Duke is a character who believes that heroism and the Robin mantle can exist entirely separate from Batman himself.

Duke is a character who believes that heroism and the Robin mantle can exist entirely separate from Batman himself.

I really wanted to make sure that if we set Duke up, that he's set up the right way and he's his own hero for the right reasons.

"The Cursed Wheel," which Declan [Shalvey] is starting here, is the one constant. It's a story in the backups that will go through the whole year and be the one consistent narrative. It anchors the entire [book].

What I'm interested in exploring with Clark Kent is when you have the power to do something that goes beyond what you think is the right thing to do and the difficulty of that. Meaning, to be Superman also means to withhold a lot of power. He could reshape the world however he thinks it should be. But Superman doesn't, historically, do those things. He allows a certain level of self-governing and a certain level of independence, I think out of an admiration for humanity. Because he's inspired by the best in us and he challenges us to inspire each other to be the best that we can be.

Does it matter how long they were together that night? To lovers, an hour can last a century. But even for lovers, every hour ends.

Having that North Star for every story [about Batman] is really key for me. It allows me to go farther and farther off the reservation.