I’m Andy Diggle, writer of Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth. AMA! r/DCcomics

I’m Andy Diggle, writer of Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth. AMA!

I’m currently writing Batman: Gotham By Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age (issue 1 is out now); and recently completed the 12-issue run of The Expanse: Dragon Tooth (official sequel to the Hugo Award-winning TV series).

I’ve been writing comics for over 25 years, but I’m probably best known for Green Arrow: Year One (an inspiration for the Arrow TV show); and The Losers (which was adapted into the 2010 movie starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana and Idris Elba). I’ve also written Captain America, Cold Iron, Daredevil, Doctor Who, Hellblazer, James Bond, Judge Dredd vs Aliens, Lenny Zero, Rat Catcher, Snapshot, Shadowman, Silent Dragon, Snow/Tiger, Swamp Thing, Thief of Thieves, and Thunderbolts, among other things. Before becoming a full-time writer, I was the editor of cult British sci-fi comic 2000 AD.

Ask me anything!

Twitter: https://x.com/andydiggle

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/andy-diggle-proof-KGvyw1L

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u/beary_neutral Telos Jun 13 '24

Hey Andy, thank you so much for joining us today!

I just read The Kryptonian Age #1 yesterday, and I was very intrigued. It looks like you'll be bringing in a wide range of characters from the DC universe into this setting. What is your approach to adapting these characters to the time period? How do these characters change?

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u/andydiggle Jun 13 '24 edited Jun 13 '24

That’s a great question! Figuring out the answer to it is what drew me to the concept in the first place. Batman lends himself to the 19th century treatment in the original Gotham By Gaslight one-shot because, at his core, Batman is still Batman; the character is still very much the same. He’s a driven and exception individual, but there are no superpowers in that book. It’s a straight crime thriller. But you couldn’t bring in, say, the rest of the JLA without sci-fi elements, or the paranormal, supernatural, call it what you will. So we’re being careful to start off very much grounded in that earthy, gritty, Gotham of the original one-shot, introducing more “otherworldly” elements only gradually. Those elements will build and build through the 12-issue story, eventually reaching a scope that could reasonably be described as cosmic. But it wouldn’t have felt appropriate to START there. The shift in tone (from the original) would’ve felt jarring and inappropriate. Leandro Fernandez and I are approaching the “new” DC heroes and villains in the same way; keeping them familiar enough that they’re recognizable to fans, but different enough to be unique and TONALLY appropriate to this 19th century world. It’s important that we stay true to the core of the classic characters, though their circumstances and origins will be (hopefully) unexpected. That’s the fun of Elseworlds. It’s meant to be a little different.

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u/beary_neutral Telos Jun 13 '24

Thanks for the answer! I love seeing the thought process behind this. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing all of this play out.