Its Batmans turn for an anniversary celebration.
EW can exclusively debut their nine-page Batman story in full here.
When we first teamed forDaredevil, DC called us.
Credit: DC Comics
This was years ago, Bendis tells EW.
They offered me and Alex to leave Marvel and come do Batman.
We looked at each other and were like, ahh they finally called and we cant come!
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There was no sliding door, we werent going to leave Marvel at the time.
But weve always thought about it.
So when I came to DC, I had to call Alex.
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He said, I want Batman!
Ive waited so many god damn years!
If you put a piece of paper in front of Alex, hell draw Batman.
DC Comics
So there was a lot of context when DC offered us to do a story inDetective Comics#1000.
I was like oh yeah, this will scratch that itch beautifully for me and Alex.
This is not Maleevs first Batman comics work.
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I did some Batman before.
I did some No Mans Land but I didnt ink myself on that one, Maleev says.
Batman is reliant on clues and detection and his own point of view.
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I see Daredevil and Superman looking outside themselves, while Batman is very internalized in his justice.
In this story, Batman isnt the only person looking for clues.
The old villain explains how he was able to finally piece together Batmans secret identity over the years.
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It was hard to draw Penguin old.
Not Batman, Batman was easy, Maleev says.
But with Penguin, you have to imagine what he would look like in his 80s and 90s.
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That was a challenge.
I had some different sketches, and I was trying to play with his makeup.
The colors make him look very old, not just the line art.
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Peoples looks evolve over time, Bendis adds.
We talked about that.
What would he be walking around in now?
Maleev summarizes: He didnt age like a cathedral, he aged like a shed.
Action Comics#1000 represented Bendis first published work at DC after making the move from Marvel.
This isnt even the last word Bendis and Maleev have to say about Batman, either.
This is just the beginning for us, Bendis says.
This is kind of a palate cleanser.
This is whats gonna look and feel like.
This is an artistic prelude.
For now, read Bendis and Maleevs full story below.
