Marc Andreyko To Write ‘Batwoman’ Starting With Issue 25

In the wake of the current Batwoman creative team of J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman departing the book because of editorial mandates that lead character Kate Kane and fiancé Maggie Sawyer could not go through with their marriage, DC Comics has announced the series' new writer: Marc Andreyko, the writer of the publisher's well-received Manhunter series, which ran from 2004 to 2009.

Andreyko is openly gay, which readers could certainly view as a sign that DC intends to prove its argument that edict barring Batwoman from marrying the woman she loves has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio said as much at a panel at Baltimore Comic-Con over the weekend. He said keeping Kane unmarried is about her maintaining a difficult personal life in exchange for being a superhero:

They shouldn’t have happy personal lives...They put on a cape and a cowl for a reason, They’re committed to being that person, they’re committed to defending others—at the sacrifice of all their own personal instincts....That’s something we reinforce. If you look at every one of the characters in the Batman family, their personal lives kind of suck.

For his part, Andreyko expressed his excitement and trepidation in a Facebook message:

I ADORE J.H Williams and Greg Rucka and Hayden Blackman and the great character they've created so lovingly. I am taking this job very seriously and hope to do right by Kate, Maggie, Bette and the rest of the cast.

Batwoman #25 is expected to arrive in comic shops and on ComiXology in November.