll try to include more goodies!
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SM: I think Terry is a great candidate to take over the mantle, but in my universe, you could argue that Richard Greyson or Jason Todd would also be appropriate. In my universe, characters haven’t aged out quite as much, so there’s potential for a few different Batmen at this point. I imagine it would be offered to Jason because he was the first Robin—but he might turn it down, because he doesn’t think he’s appropriate for it. So maybe Jason, or even Duke!
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SM: I used to live in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, which was an 80%-90% black community, and I thought about Duke, and if he was living where I live, what would he do? As an ex-cop, he has a love/hate relationship with the police. As an ex-soldier, he has a love/hate relationship with guns. I thought Duke was a great way to convey how things aren’t always black and white in unrepresented communities. I agree with your pointing out that sometimes characters lean in and out of stereotypes, and we should be careful about writing these characters. If I did a spinoff with Duke Thomas, I’d do more research about how to best represent a character like him, and maybe not lean into stereotypes too much. Thanks for your question–it was very thoughtful!
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Hey, thanks for having me!
Do u believe Batman needs Joker & Vice Versa? Or do u think that’s just an easy excuse for them both to use?
SM: This question is one of the major themes in Beyond the White Knight. Joker insists that Batman needs him, but Batman rejects the idea completely. But as they work together through the plot, Bruce and Jack find that they do have common goals, and learn to respect each other a little more.
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SM: Yes! I want to do a cover with Red Hood and Nightwing back to back in a Double Dragon Nintendo-esque pose.
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SM: I prefer small teams. If I was just writing, I could probably handle larger groups, but as an artist, it does take me longer to get my work done—which limits my ability to work with larger teams.
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Oh yeah Meltdown’s great, one of the best season 1 episodes. Thank you for the answer to the question!
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Seems like I missed it
Very awesome™
stuff. Definitely a lot of cool possibilities. Have to catch up on this world. Thanks for answering.
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Thanks for hanging out and answering our questions.
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i am guessing your talking about this:
0_0 i can see this in my mind and it demands a variant of them as robins and them in their batsuits. I also picture a variant of them half as robin half as their current persona’s in the same pose,
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Thank you so much for answering my question!
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Ty for responding!!! I apologize I’ve been ill. If u ever see this? You’re work is phenomenal & I appreciate u spending time with us!! I’m deflated that I couldn’t join live…Ty @Jitsu @Alec.Holland , @staticshocks , etc. all mods for hosting this & making it happen!!!
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