It's that time again, when Dan Didio give us an update on the top 20 questions fans have been asking.

This time round there is lots of questions regarding Batman with the focus on the characterisation of Jason Todd in his recent appearance in BFTC #2. Also Batman All Star line, "What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader" production schedule issues, some of the new Batman lines for June with the announcement that Mark Bagley is joining Judd Winick on Batman and what Tony Daniel is up to after BFTC... few!

As always I've summarised the Batman questions from the interview...

2. Next question is one that concerns...consequences for actions; I guess is a good way to put it. The reader based their question in the context of Battle for the Cowl #2, which showed Jason going around doing horrible, horrible things – shooting Damian, stabbing Tim in the chest...not to mention that he has killed people. Yet, he’s a regular character in the Batman universe, and while you can’t say he’s someone that Batman looks the other way on, there’s been a feeling that Jason is afforded a level of “tolerance” by Batman and the others who routinely beat people unconscious for, in comparison, minor crimes. I think most readers can still remember Jim Shooter’s edit that if Chris Claremont and John Byrne were going to have Phoenix kill a star system’s worth of people, she had to die. Long question short, does that feeling still apply? Is there the sense in the DC offices that since Jason has killed, he cannot be a hero, and must therefore be either hunted, jailed, or on the run all the time...

DD: Let’s take this one from the very beginning. When a story is going to be told where we feel that a character crosses a moral line, we just don’t put that in arbitrarily. We think through how that affects everyone around him, and what the long-term ramifications of that action will be.

The perfect example of that was when Wonder Woman killed Max Lord. We thought that all the way through – we saw how that affected the relationship between Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. We saw what happens when that relationship breaks down, and how that affected the entire DC Universe, as well as how it was ultimately resolved. We saw those causes and effects all the way through. Or another case - Identity Crisis - we saw those events, the effects of those events, and how they played through the DC Universe. Every time that we try to do a major story where we feel a moral line has been crossed, there are always ramifications because of it. Things that you’re mentioning with Jason – of seeing him kill – are all potential stories for the future. Unless he doesn’t make it out of Battle for the Cowl, these are all story beats that we’d like to see play out throughout the DCU, and they’re all fodder for future storytelling.

NRAMA: But it seems that saying it’s fodder for future storytelling seems almost to be a convenient way out, almost a hand off to some future team that’s not involved in the story or decision that saw the character cross that moral line...

DD: The way it is is that we don’t set things up arbitrarily – I think you’re asking me what the end of Battle for the Cowl in regards to Jason and the ramifications two years from now...

NRAMA: Not really – looking at Jason as a specific case, he’s been killing since he’s come back, and he’s been given a pass on it for the...months of comic book time since Judd’s storyarc that brought him back...

DD: And he’s showing his true colors. He confronted Batman upon his return, he toyed with the idea of being a hero, he failed at being a hero, Bruce Wayne is no longer there, and Jason sees an opportunity where he can take what he wants and show his true colors in the process.

NRAMA: Okay – it’s just a much longer view then – he tried to be a hero, initially, he failed, spectacularly in Countdown, and now he’s apparently failing again...

DD: Right. And that leads to something I can never say enough – we’re in the business of periodical storytelling. We are telling serial stories with our characters – these are continuing stories and adventures, and more importantly, everything that happens is building upon things that happened before, Naturally, things that are happening right now becomes fodder for future stories, and by that I mean, not for the people who follow us, but for things that we want to act upon right now, or else we would not go to lengths to set up things that we think will have potential for future stories.

7. Where do you see the All Star line moving forward? Grant and Frank’s All Star Superman has ended, and as you said last time we spoke, once Frank Miller and Jim Lee are done with All Star Batman & Robin – which will take some time – that series will end as well. Is it still going to be a viable place where creators can come to tell their special stories, or is the concept being slowly shelved?

DD: Right now, as we’ve said, Batman & Robin is still running, and Frank and Jim are working on it again, and with All Star Wonder Woman in construction with Adam – the line’s still running. I haven’t seen past that, but depending upon what the lay of the land is, and what creators step forward we’ll see. I’m not saying there is no more All Star line; there are just no All Star plans at this moment.

8. What happened to the second part of “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

DD: It should be in your hands next week, unless I’m mistaken. There were some slowdowns here and there, and there was a minor mishap with production at the very end that didn’t have anything to do with the writer or the artist that we lost a week and a half on, and unfortunately, when you lose a week and a half, that turns into two to three weeks on the production schedule. It was an unfortunate situation that was basically hardware-based, not people based.

NRAMA: I would guess that when you see the clock tick down on the production deadline, those are the worst of the delays, given that those units of time are then in terms of weeks that can telescope out...

DD: Yeah, they are. It something where we push everything we can to get there as quickly as possible, and then something breaks down. It’s one of those things that can happen when you run a really tight schedule – if something breaks down at the end, it has a greater impact than if you’re not running a tight schedule.

11. Next up, based on the art that’s been seen for Batman #687 and that of Batman and Robin #1, one could almost get the idea that there are two different Batmen, based on distinctive costume differences. Is that a possibility, or is this a case of artistic interpretation?

DD: I think Batman is the one character that lends itself to varying artistic interpretations than any of our other characters out there. If you look at projects like Batman: Black and White and the various artists that have been working on the character, simultaneously during periods where it was clearly understood that Bruce Wayne was Batman, it was always understood that there could be different looks. Neal Adams was different than Irv Noveck, for example.

At this particular moment, all I can really say specifically is...I’m not answering the question. (laughs) I don’t want to give too much away.

But – while we’re talking about artistic interpretations of Batman, I do want to announce something – the first issue of Judd Winick’s Batman run will be drawn by Ed Benes, as was announced, but Ed is moving on to another project, so I’m very happy to announce that the first arc will have Ed on the first part, and the remainder of that stroryline will be drawn by Mark Bagley – his first work after Trinity.

13. Another Batman question – what’s Tony Daniel doing after Battle for the Cowl wraps up?

DD: Taking a rest? He’s working very hard on Cowl right now, to make sure it hits the schedule. We do have plans for him after this, though. He’s going to need a bit of downtime, but we have his next assignment already lined up.

For the entire 20 Q&A click here...

(Source - Newsarama.com)