Warning! Spoilers for Batman: One Dark Knight #2 by DC Comics
In the new DC Comics Black Label series, Batman: One Dark Knight, Batman is forced to go back to basics after a villain knocks out all power and electronics across Gotham City. In the series by Jock and Cleo Robbins, Batman is embracing the darkness of Gotham like never before, as he tries to stop both new and emerging threats who scheming in the black of night.
In the upcoming Batman: One Dark Knight #2, Batman’s troubled night continues, as the new villain EMP has knocked out all power across Gotham, leaving the hero to deal with the fallout in the dark. We spoke to talented writer/artist Jock (Batman: The Black Mirror) about penning and drawing the three-issue Black Label series, what it was like to pen his own Batman story, how he explores Gotham in the comic, what challenges Batman faces, and what readers can expect from the series second chapter and onwards.
Batman is back to basics in the best way once EMP erupts and has to completely adjust to his new normal. What was it like developing this Gotham without any power and why was Black Label the perfect spot for it?
Jock: First of all, you’ve totally hit the nail on the head there. That was my intention all along, to try and sort of craft a classic Batman story. But part of that was about really removing his toys, removing all the security blankets that he’s built up around him, and dropping him in the middle of Gotham with none of that. With only his wits, essentially, to help him out.
Of course, being Batman, he realizes that’s actually what he excels that. The blackout itself causes the physical stuff he’s so used to not being around; to get drained. He loses all that stuff. But he’s Batman, so he excels in the dark. The blackout is a metaphor for both those things, I guess.
And in getting the opportunity to tell the story, I absolutely wanted to take him back to basics. To have him not necessarily to be the man, because he is Batman in his costume the whole time – to me, that’s a slightly larger-than-life character – but to take him back to basics. Strip everything away, throw everything at him, and then see how he does. That was the germ of the story idea for me.
How did working on previous Batman titles (such as Batman: Black Mirror and The Batman Who Laughs) shape your experience and your ideas going into this three-issue series?
Jock: Yeah, I’ve been very lucky. I’ve worked on some amazing stories with Scott Snyder, and I’ve always loved drawing Batman. Going into this one, I felt like it was my turn to do Batman the way that I wanted to do it – but, of course, you’re absolutely right. I’m inevitably going to be influenced by the quality of the stories that I’ve worked on.
Scott did such an amazing job of realizing the character, and he was one of the first people that I spoke to about this. He just said, “Listen, you’ve got great instincts. Go with your instincts, trust your instincts, and make Batman the Batman that you want him to be.” I took that advice to heart, really.
Luckily, people seem to like the way I draw this guy. So, hopefully, the way that I see him is of interest – and that applies to the way that I sculpted the story as well.
I know it’s cliche to call Gotham its own character, but I think this book really explores the different sides of the city and showcases more of Gotham than the usual Arkham Asylum, Wayne Manor, and Gotham PD. How important was it for you to dive into the different side of Gotham and its elements?
Jock: 100%. I don’t think it’s a cliche to call the city a character at all; the city is a character in this. I love that about it, that Gotham is this slightly mythical larger-than-life place similar to Batman.
When the blackout happens, it’s the city itself – which encompasses all the gangs, all its various factions and stuff that can take Batman down – that’s the thing against Batman. And I really liked that idea, because he holds it so dear to his heart and wants to protect it and look after it. But at the same time, it’s constantly attacking him.
It was a lot of fun. Most of the gangs are actually canon gangs, and I did a bit of research to get some names that hopefully people would like. Because the story is essentially just moving from A to B, I loved the idea of using the various districts and different environments that the city had. I tried to incorporate those into the story throughout Batman’s escapades.
The city is as big a character in this as Batman, and that was a very deliberate thing for me.
What about the new villain, EMP? What was it like to create EMP, decide how his powers were integral to the story you were telling, but then showcase that he doesn’t necessarily have control of everything? I think the tragic element was really hard-hitting.
Jock: Great, thank you. Tragic was the word that I was going to use.
My feeling with EMP is that he has these powers, that probably in his younger life he may have had more control over, and he was employed by the mob to carry out various nefarious things that his powers could help them with. But there was probably a point where he became too volatile and too unstable, even for himself, and he was unable to control these powers.
So, when we meet him, that’s where he’s at. He’s having to be contained, obviously. In issue one, he’s like a moth to the flame. When he’s first released, he’s all messed up from the various chemicals and things that they’re pumping into him to keep him subdued. And when he finds himself in the open, he’s literally like, “Where’s the brightest light? I need to just get there.” And that isn’t necessarily what he wants to do. That’s the tragic quality of him; that’s unfortunately where he’s ended up.
In issue 2, we learn that’s had dire consequences. He’s overloaded before, but when that’s mixed with solar energy on top of all the electrical and emotional energy that he has trouble handling, it’s a whole other kind of explosion. It does damage a lot of people, and it’s tragic. You’re absolutely right. That’s the perfect word for him.
I sort of wanted to start making the reader think, “Okay, here’s another regular villain.” But, actually, he’s more. Hopefully, by the end of the story, you’ll be feeling for him and wanting him to find some sort of resolution with his own troubled past.
