"Batman has Everything": Al Ewing talks his twisty Detective Comics annual

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NEWS

Superman gets a U.S. Coin—Batman and more coming soon
DC Comics adds new 'DC Pride 2025' story and shares details
TMNT Tuesday #13: TMNT: Shredder series announced
New 'Criminal' graphic novel announced for August 2025: 'The Knives'
Even more IDW comics coming to Webtoon with weekly release schedule
Get hype: Marvel releases new 'Imperial' #1 teaser
'Star Wars: Tales from the Nightlands' horror series arrives September 2025
Diamond finds a home
James Tynion IV sets 'Exquisite Corpses' 2025 tour

Our Top Books of the Week

Dave:

Ultimate Spider-Man #16 (Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checcheto)
Heavy Metal Magazine #1 (Various)

Chris:

We're Taking Everyone Down with Us #2 (Matthew Rosenberg, Stefano Landini)
Nights #15 (Wyatt Kennedy, Luigi Formisano)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Chris - Joker "Hammer Scene" from Batman/Superman World's Finest 2025 Annual #1

Dave - Godzilla vs. Los Angeles - Gabriel Hardman

TOP BOOKS FOR NEXT WEEK

Chris: Absolute Green Lantern #2 (Al Ewing, Jahnoy Lindsay)
Dave: Absolute Superman #7 (Jason Aaron, Carmine Di Giandomenico)

JUDGING BY THE COVER JR.

Dave: Red Sonja Attacks Mars #2 (Joseph Michael Linsner)
Chris: Captain Planet #1 (Mark Spears Main Cover)

Interview: Al Ewing talks Detective Comics 2025 Annual #1 - Out April 30

1. You stepped in for Tom Taylor on this annual—can you walk us through how that came about? Was this a story you had to write quickly, or did you have some room to breathe and make it your own?

2. The story kicks off with a classic locked-room mystery—an impossible murder in a high-tech safe room. What drew you to that kind of puzzle, and how did you approach building a detective narrative worthy of Batman?

3. There’s a moment where Batman’s costume subtly shifts from black to blue once he’s in London. Is that just a visual cue, or is there something more symbolic going on there?

4. What’s your take on the annual format? Do you see it as a chance to tell something self-contained and weird, or a pressure cooker to do a lot in a single oversized issue?

5. You’re working with a trio of incredible artists—Stefano Raffaele, John McCrea, and Fico Ossio. How did you decide who handled which parts of the story, and what did each artist bring to the table stylistically?

6. This annual flirts with the idea of Batman not just solving crimes but confronting the nature of reality. How far is too far for Batman, in your mind, when it comes to stories that push past the physical world?

7. UK mythology and angels? John Dee’s magic - Elizabethan

8. Maybe the most important question of them all, what is Batman’s favorite tea and how does he take it?

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