Chip Zdarsky, the upcoming writer on Batman, shared a glimpse at several designs for "Many Happy Returns," a story he had illustrated starring Batman and Joker that ran in Detective Comics #1027.
"Though my process is usually just me drawing a bad thing and then redrawing it until it's less of a bad thing," Zdarsky joked on the latest edition of his Substack newsletter. "But! Since you're here, and since I'm the new Batman writer, here are the character sheets I made for the Detective Comics 1027 short story I did with THE Matt Fraction! I may have shown these here before? My brain no good."
Zdarsky's designs include several distinct costumes for Batman, from his beginnings as a new crimefighter to an armored future look. The costumes incorporate and evolve several motifs seen in Batman's outfits over the years, from artist David Mazzucchelli's Year One outfit to a costume inspired by the 1989 Batman film. "We were bouncing around in time so I needed to work out what each period should look like," Zdarsky wrote. "It was super fun to do and I’m pretty proud of 'future 1!' Maybe I’ll bring it into the monthly book! I HAVE THE POWER NOW[.]"
Zdarsky also shared sketches of the Joker. These include designs inspired by the Clown Prince of Crime's look in the 1950s and '60s, an outfit right out of Prince's Batdance music video that accompanied Tim Burton's Batman movie, and a bizarre future appearance with Joker wearing forks on his head. "Joker was easier, and I’m still extremely grateful that Matt wanted Batdance for year five," Zdarsky wrote. "I forget if it was me or him that wanted the fork bat ears for 'future 2.' If you like it, it was me. If not, it was Matt."
"Many Happy Returns," written by Matt Fraction and penned by Zdarsky, examines the twisted relationship between Batman and his greatest nemesis. Every month since they first met, the Joker has always given Batman a "birthday present" of some sort, ranging from violent crimes to kidnappings to harmless pictures of the two enemies hand-in-hand. On the last day of an undisclosed month, however, the Joker's gift remains nowhere to be seen -- and Batman falls into paranoia trying to figure out what the clown's plans are. The story eerily ends with the Joker turning himself in and taunting Batman until the exasperated crimefighter finally screams out, "Give me my birthday present!" After this outburst, the Joker gleefully remarks that he is Batman's present, and the two of them will be fighting together for eternity.
Zdarsky, who wrote Batman: The Knight and previously penned the story "Cheer" in Batman: Urban Legends #1-6, was announced as the writer on the main Batman book in February. His first issue kickstarts the "Failsafe" storyline and appears in Batman #125, which releases on July 5.
Source: Substack