His powers actually affect Batman in a really interesting way.
Jock: Yeah, that was fun, right? He is literally drinking in any kind of energy around him – and it can be emotional as well as electrical and more obvious things. So. if there isn’t any, all of his paws are still going to be searching and looking. In a blackout, when there’s none, we know that we all operate with a certain amount of electricity in our bodies. And wouldn’t it be fun if the only electricity he could find was Batman’s brain?
You talked earlier about pulling away the things that make his life easier. But what if we also are literally messing with his brain a little bit as well? He’s working at less than perfect condition. And again, that all came from the idea that I want to strip Batman down to the bare essentials.
Was it an intentional choice not to have any of the heavy hitter villains in the series? Though it’s still possible that it could happen in the third issue.
Jock: It certainly is still possible.
It was intentional. I felt like my strength in the story would be to make it a street level story. I’m not saying that all the various other heroes and villains aren’t around in this Gotham, but I wanted to focus on just Batman as a sole character.
But at the end of issue 2, we see him go underground. And in issue 3, he does meet someone that we might recognize.
When Rita Vasquez is introduced, she is very much in conflict with Gordon regarding her firm stance on how she wants to incarcerate metahumans, but readers find out in chapter 2 that she has ulterior motives at play. What’s her mission, and how does her relationship with Gordon and Montoya dictate what unfolds in the second chapter?
Jock: I guess it’s not a spoiler to say that by the second chapter, it’s pretty obvious that she wants EMP out of the way. There’s reasons for that.
She’s essentially a very grey character; she has she has one foot in each camp, in the legal and possibly illegal side as well. Again, I don’t think that’s too much of a stretch to give away, since she’s talking to dirty cops in issue 2.
She’s been tasked with a situation that she has to clean up, and she’s the reason for the transfer and the original ambush on the convoy in issue 1. I’m not saying she’s behind all of that, but she’s kind of behind all of that.
Come issue 3, obviously, things have gone completely left field for her and that situation. She’s got to figure it out and Brody, the boy that we meet, is instrumental in her coming up with a new plan.
You’re a very renowned artist – and you’ve done writing before, so I don’t want to discredit that. But what it was like to show off the duality of what you can do with Batman in this book, and how’s the reaction been so far?
Jock: First, thank you. I really appreciate that. The writing side is a whole other thing, obviously. And it’s been amazing exploring it. It has literally felt like double the work to figure it all out, but luckily, I’ve got a lot of great writer friends that have helped with advice and plotting and structure; things like that.
You’re right, I have done little bits and pieces of writing, but nothing really substantial. There’s an element of learning as I go, but one of the reasons I chose the story that I chose is that I was hoping it was a fairly simple story that I could tell very well. Batman needs to get from point A to point B, but I still wanted to have themes and be interesting and not be too throw away. It’s really nice to hear you say that you were getting some of that from the EMP situation and with Vasquez as well.
To try and tell a simple plot in an interesting way was kind of what I set out to do.
Was three issues a nice middle ground between going farther than you’ve gone before in terms of writing a series, but not to the point where you have to worry about future storylines?
Jock: Yeah, 100%. With three issues, there’s a perfect three-act structure right there. My favorite comics are the ones that are self-contained; that you could show to anyone, even someone that doesn’t read comics, and go, “Check this out.” Hopefully, they’ll have a satisfying story to read. They’ve always been my favorite kind of stories.
There’s an element at the end of this that leaves it open to doing more with these characters. We’ll see what happens, but it would be quite appealing to carry on their stories. But the self-contained element was really important to me, and doing it at Black Label was the perfect home. Because that gives me the freedom to push some of that stuff; make it self-contained and have it hopefully feel like its own thing, even though it’s still an accessible Batman story.
With the Black Label, I guess you weren’t so confined by making sure certain elements were exclusively tied in.
Jock: Yeah, and I probably wouldn’t be so good at that stuff anyway. It astounds me how people can juggle that stuff, month in and month out, and figure it all out. Maybe that just speaks to my sensibilities; I love a self-contained story. And the format was just perfect for that.
Are there any other characters you would love to tackle in a miniseries at one point?
Jock: No, not at the minute. Honestly, I’m just content doing Batman. If more came, it would probably be a continuation of this, I would think.
But saying that, this feels like a bit of a new chapter in a lot of ways. And I’m excited to see where it takes me.
What can readers expect from this final chapter? I think you’ve set a good framework of what’s at stake, who the main players are, and where this could go. But what can you say?
Jock: Talking about the three-act structure, issue 3 is our finale. There is a big, bombastic quality to the finale, but what I really hope that readers get from it is the sense of redemption and closure from the characters because. That’s what I’m going for.
And that’s the great thing about telling a Batman story. You can have all those qualities that we love from comics – I’ve got double-page splashes, and I’ve got some crazy stuff that happens in 3 that’s been a lot of fun to draw – but at its core, it’s about that family dynamic. I’m hoping there will be a really satisfying ending to the whole thing.
Thank you so much for Jock for taking the time to chat with us. Batman: One Dark Knight #2 by Jock and Cleo Robbins is in comic book stores now.