Beginning with July 26’s Detective Comics #1062, writer Ram V and artist Rafael Albuquerque will become the new creative team heading Batman’s original and longest-running comic.
V and Albuquerque are experienced creators having already spent plenty of time in the world of Batman. V is known for Catwoman, Batman: Urban Legends and Justice League Dark, and Albuquerque illustrated many bat-books, including the main Batman title itself. Eisner award-winning colourist Dave Stewart will be on colouring duties throughout their first story, and artist Ivan Reis will return to Detective Comics with issue #1066.
Meanwhile, writer Si Spurrier (John Constantine, Hellblazer) will be writing the backups for the series. His first backup will be a collaboration with artist Dani (Arkham City: The Order of the World) on a Jim Gordon-focused noir.
The first arc in the new Detective Comics is a four-part story titled Gotham Nocturne. In this tale, Batman will be investigating a mysterious melody that appears to transform its citizens– while dealing with a looming sense of dread he feels within himself.
Ram V spoke a little more about the characters he plans to include in Detective Comics on Twitter, and it seems he plans to use as many Gotham residents as he can.
I get to play with the whole bat-cast in this one ;)
— Ram V (@therightram) April 12, 2022
In a DC press release, Ram V said “When the opportunity first came across my desk, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. For me, the draw of Batman as a character and that of the world around him had always been this blanket of tragedy that lay above it all. So, with that perspective, ‘Gotham Nocturne’ is a quintessentially Batman story, told with the aesthetics of a gothic opera.”
“I cannot wait for readers to experience what we’re creating. It is an ambitious story. One that is hopefully worthy of the title that puts the DC in DC!”
Rafael Albuquerque also spoke about his work on the upcoming comic. “Batman is a legend we all grew up with and most of us spent a lot of time just imagining what we would do if we were in this position. That’s how serious Batman is to me and I have been lucky enough to do a little bit of it over my time as an artist.”
“Ram’s story not only matches my vision of this beloved character but also twists it, elevating it to another level, making me want to be part of this special new take, that I think is going to be as special to the fans as it’s been for me.”
Detective Comics’ latest release was issue #1058, the conclusion of the “Shadows of the Bat” weekly arc. Issue #1059 will release on April 22, and the comic will return to a monthly release schedule with #1062.
