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scans_dailyLet's face it, we all knew a crossover was coming eventually in Rebirth. Now, DC did say there would be breaks to allow the bi-weekly series to stay on schedule. This sounds like this crossover over will be that.
There's an interview with Steve Orlando, who will be the head writer on this project, and with Riley Rossmo, who is drawing two issues and handling designs. Here's a snippet of Orlando's interview so you know what's going on:
Comic Vine: What can you tell us about Night of the Monster Men?
Steve Orlando: It's probably going to be one of the maddest and wildest Batman stories in a long time. People who have read my issues of Batman and Robin Eternal or Midnighter, which is hopefully everybody, know I like a certain brand of high octane, action movie type stories. When Mark [Doyle], Tim [Seeley], Tom [King], and James [Tynion IV] reached out to me about finding something to bring the books together, Monster Men sort of jumped into my head starting with these base images of the Bat-Family fighting something that is just bigger than anything they've ever fought before.
In the case of the Monster Men, I mean literally bigger. How does Batman, a man who has a plan for everything, deal with catastrophic Toho-style attacks on Gotham City? Along with that, I was especially excited to work with the Monster Men from a nerd standpoint because they showed up in Batman #1 1940). They were in one of the three stories, and I think they're a historic group of characters. They haven't really appeared too much since then. There was a great mini-series by Matt Wagner, but in general, they haven't shown up that much for characters that have been with Batman for over six decades.
For Night of the Monster Men, since we relaunched Batman #1, it felt right to get in the ring with them again. This time we're going to do something even wilder and crazier with them than has ever been done before. This will be Monster Men unlike any you've ever seen. It'll be sort of Kaiju horror that touches Gotham City in a way you've never seen before. In light of Rebirth, we have all the fun tech and games in Detective Comics, Nightwing, and the no-holds barred take Tom is doing on Batman, this is cool Batman. New technology—you'll see him do things in Monster Men he's never done before. I couldn't be more excited about that.
What titles will this crossover into? Will there be a self contained intro book and ending?
The cool thing about Monster Men is we'll be pushing all the stories forward. All the threads you're reading in Nightwing, Detective Comics, and Batman—everything Batman is dealing with with Gotham and Gotham Girl (two new heroes) will play directly into Monster Men. You'll see the sort of rift or tension between the different ways Batman and Nightwing do things is central to Monster Men and that comes out in Nightwing. Also, the idea that Batman has trusted Batwoman, and he knows there's something she can do better than he can in the pages of Detective. There's the idea that when something is too big for Bruce Wayne, the Bat-Family is now more than just one guy. That's the idea that kicks off in Detective. To move forward, we need to train the next generation and find a way to do what we do, better.
One of the things I've always found interesting about Batman is the intense bravery and futility in the character. That's not to say that Batman is futile. He's only human. Every time Batman saves someone from a mugging in Gotham City, odds are someone is getting mugged somewhere else. That's the sad and truth about Batman, but it also makes him incredibly inspiring. He never stops. That's also the reason Batman is looking for new ways to be in more places at once. When you have a threat of this scale, when you have the Monster Men coming to Gotham City, there's no better time to put that on display to see if it works or doesn't work.
You can read the rest of the interview here: CLICK ME
Here's part of Riley Rossmo's interview:
You mentioned a couple of inspirations for the monsters? You do sometimes draw really cool and creepy rings, is there anything else that inspired this story?
The biggest thing for me is to make sure all of them read. Their silhouettes are really distinct from each other, but they all have to fit. For me, it's important they all fit in that family. All the monsters were siblings. If Godzilla was there with King Kong and all the giant monsters, you'd see their silhouettes are all very distinct, but they have a similar color palette and some of the texture is similar.
In designing these monsters, I always draw from the natural world and take bits and pieces from it. I think some of the best designs are ones that feel familiar. So if I take an element from a jellyfish or take a bit of a horse and then combine it with a bat, the forms are familiar. It's a new creature, but you can still connect to it on some level. If thins are overly-alien or too inventive, even if they're more original, they might be harder to relate to.
You can read the rest of the interview here: PLEASE CLICK ME
And here's some covers:
Batman #6
Nightwing #5
Detective Comics #941
There's an interview with Steve Orlando, who will be the head writer on this project, and with Riley Rossmo, who is drawing two issues and handling designs. Here's a snippet of Orlando's interview so you know what's going on:
Comic Vine: What can you tell us about Night of the Monster Men?
