Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Brad Walker, dc, detective comics

Brad Walker On Being Dropped From Detective Comics

With the news of the new Detective Comics creative team of Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora for March 2021, current Detective Comics artist Brad Walker posted to Facebook, about his work with Pete Tomasi on the title,

DC has announced a new creative team for Detective Comics after Future State, so I can safely post that my time on the book with Peter Tomasi is ending with issue 1033, later this month.

On the one hand, it's very bittersweet, cause it's a title I would've stayed on for years. This was far and away the most fun I've had drawing comics. Pete and I felt a great chemistry from the start and had a similar idea of what we wanted to do with Batman. It felt like being 11 years old again, making Batman skulk around darkened rooms, or punch Two-Face in big, robot suits, every day. In an ideal world, I would've had a Jim Aparo or Norm Breyfogle style relationship with the book, and just come on for arcs every few issues for a decade.

But whether it's down to corporate comics' style to constantly shaking things up, or the audience following the next pretty, shiny thing, the industry doesn't really work that way, at the moment. In my experience, you rarely get to decide in comics how or when you leave the party. So, in this case, I'm happy with what I did on the book, and in an uncharacteristically cheery turn for myself, I'll look back on the past two years with pride and my love of Batman fully intact!

I did almost 13 full issues (two 5 issue arcs, a 12-page anniversary story, and a two issue farewell) with every page by me, the best I was able to draw. Considering comics only ever tells you you're too slow, I'm taking that as a win. Ha!

And apart from a few pages at the end of the second arc, every page was inked by Andrew Hennessy at the top of his game, and we never had a fill in on colors. It's hard to nail down the great colorists in comics, so instead of having one great colorist, we had THREE of the greatest colorists in comics. Nathan Fairbairn, Brad Anderson, and now Dave McCaig! All good friends who not only made the issues look the best I've ever looked, but who contributed to making the overall experience my favorite time so far working in the industry.

We had five (count em, FIVE) editors in two years, but somehow, it didn't throw things off course, and all were gracious, supportive friends that treated me like a human being first, which is what good editing is, for me. And the silver lining for readers is that they'll have new stories by Mariko Tamaki and Dan Mora who are fantastic and exciting creatives, and will obviously make amazing Batman comics.

As for me, my contract with DC was up at the end of this newest arc, so I'm going to do something a little different, next. I love every single person left at DC (and all the ones that are no longer there), and I hope to always come back and make more comics with them. And much as one can feel like they have a family as a comics freelancer, they feel like my family. But coming off something as rewarding as Detective was to me, it seemed like the next, best move was probably a left turn. So, look out for more details about my next comics project soon!

And YES, original art from my DETECTIVE COMICS issues will be up for sale, by me, VERY SOON!  Look for details about that in a different post/thread, later this week!

And who knows! I started my career in Detective Comics with two back up stories 15 years before this gig began! So, maybe in the year 2033, I'll come back around for another run!

Fellow creator Keith Champagne replied,

Great run! I know what you guys are doing next and I'll be buying three copies!

We will keep our eyes out… Brad Walker and Peter Tomasi and Andrew Hennessey's final issues, Detective Comics #1032 and #1033, will be published today and on December 22nd.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!