Since the start of DC’s The New 52 in September 2011, writer Scott Snyder has led the Batman title to some great and interesting places. Amid the rumours of DC’s Rebirth event/re-launch, it has been confirmed Snyder will be leaving the title after April’s Batman #51.
Snyder broke the news in an interview with Comic Vine yesterday, saying “Greg [Capullo] and I have had a blast together on this run. It’s our second to last issue together. 51 is my last issue as well on Batman. For me, 50 is the quiet issue and 51 is really just a letter to the fans from us and a letter to Batman. It’s the lightest I’ve ever written. Not lightest as in happy but light as in not as many panels per page. It’s really really open. It’s a chance for Greg to draw the close before we take our break. 50 we wanted to be the opposite. We wanted it to be the most explosive, jam-packed sort of blockbuster crazed issue we’ve ever done. I hope it delivers in that regard.”
He also went on Twitter to thank his fans, saying in a pair of tweets “Truth: I’ve been delaying writing the last pages of Batman #51 – my final issue on the series and last comic w @GregCapullo for 6 months. And thank you guys so much for the support on BATMAN #49 and this arc in general. Batman fans are the best in the world.”
During the course of Snyder and Capullo’s stellar run, they’ve introduced the Court of Owls, examined Batman’s first year and have done two fan-favourite Joker stories in ‘Death of the Family’ and ‘Endgame’. Currently Bruce Wayne is semi-amnesiac after his battle with The Joker, not remembering he was Batman. Jim Gordon has taken up his stead as a fully deputized Batman working for a big company alongside the GCPD. However, it looks like Bruce will be donning the cape and cowl for the oversized anniversary issue Batman #50, the conclusion to ‘Superheavy’ and the penultimate chapter in Snyder and Capullo’s arc.
Though it’s sad to see Snyder leaving one of DC’s flagship titles, rumours have said he will be moving onto Detective Comics once DC’s Rebirth gets underway. Detective Comics is where he first began writing for Batman in his story ‘The Black Mirror’, looking at Dick Grayson’s time as Batman while Bruce was getting Batman Incorporated up and running. Don’t expect his partnership with Capullo to be over either. After Batman #51 Capullo will be drawing a project with Mark Millar, but plans to work again with Snyder on an unknown story for DC. Hopefully these two will come back to Gotham City sooner rather than later.
https://youtu.be/2bSRrPDqhqo?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published February 11, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