Steve Orlando: It's probably going to be one of the maddest and wildest Batman stories in a long time. People who have read my issues of Batman and Robin Eternal or Midnighter, which is hopefully everybody, know I like a certain brand of high octane, action movie type stories. When Mark [Doyle], Tim [Seeley], Tom [King], and James [Tynion IV] reached out to me about finding something to bring the books together, Monster Men sort of jumped into my head starting with these base images of the Bat-Family fighting something that is just bigger than anything they've ever fought before.
In the case of the Monster Men, I mean literally bigger. How does Batman, a man who has a plan for everything, deal with catastrophic Toho-style attacks on Gotham City? Along with that, I was especially excited to work with the Monster Men from a nerd standpoint because they showed up in Batman #1 1940). They were in one of the three stories, and I think they're a historic group of characters. They haven't really appeared too much since then. There was a great mini-series by Matt Wagner, but in general, they haven't shown up that much for characters that have been with Batman for over six decades.
For Night of the Monster Men, since we relaunched Batman #1, it felt right to get in the ring with them again. This time we're going to do something even wilder and crazier with them than has ever been done before. This will be Monster Men unlike any you've ever seen. It'll be sort of Kaiju horror that touches Gotham City in a way you've never seen before. In light of Rebirth, we have all the fun tech and games in Detective Comics, Nightwing, and the no-holds barred take Tom is doing on Batman, this is cool Batman. New technology—you'll see him do things in Monster Men he's never done before. I couldn't be more excited about that.
What titles will this crossover into? Will there be a self contained intro book and ending?
The cool thing about Monster Men is we'll be pushing all the stories forward. All the threads you're reading in Nightwing, Detective Comics, and Batman—everything Batman is dealing with with Gotham and Gotham Girl (two new heroes) will play directly into Monster Men. You'll see the sort of rift or tension between the different ways Batman and Nightwing do things is central to Monster Men and that comes out in Nightwing. Also, the idea that Batman has trusted Batwoman, and he knows there's something she can do better than he can in the pages of Detective. There's the idea that when something is too big for Bruce Wayne, the Bat-Family is now more than just one guy. That's the idea that kicks off in Detective. To move forward, we need to train the next generation and find a way to do what we do, better.
One of the things I've always found interesting about Batman is the intense bravery and futility in the character. That's not to say that Batman is futile. He's only human. Every time Batman saves someone from a mugging in Gotham City, odds are someone is getting mugged somewhere else. That's the sad and truth about Batman, but it also makes him incredibly inspiring. He never stops. That's also the reason Batman is looking for new ways to be in more places at once. When you have a threat of this scale, when you have the Monster Men coming to Gotham City, there's no better time to put that on display to see if it works or doesn't work.
You can read the rest of the interview here: CLICK ME
Here's part of Riley Rossmo's interview:
You mentioned a couple of inspirations for the monsters? You do sometimes draw really cool and creepy rings, is there anything else that inspired this story?
The biggest thing for me is to make sure all of them read. Their silhouettes are really distinct from each other, but they all have to fit. For me, it's important they all fit in that family. All the monsters were siblings. If Godzilla was there with King Kong and all the giant monsters, you'd see their silhouettes are all very distinct, but they have a similar color palette and some of the texture is similar.
In designing these monsters, I always draw from the natural world and take bits and pieces from it. I think some of the best designs are ones that feel familiar. So if I take an element from a jellyfish or take a bit of a horse and then combine it with a bat, the forms are familiar. It's a new creature, but you can still connect to it on some level. If thins are overly-alien or too inventive, even if they're more original, they might be harder to relate to.
You can read the rest of the interview here: PLEASE CLICK ME
And here's some covers:
Batman #6
Nightwing #5
Detective Comics #941
no subject
Date: 2016-06-17 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-17 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-17 10:25 pm (UTC)I think the "First Wave" story that involved Batman, the Spirit and Doc Savage also had a version of the Monster Men. They even dropped a hint about "Professor Erskine's formula" IIRC
no subject
Date: 2016-06-17 10:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-17 11:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-18 01:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-18 01:46 am (UTC)It sounds like the new Batman brain trust just "gets" Batman, with the talk about the beautiful inspiration that comes from the tragedy of living that life, to trusting his family, and wanting to build something better together. This is the Bruce Wayne I can relate too.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-18 02:22 am (UTC)But, counterpoint: this is Steve Orlando's first Bat-crossover, and I haven't exposed myself to his work, not to mention his work on something this scaled-up. Color me unsure, but supportive as always.
no subject
Date: 2016-06-18 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-18 03:04 pm (UTC)Hmm, looks interesting. If DC sticks with a Batman who isn't a Bat-dick 24/7, there might be hope for him. Shed the Lone Wolf thing, Bruce. You've got the biggest family in the caped community! :)