Newsarama.com is back with Dan Didio after NYCC '09. This time straight in with Batman questions and this bizarre focus on Batwoman's sexuality...

1. To kick things off Dan, one of the big announcements coming from DC was the new Batman-related titles that are coming in June. Can you go into any more detail about them than you did at the con, more particularly about the characters that will be appearing in them, their tone, and what niches they’ll fill?

Dan DiDio: Sure- how about we talk about some of the characters? What you’re going to see in Gotham City Sirens is Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, and some other guest stars along the way, but those will be the three leads in that book, and it picks up directly from the ‘Faces of Evil’ conversation with Hush.

In Streets of Gotham, you’re going to get a chance to see the supporting cast of Batman’s world, meaning that you’re going to see Batgirl and Huntress and also the new DA of Gotham City, Miss Kate Spencer.

Naturally, I’m going to be a little more cagey about Red Robin, Batman and Robin and Batman, primarily because who lands in which book will be determined by who wins the Battle for the Cowl, but obviously, Batwoman, Kate Kane is front and center when that book hits the stands in June.

2. Speaking of Batwoman, why did it take her so long to get her into her own story? Both you and Greg had been hinting that something was coming now for years...

DD: We wanted to establish her as a hero in the DC Universe first, from her introduction in 52 all the way through to her appearances in Final Crisis: Revelations. We knew about the storyline that would be taking place in Battle for the Cowl, and figured that would be the perfect opportunity to introduce her into her own stories in Detective Comics, and quite honestly, we’re quite happy to say that we have a number of issues in the can of J.H. Williams’ brilliant art and Greg’s very compelling story. So we can say that we’re looking forward to a nice strong run without any interruptions, and all the issues shipping on time.

3. Are you preparing yourselves for the media response and reaction again? Obviously, it’s already begun, and even some “respectable” mainstream media outlets are trumpeting “Holy Lesbian!” headlines...

DD: We are prepared, but we’re not anticipating any major stir. I think we had a lot of attention brought when we introduced the character in 52, but she’s been appearing semi-regularly since then, and people have seen her in stories, and we’re hoping that once she starts appearing in her own stories, people will see her for who the character is, and everything else that might be a distraction will be gone.

NRAMA: I think that’s a good hope, but still, the headlines are going on now, and clearly, when the character appeared, DC lost control of the story in the media, with her sexuality becoming the issue...

DD: And that was part of the reason why we wanted her to have so many appearances before she moved in to her own solo title. As I said, we wanted to establish her as a hero first. Her sexual orientation is just an aspect of her character, rather than who she is. It does not define her. We wanted to make sure that Batwoman stood as a hero first, and I think we’ve done a good job setting that up, and now we can do more stories with her.

8. One question that probably should’ve been up with our other Batman questions – just ballparking here – we’ve seen that Batman is alive, and living in the past. There are easy ways out of that – you could have Booster Gold find him and pick him up – and there are difficult ways out of that – he could live through a series of lives, which is presumably what the Omega Sanction is about – so what goes into the decision of how Caveman Batman plays out?

DD: Well, there wouldn’t be much of a battle for the cowl if we had Booster go back and grab him – although from that last panel, it doesn’t even look like he needs the cowl, as he casts the shadow without it on [laughs].

Obviously, there are a lot reasons that go into it, and a lot reasons that are related to telling the best, most dramatic story we can. I really can’t go into too much detail about the plans, but what I can say is that the outline and plan for his return is known at this point.

19. What’s the current status of All Star Batman and Robin?

DD: On hiatus.

For the entire interview click here...

(Source - Newsarama.com)