From: tyg@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Thomas Galloway)
Subject: DC: BATMAN: Editorial plans for '92
Reply-To: tyg@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Thomas Galloway)
Organization: Interleaf, Inc.
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 92 23:09:30 GMT

The following information was obtained from the DC Editorial Presentation
book for '92. It was produced for distributors and dealers, and this should
be kept in mind where I quote some of the hype/marketing direction for some
items. Books are spoiled in various levels of detail, usually just future
guest stars and general plot directions, so the meat is after a ^L

This post deals with the huge number of Batman related projects being done
this year for some reason. There are a few spoilers, but I feel they are
pretty minor.

BATMAN will see Tim Drake's father recovering from his coma and buying the
house next door to stately Wayne Manor. There'll be a four-parter in Batman
488-9 and Detective 655-6 which'll include Robin, Nightwing, and Oracle.

BATMAN/DRACULA: RED RAIN is reprinted in softcover in June.

September sees BATMAN/GREEN ARROW: THE POISON TOMORROW, a one-shot by Denny
O'Neil and Mike Netzer. It's ecologically oriented and has them going against
Poison Ivy.

BATMAN/HOUDINI: THE DEVIL'S WORKSHOP is an Elseworlds by Chaykin and Moore
with art by Mark Chiarello. It's a one-shot prestige format due in the first
quarter of '93. 

BATMAN: THE ART OF NEAL ADAMS is a trade pb due in October which is what
it says it is.

BATMAN: BIRTH OF THE DEMON is a hardcover due out in December. By O'Neil and
Breyfogle, it will tell the origin of Ra's al Ghul and be a painted book.

BATMAN: DARK JOKER-THE WILD is an unscheduled graphic novel by Moench, and
Kelley and Malcolm Jones. It's an Elseworlds set in a sword and sorcery world
where the Joker is an evil magician who kills the good magician Waynes.

BATMAN: GOTHIC reprints the Grant Morrison/Klaus Janson 5 issue arc as a trade
pb in June. 

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT will eventually have an issue by Alan Grant and
Kevin O'Neill titled "Legend of the Dark Mite" featuring Bat-Mite. 
But before that...LOTDK will go biweekly for 6 issues starting with #31.
Mark Kneece and Bo Hampton will do a 2-parter with Batman and the Viking
Prince. Heat is a four-parter by Moench and Russ Heath(!) with Catwoman and a
new Cat-Man. John Moore and Craig Russell will do a 2 parter with Poison Ivy.
Watchtower is set in the near future and has Batman and Gordon going against a
corrupt security firm. It's by Dixon and McMahon and will be a three parter.
Steven Grant and Shawn McManus will do a two-parter with a racist street gang.
Gerard Jones and Mark Badger do a three-parter about jazz, and Brian Talbot
does a 2 parter with Batman in a world where everything he's ever believed is
wrong.

There are a batch more of single issue stories as well, featuring Jamie Delano
and the art team from Shade doing a story in a strange hotel and various
others. But they'll not show up until next year anyway, so I'll wait until
then.

BATMAN: NIGHT CRIES is a graphic novel by Archie Goodwin and Scott Hampton
scheduled for August. It has no costumed villains and has Gordon and Batman
dealing with the killing of parents who abuse their children. Gordon will
relive the abuse he suffered as a child, and will decided to end his first
marriage (the story is set several years in the past). With Goodwin writing,
this could easily be the best Batbook out in the glut.

SHADOW OF THE BAT will be biweekly for the first four issues, which are a four
part story set in Arkham Asylum. Guest stars in the book will include Green
Arrow, Question, Black Canary, Lady Shiva, and others. It's by Grant and
Breyfogle. 

SWORD OF AZRAEL is by O'Neil and Joe Queseda (the Ray) and is a four issue
mini- due in July. Azrael is the enforcer of the Order of St. Dumas a
benevolent organization.

BATMAN: TWO-FACE STRIKES TWICE is by Mike Barr and Joe Staton and Daerick
Gross and is a 2 issue prestige format series for November. Each of the 2
issues will have 2 covers and be released biweekly and the series will have
two artists, one on each issue. 

THE DARK KNIGHT ARCHIVES is set for June, and will reprint BATMAN #1-4.
Foreword by Senator Patrick Leahy

DETECTIVE doesn't have much described, only that the new mayor of Gotham won't
mind having a dark, avenging, vigilante wandering around Gotham (i.e. Batman).

GREATEST BATMAN STORIES V. 2  will include the following: Catwoman's debut
from Batman #1, Penguin's debut from Detective #58, Secret Life Of The
Catwoman (Batman #62, a major story in the life of the Earth-2 Catwoman in
terms of Alan Brennert's story and The Huntress), Partners in Plunder from
Batman #169, The Emperor Penguin from Batman #257, The Malay Penguin from
Detective #473 (Englehart and Rogers), Never Scratch a Cat (Batman #355)
and others.

ROBIN III is a 6 issue series due out in August by the same team as with
Robins I and II. The Huntress will appear as well.

"This must be the Red Sox' year. Statistics of the last 75 years prove that
the Sox always win the World Series one year after a Russian revolution."
  --Dan Shaughnessy
tyg  tyg@hq.ileaf.com

Organization: Sophomore, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA