It's been a non-stop news day for Batman today and I'll eventually get to bed but before I hit the sack IGN have just posted an interview with Grant Morrison to talk about possibly the biggest Batman news this year so far... The Return of Bruce Wayne. Here is a snippet of what Mr. Morrison had to say:

IGN Comics: I've heard people describe your work by saying that every Grant Morrison comic has an idea, set piece or image that's never been encountered in a comic book before. Is that something you consciously do, challenge an artist to draw something you've never seen?

Morrison: Well that's what comics should be like. I guess I do that, but it's not conscious. I try to think what I would like to draw, because you know I like to draw. So all the scripts start with the question, "What would be fun to draw? What would be amazing or mad to see?" Like Robin getting a lap dance from Professor Pyg. How great was that? [laughs] It was just so wrong, but it was one of those kinds of things we've never seen before and might never want to see again. It seemed so perfect at the time. But I didn't sit and think, "What's this week's crazy image?" That character just came in dancing and started doing his thing in my head.

IGN Comics: I'm glad you brought up that lap dance scene, because there's one thing I've wanted to ask you since I read that issue: is there anything specific Pyg is listening to during that scene?

Morrison: Yeah, I had a particular song in mind, but I think it's more fun to let everyone hear their own version of what he's dancing to.

IGN Comics: Throughout your run on Batman and continuing through Batman and Robin right up until now, you've been extremely prolific about adding to Batman's cast and Rogues' Gallery in rapid succession, only ever pausing briefly to give some background on new characters like Pyg, Flamingo, Oberon Sexton and so forth. At one point, Dick even tells Jason, "Back story, not interested," and it's almost as if you're talking right to the reader – "No time to slow down – here's the bare essentials you need to know about this character." Was that a conscious decision on your part from the get-go?

Morrison: Totally. I was looking back at the really early Batman stuff because I was curious what it was like when they first brought the Joker on. The guy is hardly in any panels at all, but he's just really compelling. So we tried to do that with Professor Pyg, and it really worked because there was something about that character that was weirdly alive from the moment he first appeared.

I like the idea that the Joker was never really explained, and then six months later you got another Joker story in 1940 or whatever. They didn't explain his origins or motivations at all. They just kept telling more cool stories and showing more sides of his character. He was built up, developed and refined along the way rather than introduced as a complete package. To me that seems to be the mark of the best villains – they're introduced in a really cool way and then left for the future to play with. Like some future Alan Moore and Brian Bolland will come along one day and tell the origin of Professor Pyg and it will be the best comic ever. [laughs] That's how it should be. We're too used to getting everything up front – the whole background, the details and the scorecard. But I think these characters are stronger when we just get to see them do something great and then they're gone again, leaving us all wanting more. We get to learn a little bit each time. Each new writer or artist gets to add something different and there should be room to do that with any good character.

For the entire interview click here...

(Source - IGN Comics)