It’s almost impossible to remember a time when Batman wasn’t cool. When I was little, Batman was primarily known as the straight-laced crimefighter in endless reruns of the 1960s Batman TV series starring Adam West, Burt Ward and a seemingly endless, brightly colored array of “special guest villains.” Kids loved Batman, and not grasping the fact that the show itself was a subversive comedy, we often felt we outgrew him after a certain point. Batman certainly wasn’t the inescapable pop culture juggernaut and guaranteed box office draw that we know today. But then along came comics like Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley’s The Dark Knight Returns, which paved the way for the seismic impact of 1989’s Batman movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton.
And for a superhero-obsessed kid living in a time when superhero movies weren’t just rare, they were practically non-existent, Batman was a pop culture event like no other. I haunted my local comic shop, spent every last dime of my meager allowance on Bat-memorabilia, begged my Mom to whip up a homemade Batman costume for Halloween (patient, kind, and talented soul that she is, she nailed it), and painstakingly set my Dad’s VCR for every news show that promised even a hint of new footage from the movie.
Is it any wonder that we’ve put Matt Reeves’ cinematic reimagining of the Dark Knight’s early days, The Batman, on our cover? We’ve assembled Robert Pattinson as Batman (and Bruce Wayne), Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon all together, and every single one of ‘em is drawn by legendary comic artist Bill Sienkiewicz. Known for his eerie and distinctive style, it’s pretty fitting that he’s the one to illustrate a cover about a Batman movie that looks pretty eerie and distinctive in its own right. After years of admiring his work in other people’s books, we never dreamed we’d one day have a Bill Sienkiewicz cover of our very own, but here we are!
So not only is Batman “cool” now, he’s the subject of one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and one of the coolest comics artists of a generation has illustrated him for this cover. And I get to be part of a team that is helping to bring some awesome exclusive details about it to other fans. That’s pretty cool, too, ain’t it?
The next issue of Den of Geek, with exclusive details on The Batman, arrives on Feb. 14.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE OF DEN OF GEEK
An exclusive look at Robert Eggers’ upcoming Viking epic, The Northman!
Details on Marvel’s new Captain Carter comic series!
The lore of Elden Ring!
Behind-the-scenes of Netflix’s Cuphead animated series!
And much more!
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