We had a chance to talk “I Am Suicide” and Batman #12 with writer Tom King.
Tom King has spent the last 3 years rushing to comics superstardom.
UnlikeOmega Men,Visionsold quite well.
Ive been banging theOmega Mendrum to everyone wholl listen.
Tom King:Thank you so much, man.
Nobody read that book, so anyone banging that drum is…
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Oh my God.
Im giving it away for Christmas presents this year.
Is that accurate, and how did it work out that way?
I wish it was accurate.
(laughs) No, oh my God, I had a ton of fun writingVisionandOmega Men.
I have a ton of fun writingBatman, too, but I wouldnt putBatmanabove those books.
Not that its more fun, but maybe being more playful withBatman.
I mean, I appreciate that.
:laughs: And it was thatBatmanannual.
So in that sense Im being more playful.
I Am Gothamkindof had a happy ending.
Well, ONE person survived.
But I love humor stuff.
And I love being able to stretch that out and do some jokes.
I get really happy and proud of those little moments that make me smile.
Sorry, Im going off.
No, thats alright!
One of the biggest smiles for me was Punch and Jewlee showing up in the first issue.
I know youre a huge fan of Ostrander/Yale and theirSuicide Squadrun.
Did that slant your selection process, or was the team selection for Batmans Suicide Squad strictly utilitarian?
That really affected my process.
Thats the Suicide Squad I picture when I close my eyes.
Im like Yeah, but Jewlee preceded Harley by 20 years.
So that sort of appealed to me.
That was the best part about their Suicide Squad!
Theyd use these little crappy heroes and youd think Oh theyre going to serve a great purpose.
And then theyd get killed before they could do their great purpose.
I always loved that.
So even in the mechanics of how the story is operating, its a tribute too.
Yes, of course.
So it should be the Ostrander/Yale run.
Is Selina functioning in that role here?
Yes, in the I Am Suicide arc.
If you knowOmega Men, I love cyclicals or reflections.
So I built one here so we could have these two inner monologues as a conversation.
Then you have the climax.
So you have sort of a mirrored structure.
Are there parallels in Bruce and Selinas relationship with Bruce and Gotham Girls relationship?
Or am I reaching?
And she sees the same thing in him.
When they look at each other, they see their true souls.
Thats what soul mates do, right?
You see your faults and love each other still.
Catwoman he sees who Catwoman is and that means more to him because he sees someone thats real.
Does his emotional openness, his trying a new thing mean hes more vulnerable to a betrayal like this?
And my Batman, he never says more than four words.
Youre very rarely in his head.
To think that Im doing a more emotionally open Batman, I kind of like that.
Yes, I do think that makes him vulnerable.
And I think thats what the letter in this issue is about.
Its about him opening himself to this vulnerability.
I think Bruce is a man who has, hes very goal oriented, right?
So when he shares his story, hes doing it to save someone.
Thats always him, he cant get away from that.
Thats not who you are.
I just dont believe you.
I dont believe you because youre like me.
So Im just not going to accept that.
And that decision will drive the rest of the series forward.
You mentioned in a different interview that you view Bane as another mirror reflection of Batman himself.
How does Banes existence as a dark mirror interact with Bruce and Catwomans relationship in your mind?
(laughs) The unifying theme around them is that they were both exposed to childhood tragedies.
They were all orphaned as young people.
And they all had to sort of rebuild themselves and become different people than the broken children they were.
And how that rebuild happened shaped who they are.
With Batman, the rebuild happened through Alfred and through love.
And thats what the annual is about, right?
Its about the whole, Alfred raising the dog is a parallel of how Alfred did it with Bruce.
Catwoman had to do it by herself, she had to do it on her own.
So she wasnt like Bruce, she didnt have an Alfred.
She never could reconnect the way Bruce did, so shes a little disconnected from the world.
Its why she doesnt see laws as laws.
She sort of sees through all the bullshit that the rest of us have to live with.
And Bane did it through anger, just getting as angry as he could.
And thats why hes just a little evil and withdrawn into himself.
Thats why this whole thing starts with him.
And Batman is like you cant be alone because youve done something bad.
I see the three of them sort of rotating around each other.
Like the good, the bad and the ugly.
Selinas not the ugly.
Probably Bruce in that case.
(laughs) Probably.
I think around issue 20.
Yeah, that builds up and builds into that central spine of the DCU.
Last question: Kite Man?
(laughs)Hell yeah!Kite Man is my tribute…Im doing a lot of tributes.
Hes my tribute to Stilt Man from Frank Millers Daredevil.
I dont know if you read that run, but thats what Frank did with Stilt Man.
Sort of used this like, background character.
Although I actually have plans for Kite Man.
I have something to sort of give him an emotional journey.
Ill see what I can do, man.
Batman#12 is out on Wednesday, December 7th.
