Scott Snyder talks Batman and Swamp Thing relaunches

DC The Source spoke to Scott Snyder about his writing duties on Batman and Swamp Thing, both starting in September with DC's relaunch.

THE SOURCE: What about DC’s new 52 titles excites you the most?

SCOTT SNYDER: So many! Grant’s ACTION, definitely. Geoff and Jim’s JUSTICE LEAGUE, J.T. Krul’s CAPTAIN ATOM, and definitely Kyle Higgins’ NIGHTWING (he’s doing a great job on that, I can promise you). Deep down, though, I’m probably most excited for the “Dark” titles. I’ve read Jeff’s ANIMAL MAN and FRANKENSTEIN scripts and I can say that those are going to be mind-blowingly terrific series. Paul Cornell’s DEMON KNIGHTS. Pete Milligan’s JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. Josh Fialkov’s IVAMPIRE (I do have a soft spot for the undead, after all). In the end, I’m just excited for the whole new shared world of the DCU – to get to open the books and know this is one big communal world, with all these exciting things happening around the corner from each other.

How and why are you shaking up the series’ status quo?

On SWAMP THING, it’s a big shake-up, in that Alec Holland, the main character, is human again. He’s been given his life back and now all he wants to do is escape the mantle of the Swamp Thing. But the Green won’t let him, because this threat has risen, something ancient and deeply tied to the mythology established by Moore. The series will honor everything that came before, though – I want people to understand this. With SWAMP THING (and BATMAN) none of us are interested in wiping away what was there before. These character ion particular have extremely rich histories, rich stories behind them, and what came before will stand in this series. It’s truly an expansion of the ideas and mythology established in previous runs. I really couldn’t be more excited about this series. When you think about it, Alec himself has only appeared in about what, ten pages of comics? With all the Swamp Thing stories, Alec himself is still a big mystery to us. Who was he before the accident that turned him into Swamp Thing? Is there more to his history? Is there something between him and other stories and mythologies in the DCU? Something about him and the Arcanes? Some reason he was chosen?

In BATMAN, it’s a shakeup by having Bruce front and center, back in Gotham, re-investing in the city. But again, much of what you’ve loved about Batman recently –the immediate bat-family – the stories that just happened in BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS and BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN INC – those are still in play. This is the Bruce you know and love, reinvigorated to be back in his home city, with new tech, new energy, and a deadly new villain. A villain written into the very architecture of Gotham (look closely for clues).

What new characters will debut in the series?

SWAMP THING and BATMAN will both debut new villains with ties to the mythology. Meaning, I wanted to create new villains for the heroes of both books, but I wanted them to have deep bonds with ideas and history set up by previous writers. Villains that matter and mean something and bring with them both twisted and huge revelations about the heroes’ respective pasts and presents.

Will we see new character designs?

Yep.

What’s the first line of dialogue in the first issue?

BATMAN: “It’s good to be home.” – Batman

SWAMP THING: “We need to talk.” – Superman to Dr. Holland

What’s the biggest surprise you’ve had working on this character/book?

How full a world you end up making for yourself with both. Swampy and Batman have always been books that people have injected strong ideas into – from Moore to Miller to Morrison… And when you start in on them, it’s like to write them, you have to imagine the entire world of the book in its entirety. It has to be your Gotham. You have to know it and live in it. It’s odd how quickly and easily it envelops you. Same with SWAMP THING. It’s a very personal take on the character of Alec. The whole world of the book is something close to my (black, twisted) heart.

What secret has been the hardest to keep?

That I’m getting to write these! These are literally my two favorite characters in the DCU – really in all of comics. I’m doing my dream job right now. Couldn’t feel luckier. Thanks again to everyone reading for getting me here. Promise to work round the clock to deliver something special and not let you down.

What’s the unofficial tagline for this series, in your own words?

I guess both have almost the same one for me:

There’s more – much more – to your own story than you could possibly know.

What were your thoughts about the day-and-date digital announcement?

I’m old fashioned – I’m still figuring out what that entails.

Source: DCU Blog

Stranger DC titles announced UPDATED!

 Things are taking a stranger turn in the mysterious side of the DCU...

DC Comics continues to roll out announcements of new first-issues featuring famous characters and creators in striking combinations. This morning we start off with two highly intriguing combos: Scott Snyder, who’s been doing such strong work on American Vampire, will write a new version of Swamp Thing, and Jeff Lemire, author of one of comics’ finest current books, Sweet Tooth, is taking on Animal Man.

Since re-workings of Swamp Thing and Animal Man are so closely associated with other, earlier writers (Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, respectively), these re-re-imaginings are bound to be both fascinating and, perhaps inevitably, subjects of debate.

Other new supernatural/fantasy/horror-themed books that will be announced by DC Comics today and scheduled to publish in September include:

• Justice League Dark, what DC terms “a band of supernatural heroes” — John Constantine, Deadman, Shade the Changing Man and Madame Xanadu (wouldn’t it be cool if they really were supposed to be a band?) – written by Peter Milligan.

• Demon Knights, super-heroism set in medieval times, a premise that would have me yawning except that it’s being written by Paul Cornell, who did such a terrific job recently on Knight and Squire, and on Lex Luthor in Action Comics.

• Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, which may be the most below-the-radar promising of all. The writer is again Jeff Lemire, taking the Frankenstein monster and turning him/it into an action hero alongside other fictional monsters in the service of a government organization: The Super Human Advanced Defense Executive. This giddy mish-mash has the potential for either delicious cleverness or disastrous offal. Either way, I’m in for issue #1.

DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio told me these new titles are intended to “shake up the status quo” and to take the company and its creators “out of their comfort zone,” to inspire “new, fresh” creativity.

Source: Shelf-Life

And more from the DC Comics Blog:

A cult favorite character returns in a new series written by his classic creative team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Joining them is JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST artist Fernando Dagnino. RESURRECTION MAN #1 is the story of a hero who wakes up with new powers each time he’s killed.

Vampires threaten to bring ruin to the DC Universe in I, VAMPIRE #1 by rising star Josh Fialkov and artist Andrea Sorrentino. Tortured by his centuries-old love for the Queen of the Damnned, Andrew Bennett must save humanity from the violent uprising of his fellow vampires, even if it means exterminating his own kind.

Priscilla Kitaen has just found out she’s a monster. A half-alien hybrid, the woman known as Voodoo must confront the secrets of her past to make sense of the nightmare her life has suddenly become. VOODOO #1 will be written by Ron Marz with art by Sami Basri.

More new DC #1s for September?

Okay, GothamIncorporatedPodcast are reporting that they've gotten these cover images from DC The Source. I can't see them on the DC site myself, so they may have gone up as a mistake or have been placed in a scheduled post that they have unearthed. I don't know. What I do know is that they certainly LOOK authentic. No news on the creative teams for these books, just the cover art (and for some that means that you can work out the cover artist).
Without further tarrying, enjoy the covers for Catwoman #1, Swanp Thing #1, Batwoman #1, Detective Comics #1 and Nightwing #1:

Note: just to add some credence to proceedings, this slither came from Tony Daniel's blog last week.

This comes after the possible reveal of Batman #1 on Saturday from ComicArtCommunity.