This is a rumour that's up on this week's Lying In The Gutters column by Rich Johnston over at Comic Book Resources. The link is here: http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13

Now Rich does have a pretty good batting average when it comes to rumours of this type - especially when it concerns Marvel and DC - but I really have a hard time getting my head round the fact that DC would seriously consider relaunching Batman after nearly 70 years continuous publication. I have no problem with Bruce being "killed" though, that would shake things up a bit nicely in the DCU!

If it's true, Bruce Wayne wil return whether it's through some kind of Multiverse Crisis fix or a Lazurus Pit. Countdown is the big DC Crossover Event right now and the Ressurection of Ra's Al Guhl is the current storyline in the Batman Titles so I think these are coming to a head. But I doubt DC would ever permanently kill off their best selling Character. Maybe the public persona of Bruce Wayne will be "killed" so he can be Batman full time.

I wonder if that's why Wizard ran a story on the Death of Superman...to help prepare us. BTW, that was a good article.

This news, if true, saddens me a great deal. It sounds like a gimmick, it looks like a gimmick. It's probably a gimmick. Cause you know that will really help the industry. Batman is an icon (and a 'normal' guy). Dying should be permanent for him. I can't imagine a Batman who is not Bruce Wayne.

This may not be a bad idea, IF HANDLED PROPERLY! The current Batman title is almost 700 issues. A reboot to issue #1 would attract new readers and add a breath of fresh air to a long running title.

Is there anything fresh about "killing" major characters? It'd be more refreshing for Bruce to go on an honest to god vacation and let one of the Robin's take over the mantle. I believe killing Bruce is a mistake. There's no problem with a character or title having longevity. It just means something is working.

...Although I really like the idea of "legacy books" (comic books that started decades ago and continue today, such as action comics, amazing spider-man (after return to 500)), it might be "fresh" to kill Bruce Wayne, as a dramatic way to change the direction of a character that's been around for 70 years. If well written (look at Captain America), it could be really interesting story.

Besides, I'm sure everyone will buy a new Batman #1, and buy the issue where Bruce Wayne dies, thus again validating to DC (a big business), through sales, what they are doing is right. If people really reject this idea maybe you should stop buying the book if it restarts. Also, like all comic books no one ever really changes drastically or stays dead, so Bruce Wayne will eventually return...

I can imagine that the name of new title could be "Bruce Wayne: European Vacation." Actually, I like the idea of Bruce just letting someone else take over being Batman for awhile but that sounds very unlike him. And he has already been badly hurt in the past by Bane and others took over being Batman then.

I would buy Batman 1 and consider collecting it going forward even though I don't collect the title currently.

Again I argue that "killing off" characters is not fresh. It's been proven time and again to be a weak attempt to drive up sales. Sure it works in the short term. But in the end it's a gimmick. There are more effective ways to change the direction of a book.



And anything Big Business does is right? Sure they are in business to make money, but they are also in the business of story telling. It just seems like the same ol' bag of tricks. I want some real "breath of fresh air" in my books.

I really hope they don't kill off Bruce Wayne. I mean we already had the death of Steve Rogers in the industry and I think that's enough for now, unless someone wants to off Wolverine. Plus, I don't know if any of the Robins are ready to take over the mantle of Batman yet.

HAR!!!


True - it was a lame example of the many things they could do as opposed to killing him off.



Don't even talk to me about Knightfall



Tim Drake - not so much.
Jason Todd/Red Hood - could be kinda bada$$, but I don't think it would really work.
Dick Grayson/Nightwing - I personally love this idea.

Waitaminute, why would they do that? There are so many other Bat-characters running around that should be killed instead. We got Robin, Batman's Lost Son, Jason Todd, Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwoman, Catwoman, & Oracle. And they want to kill Batman instead?! I seriously can't see anyone else as Batman either. Bruce Wayne makes Batman who he is because of the tradgedy and utter dedication to vengeance against that act (I don't care what anyone says, Bats is nuts and it's all a psychological revenge on the guys that killed his parents) I think's it's a shame that a book as long running as Batman is going to be relaunched at #1. I thought it'd be cool to finally see a book reach #1000. Guess we still got Action and Detective.

-Nate-

I am by far not saying that anything big business does is right. In fact I rarely read DC/Marvel because they are all about the dollar instead of the characters. Obviously what I was saying is that high sales (to Marvel and DC) equals to them, that their books and stories are good.

As I stated before try some independent books, there more of a "breath of fresh air", then the normal Marvel/DC recycled idea generic superhero book.

You're absolutely right. It's a shame they've traded good solid story telling for the next quarters balance sheet.



I read a number of independent/non-mainstream books and enjoy them. I just wish Marvel and DC could try and steer clear of the train wreck they seem to be intent on creating.

Maybe a breath of fresh air was the wrong term. For example: you are in your LCS, you see 2 comics side by side. One is Batman Vol. 2 #1 and the other is Batman Vol. 1 # 720. You don't normally read Batman. Which one will you pick up and look at? My thought is Vol 2 #1 because you don't feel the need to endure/ try to comprehend 700+ issues of storyline. It's the same argument I use for Astonishing X-men being better than Uncanny X-Men. Both books are good, but you don't have the weight of almost 500 issues of Uncanny.

Make sense?

P.S. I agree that killing a character off only to bring them back later is a lame storyline!

Starting off with new number ones is sometimes good if you didn't collect the comic before.

I am OK with a new number one if the character is going through a major redesign such as Superman #1 by John Byrne.

I guess I'm OK with Avengers #1 since the end of the old series was such a big deal (pick these up if you haven't read them since they are great). I hated collecting Avengers all the back to Vol. 1, issue 1 just to have it start all over again though.

I have tried several new #1 titles only to lose interest after a few issues. Green Lantern and Flash #1s come to mind.

Anyone else have favorite number #1s that they liked and those that they didn't?

I collect Detective so far. But I've been thinking about grabbing Batman. This might be good if its done well like Captain America. But it does seem like a similair idea. Hero is killed...young boy he trained takes his place. It would be even similiar if it was Jason Todd because he was dead and brought back like Bucky

Ya know, I was really looking forward to a comic hitting issue 1,000 in my lifetime! Now, I'm not a DC fan, but I am a Batman fan. I def thought Detective comics would've done it along with Action. They really can't kill him off. That's like having someone else besides Peter Parker be Spider-Man... oh wait... they did that... AND IT FAILED!!!

Not really. Does any long running comic really require knowledge of every precedibng issue? My enjoyment of Batman is based on the quality of the storylines delivered by the creative teams. I haven't read the first 200 issues of the title and it would seem neither have the current raft of Bat-creators. Does it matter? Not a jot. Does the enjoyment in the latest issue of Uncanny X-Men come from whether you're familiar with the Dark Phoenix saga and what came before it? Not at all. You're confusing completism with continuity here. Or do you only follow comics you can pick up from their first issues?

I agree with your assessment that you don't need to have all issues of a particular run to enjoy storylines from the series. I have several issues of Batman storylines that I enjoy reading/collecting. My point is the psychological effect of the numbers. When you see issue #1, it’s a fresh start. You see issue # 700, you (or at least I do) think, oh boy, what do I need to know to understand or enjoy this issue.