When DC Comics relaunched their entire line of comics back in 2011 with The New 52, one of the top series was Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Snyder had already wowed readers with his previous Batman arc, The Black Mirror. Capullo's art immediately set the tone for the action-packed stories we'd be getting.
With other creative teams coming and going over the past five years, Snyder and Capullo remained one of the few original New 52 creators to remain on their title. Issue #51 marks the end of their incredible run. We talked to the two creators to find out what putting this series to rest was like and when we can expect them to join forces once again.
Comic Vine: I have to say, when I saw "End" on the last page, I got a little teary-eyed. How did it feel starting this final issue?
Greg Capullo: It's difficult. I mean, obviously I'm doing my job, right? My focus is still, my job. In the back of my mind, there was the fact this was my final issue. Before I know it, Scott and I are going to be parting ways for a bit. I had to push that out of my mind. It did negatively affect me. I don't want to say I had a tear in the corner of my eye because, you know, I'm a strong guy. This was a little bit depressing in some ways. I tried to just focus on doing a great job and look at it as a celebration with Brother Scott. We had a nice long ride for five years together.
Scott Snyder: For me, I feel guilty saying it, but I put off the lettering for this one forever. The office had to call and be like, "We need that lettering script." I was just delaying it and delaying it because I hate the idea of taking a break. At the same time, Greg and I, we still text and talk. The stuff that I've seen from his project with Mark [Millar] is going to be incredible. I know they're going to blow it out of the water and have a blast. Then we'll get back together and do something that will hopefully be as fun for fans as we got to do here. If we didn't have any plans to get back together, I think it would've really torn me apart. It was also exciting to think of this chapter maybe closing and thinking very much about what we're going to do next together.
As for specifics about the issue, how did Bruce get the dinosaur and other things back in the Batcave?
Snyder: I thought about that, but then in Superheavy, that whole area is really badly damaged both by the girl, Liv, who used one of Mr. Bloom's seeds, and the person outside who uses one of them. They probably just finally wanted to get rid of all that stuff that reminds them of the Joker and Superheavy. It wouldn't be too hard to cherry pick from the trash and get it back.
What made you give back Alfred his hand after it was severed in the previous arc? Did you decide to be nice to him?
Capullo: [laughs] You're not much of a butler if you're one-handed.
Snyder: Everyone kept joking. Will he get a robot hand, a cat hand or whatever? Ultimately, I think the idea was, while Bruce was gone, he had nobody to mend. He's not the right hand to the Bat-king anymore. He doesn't have that hand. As soon as Bruce is back, Alfred is restored as well. It was like a piece of him was missing until Bruce came back.
Capullo: And I have to say, I trolled Scott. After I drew some pages with Al having his hand back, I went, "Oops, I messed up, dude! I gave him another left hand! Now he's got two left hands! It's too late, it's gone to print!"
What can you tell us about the Court of Owls scene? Who's going to pick up that plot thread? Will you take it later, or do we just have to wait and see?
Snyder: I think part of it is, I have an idea for a whole second Court of Owls story. When I was thinking about how they'd come back, what they could do, and what they could be in the DC Universe, it expanded in my mind. What I'm doing in [the upcoming] All-Star Batman is more focused on the classic villains. I don't know. Maybe when Greg gets back. Who knows? Maybe someone else will take the seed and do something with it. It's one of those things where I feel I would be very excited to go back to them and tell more stories with them with Greg. I would want it to be with him, too, because they're ours together.
Where did the inspiration for the scene with the boat and the water underground come from? Was that all in the script or did you add anything from your mind?
Capullo: Obviously everything starts with the script. Scott had mentioned it was still flooded out, but maybe now they had gondolas to get around. They've adapted. He wanted something a little steampunk when the cameras start to come out of woodworks, so to speak. Whatever Scott writes, I just try to bring it to life. Sometimes I add stuff. Sometimes I don't. This one was pretty much straight forward scripted.
Well, it looked great.
Capullo: I still designed it, you know.
Is this the first time we see Black Mask with his new mask?
Snyder: We saw them in Superheavy, real quick.
Capullo: Yeah, they appeared in Penguin's Lounge. That was the first time I got to redesign those characters. Love it or hate it, I love it.
Snyder: I love it, dude.
Capullo: I wanted to give it a little bit of Slipknot flavor with the zipper teeth and all. I'm a fan of those guys.
It looks better than the old one. That one's outdated.
Capullo: Yeah, it's just a standard skull. Everyone's seen that a billion times.
The big question is, does justice really taste like bananas?
[laughs]
Snyder: I think, in Alfred's mind, it always does. Batman's brand of justice taste like bananas and total nuts all the time.
The real final question, I know it's too early to ask, but have you thought about when you two might get back together?
Capullo: Well, right now I'm working with Mark Miller on a project. That's six issues. How long it takes will probably go past the six month mark. Very next up on my plan is to reunite with Scott on a secret project he's working on that we hope will be bigger than when we launched Batman for the first time. The exact timeline? I can only say, less than a year from now. We're going to reunite and hopefully light the fuse and blow some stuff up.
Snyder: My feeling is, I'm doing All-Star. I'm excited, but Greg and I talk all the time about where things stand in terms of contracts and stuff. We're working with DC right now to figure something out to be able to get back together as soon as he's done. I'm ready as soon as he's ready. It's like 100% in the cards for us. I'd go anywhere with him and do anything. I'd work on any character, anytime. It makes me a better writer to be able to work with this guy. Whenever he's finished with the project with Mark, which is going to be awesome, by the way, I'm here. It'll be fun. We'll get the band back together and do something special.
Check out the preview pages to Batman #51. You can read a review here.
Batman #51 is now on sale at comic shops and online at www.readdcentertainment.com.