tom king

Tom King and David Finch's relaunch of Batman might be the most interesting and unexpected comic book of DC's Rebirth. Released biweekly, the opening arc told the story of a pair of new heroes, Gotham and Gotham Girl, who arrived in Batman's hometown with powers far beyond those of mortal men, and with hopes of permanently changing things for the better. And as you already know if you've read those first five issues, it did not go so well. Now, with an epilogue to "I Am Gotham" set to hit shelves next week, ComicsAlliance spoke to Tom King about the villains he's bringing back to the spotlight, the reasons behind the final fate of Gotham and Gotham Girl, and why Colonel Blimp was there all along --- and we just didn't see him.

As much as they're my preferred medium, I have to admit that comic books have a pretty major flaw. For visuals, they've got it covered with their unique combination of art and text, but for the other senses? Nothin'. I can tell you all about the history of Batman's war on crime and the different ways that it's changed over the past 77 years, but if you asked me to tell you what Gotham City smells like, I'd be completely unable to. Until now! It seems that Tom King and David Finch have recognized this problem and taken steps to correct it in the pages of Batman #3, thanks to some very evocative descriptions of the sights and scents of the Dark Knight's hometown. Check out a preview!

In the mid-eighties, DC Comics tried a bizarre experiment known as the DC Challenge, a story told by twelve different creative teams over twelve comics, with the catch being that each issue would end on a cliffhanger that the next team would have to get themselves out of. Announced at Emerald City Comic Con, DC is reviving the series in the form of Kamandi Challenge, thirteen creative teams over twelve issues telling one complete story with the classic Jack Kirby character, Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth. The original DC Challenge featured the likes of Elliot S! Maggin, Mike W. Barr, Dave Gibbons, Gene Colan and so many more legendary creators. and featured the additional caveat that they could use any DC Comics characters, except ones they were currently working with elsewhere. The series culminated in a jam-packed final issue which was divided among six of the previous creative teams.

DC Comics hosted a special livestream event at WonderCon in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to unveil the creative teams behind its DC Rebirth event, which relaunches the entire DC Universe line with new issue #1s and multiple double-shipping titles. The relaunch will set the future course of DC Comics at a time when fans are wondering whether the company will embrace a new and diversifying audience or double down on serving a shrinking core audience. The event was introduced by DC All Access host Tiffany Smith, with DC co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio and chief creative officer and Rebirth chief architect Geoff Johns introducing and interviewing the creative teams as they joined them on stage at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Since its first issue at the beginning of DC's DCYou initative, Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda's The Omega Men has been one of the most exciting and unique comics to exist as part of a larger superhero universe. A tense political thriller on a galactic scale, it follows the terrorist/freedom fighter team The Omega Men on their quest to depose the corrupt government of the Vega system While Omega Men stands out for its gripping storytelling and Bagenda's inventive use of the nine-panel grid format, it also has some of the most striking covers on comics stands at the moment, courtesy of cover artist Trevor Hutchison. ComicsAlliance caught up with Hutchison to talk all about designing The Omega Men's unique covers --- plus DC has provided an exclusive look at his cover for #10!

In case you haven't heard yet, I'm afraid I've got some bad news. With DC's impending Rebirth event slouching fearfully over the horizon, it seems that the era of Dick Grayson, Agent 37 is coming to an end. On one level, that's certainly a letdown, but it's also pretty exciting to see what the next two issues bring. With the book on the way out, it seems that there are no limits to what might happen - which is how you get to an issue where Grayson and Tiger are on the run, fighting both TAO, from Alan Moore and Travis Charest's Wildcats, and Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke's Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE, at the same time. Check out an exclusive preview of next week's Grayson #17, by Tim Seeley, Tom King, Carmine Di Giancomenico, and Jeromy Cox, and get stoked!

Writer Tom King and artists Clay Mann and John Timms have all signed contracts to produce work exclusively for DC Comics. Tom King has met with great acclaim writing Omega Men, Robin War, and Vertigo's Sheriff of Babylon, as well as co-writing Grayson with Tim Seeley. Clay Mann is the artist on the current Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death miniseries written by Amy Chu. Before that his DC credits included covers on Batgirl and Batman Eternal. John Timms has made his name working on Harley Quinn and its spin-off Harley's Little Black Book.

Ever since it launched, Grayson has been defined by blending the bizarre extremes of espionage action with the even more bizarre extremes of a superhero universe full of villains with guns for eyes and mind-altering hypno-contacts, and as you might expect, it's the latter that gets most of the attention. This is, after all, a spy story set in a world of masks and capes, and there are certain expectations that the genre brings with it. This week, though, Tom King, Tim Seeley, Mikel Janin and Jeromy Cox have taken things in a decidedly more spy-inspired --- or inspyred --- direction. Not only do we get a cover that evokes the beautiful opening of A View To A Kill, and a five-page sequence of Dick Grayson singing a song that sounds an awful lot like the theme from Goldfinger, but, in case you missed it, Dick Grayson just kicked a very familiar face.

There are a lot of really good reasons to read Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda's Omega Men. There's the compelling story that blends political intrigue and sci-fi action, the incredible technique that goes into building the story on the nine-panel grid, and even the fun of witnessing its miraculous resurrection from nearly being canceled halfway through its first arc. Or, if you're a certain type of reader, you might just be into it for its references to obscure '70s Superman comic backup stories. For me, those are all equally appealing, so I was pretty excited to see that the latest issue, this week's Omega Men #8, included a reference to Stellarium, something that definitely falls under that last heading. But just what is that stuff?

The first issue of Tom King and Mitch Gerads' Sheriff of Babylon was notable for a whole lot of reasons. For one thing, it was the first Vertigo comic that had to be run by the CIA before publication thanks to the influence of King's time working as a consultant during the Iraq War, but for another, it was quite simply an incredible first issue. Three separate stories, each punctuated by gunshots, setting the stage for a murder mystery set during the reconstruction of Iraq. Now, the second issue is bringing those threads together, as Christopher and Nassir meet to discuss their investigation in what has to be the most tense lunch since... well, probably since we all saw our relatives over the holidays. Check out an exclusive preview!