Mike Marts interview up at IGN

[A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.]

http://comics.ign.com/articles/935/935393p1.html

Morrison's return to Batman seems to still be uncertain. And to think, only this summer he was saying he would be writing Batman for all forseeable future. So something must have happened to make either he or DC change their minds.

[pressdarlings]

http://comics.ign.com/articles/935/935393p1.html

Morrison's return to Batman seems to still be uncertain. And to think, only this summer he was saying he would be writing Batman for all forseeable future. So something must have happened to make either he or DC change their minds.

Is this Batman RIP spoiler free?

[lepeos]

More or less, as long as you have an idea whats happening in the next few months of Batmanville from reading solicits or whatever most of it won't be spoilers

[Mat001]

Well, Morrison said a while back before the story began that he was going to take a break for a while. So that could still be in play.

[Captain Jim]

An excellent interview. Everyone who's interested in what's coming up in the bat-titles in the next few months needs to read this.

[AlistairCrane]

IGN Comics: It seems like there has been a concerted effort to move Selina Kyle further towards a more moral gray area than she's occupied in recent years. Do you think it's important to get that character back towards the villainous or amoral side of things?

Marts: You know, she's starring in a "Faces of Evil" one-shot, so that says something big about Selina's character and where she's deciding to take things in her life. She's a strong enough character where I think a lot of times she writes her own stories. I'll say that over the course of the next few months, the ball is definitely in her court as far as where she's going to lean – whether it is towards the Robin Hood side of doing good things through shady deeds, or if she'll lean more on the sides of actually being a villain.

--------------------

WTF kind of answer is that?

[Captain Jim]

WTF kind of answer is that?

Yeah, I thought the whole "the ball is definitely in her court" thing was a bit strange.

[Ben Reilly#6]

Great interview, but it really didn't clear too much up. Especially the answer concerning Selina. That was so wishy-washy, he might as well have just said "I don't know, her morals will shift wherever the plot demands." Rather dissapointing, but I'll wait out what they do with her.

[carabas]

Yeah, I thought the whole "the ball is definitely in her court" thing was a bit strange.Maybe he refers to the ball previously having been in Zatanna's court?

[markp]

Great interview but I really wonder where things are headed

[AJM]

Can anyone tell me where that Tony Daniel Joker close-up comes from (it's next to the RIP variant cover on page 1)? Was / is it a variant or something? Haven't seen it before.

EDIT: Never mind, just found it was a variant for 682.

[AlistairCrane]

Maybe he refers to the ball previously having been in Zatanna's court?

Zatanna didn't turn Selina one way or the other. It was explained in the issue where she gave Helena up for adoption--the mind wipe didn't take because she was already on the road to goodness.

[AlistairCrane]

For me as a Selina fan, the ball is very much in my court, actually. With Detective and Batman seemingly on hiatus for the three months in which Battle for the Cowl is published, I can drop the Batbooks (since there will only be two of them) if they actually make Selina "evil". I'm not one to read crap that pisses me off, which is what I'd be reading if they decide to undo the past seven years of characterization and make her "bad". So after Neil Gaiman's issues, I could be dropping the Batbooks if they take Selina in a direction I'm not fond of. DC has given me a good dropping off point, although they may not realize it.

[carabas]

Zatanna didn't turn Selina one way or the other. It was explained in the issue where she gave Helena up for adoption--the mind wipe didn't take because she was already on the road to goodness.
I had dropped the book long before then. I think I dropped it as soon as Zatanna got involved. Anyway, this reeks of backpedalling.

Regardles, it is a stupidthing to say in an interview. The ball is never in Selina's court on account of her being a fictional character with no mind of her own.

[Captain Jim]

Regardles, it is a stupid thing to say in an interview. The ball is never in Selina's court on account of her being a fictional character with no mind of her own.

That was the point I was trying to make.

[Ben Reilly#6]

Regardles, it is a stupidthing to say in an interview. The ball is never in Selina's court on account of her being a fictional character with no mind of her own.

I wouldn't think of it as a stupid thing to say. It's necessary to speak of the characters as if they were really alive, or else there wouldn't be a point in keeping track of what they're doing. Still, the way he phrased that entire answer was a little vague and haphazard, as if he couldn't think of a better way to say "you'll have to wait and see".

[Super Buddies Forever]

So Catwoman will be an out-and-out villain again and Barbara Gordon will most likely be Batgirl (based off of this interview but more so from the most recent DiDio "20 Questions" over at Newsarama).

The regressive mentality that has taken over DC Comics is staggering. A part of me is wondering whether Dick is not poised to be Batman, but rather re-donning the short shorts of Robin.

[AlistairCrane]

Regardles, it is a stupidthing to say in an interview. The ball is never in Selina's court on account of her being a fictional character with no mind of her own.

Agreed. She is subject to the whim of stupid writers who want to make her "evil" for no good reason, at the cost of all the development provided by Brubaker and Pfeifer.

[AlistairCrane]

So Catwoman will be an out-and-out villain again and Barbara Gordon will most likely be Batgirl (based off of this interview but more so from the most recent DiDio "20 Questions" over at Newsarama).

The regressive mentality that has taken over DC Comics is staggering. A part of me is wondering whether Dick is not poised to be Batman, but rather re-donning the short shorts of Robin.

If that came to be, I'd never buy another DC book ever again. You think I'm just saying that, but Selina Kyle is the reason I read comics, and if they trash her character by making her a full-fledged villain at the expense of all the character development over the past seven years, I will say goodbye to DC because it's not worth my time or money.

[davepaton]

So Catwoman will be an out-and-out villain again and Barbara Gordon will most likely be Batgirl (based off of this interview but more so from the most recent DiDio "20 Questions" over at Newsarama).

The regressive mentality that has taken over DC Comics is staggering. A part of me is wondering whether Dick is not poised to be Batman, but rather re-donning the short shorts of Robin.

Yeah it sometimes does feel a bit like that why fix something that isn't broken? There is no need (and it would seem no demand) to have Catwoman become an out and out villian, no change Oracle or to bring back Jason Todd. Instead of going backwards DC should concentrate on developing new stories and characters.

[Trey]

Agreed. She is subject to the whim of stupid writers who want to make her "evil" for no good reason, at the cost of all the development provided by Brubaker and Pfeifer.

Um, hasn't she found that trying to be good doesn't work in Gotham? So its still natural character progression if she wants to be a cat-burgler again.

[AlistairCrane]

Um, hasn't she found that trying to be good doesn't work in Gotham? So its still natural character progression if she wants to be a cat-burgler again.

Spoken exactly like someone who's never read an issue of Catwoman's own ongoing.

[chipsnopotatoes]

I actually wouldn't mind her going back to her cat burglar roots -- as long as she's depicted as smart and doesn't get caught. i actually enjoyed some of her stories in the 90's. i would also like to see her back as femme fatale.

what i don't want to see wiped out by dc is the history of her relationship with bruce, as some writers seem wont to do.

[Captain Jim]

Agreed. She is subject to the whim of stupid writers who want to make her "evil" for no good reason, at the cost of all the development provided by Brubaker and Pfeifer.

Actually, it's the whim of editors, not writers. The writers just do what they're told.