Tony Daniel talks about the Bat family

I'm not planning on getting Batman and Robin Eternal but this has a preview of the art. Plus Daniels talks about the bat kids and after his past writing them, well let's just say I was curious.

Thoughts about parts of the interview below.


CBR News: When "Batman and Robin Eternal" was announced at Comic-Con International, James Tynion IV said the series would "honor the legacy of Robin." Arguably the world's most famous sidekick, Robin celebrates his 75th anniversary this year, making him one of the oldest superheroes in comics. Did you grow up with Dick Grayson as your Robin, or were Tim Drake or Jason Todd your entry point to the character?

Tony Daniel: It was Dick Grayson, of course. Watching the old Adam West/Burt Ward "Batman" TV series, Dick was the Robin we all grew up with. He is the definitive Robin because he was the first. He's like the Sean Connery of the James Bonds. [Laughs] He's always been my favorite Robin. Since then, he's transformed into a hero of his own as Nightwing. And I love the character Nightwing, too.

When I started to work with DC Comics, early on with Geoff Johns on "Teen Titans," Robin was Tim Drake. I really enjoyed Tim Drake as a character. I was a fan of "Teen Titans" before I started working on it, and Tim Drake as the leader made for a really cool dynamic for the team. Tim serving as leader shows that he was a great Robin, as well.

For me, in a nutshell, Dick Grayson is my favorite, followed closely by Tim Drake, but all of the Robins are cool in different ways. Jason Todd is another character that I have a history with because of "Batman: Battle for the Cowl." I always have a soft spot for him too because he's a really cool antihero and very different from the other Robins.

Not mentioned but Daniels also did the art for the Jason vs. Tim fight which makes me wonder how much it affected his writing for BFTC. I don't know if that story was editorially mandated to go a certain way besides Dick winning but he certainty didn't do Jason any favors. So hearing he has a soft spot for him feels off but I definitely could tell he likes Dick and Tim. No mention of Damian appearing although I'd wager that would happen midway for an emotional storyline.

She's not on the cover, but it's been revealed that Cassandra Cain will be featured in this series, as well. Now, we haven't seen her in the present day DCU since the launch of the New 52. What can you share about Cassandra Cain in the series, and most importantly, will she be suiting up as Batgirl, or possibly Black Bat?

She's also one of my favorite characters. I loved her in "Batgirl," and I loved working on her with Geoff Johns as she was in our "Teen Titans" towards the end there. This is my first time doing any artwork with her since then.

I can tell you she has a very strong impact in the first issue. It's going to be fun to see her again, but she's Cassandra Cain. She's not going to be wearing her Batgirl uniform or anything like that, but everyone knows who Cassandra Cain is. I think readers are going to get a real kick out of it and enjoy seeing her back in action. I hope people like the new design and the cool action that we have planned for her.

"Towards the end?" I'm not sure who wrote the issue I'm thinking about but I remember Cass being written out of character since she was murderous even after Tim saved her. Then everyone was trying to stop her and making a fool out of her by pulling on her cape. Anyway I went off on a tangent there but back to the point of this storyline? I have heard rumors of Cass' new origin being something that will piss off fans so I'm not hopeful. Who is she going to be if she can't even be Black Bat ? Personally I thought she was the best Batgirl because she was the only one that could be Batmans' equal as Batgirl. I never got that impression with anyone else. So I will be upset if she can't wear the bat symbol since it was such a huge part of her character.