When it was revealed that artist David Finch would be leaving Marvel comics following an incredible run on Marvel's X-Men: Second Coming story arc fans were definitely caught by surprise. The artist revealed that he would be leaving Marvel for an exclusive contract with DC Comics. This contract limited him to covers and one very top secret project for DC; Batman: The Dark Knight.
The book was first announced a year ago (last summer) and it was revealed that Finch had already finished up the first arc in what was supposed to be his own ongoing series. Unfortunately, however, David Finch fans did not get to see the comic book series written and penciled by Finch--at least not on time. The series launched with the release of the first issue in September of 2010, but fans didn't see Batman: The Dark Knight #2 until May of 2011. So, what happened?
== TEASER ==In an interview with Newsarama back in July of last year Finch revealed that he had completed the first story arc and was just starting to work on the second.
Nrama: Have you picked a title for the series? Or the first story?
Finch: Yes, the book is called Batman: The Dark Knight. The first story is all written, and it leads into the second, which is in the planning stages right now.
Nearly a year later DC is finally bringing the third issue of Batman: The Dark Knight to stores this Wednesday, July 13th. DC also revealed the preview of the issue due out this week earlier today and based on the solicit the book continues to tell the story of Bruce Wayne, Batman and his childhood friend Dawn Golden. You can check out the story below.
So what is up with the major delay on this book? The interview with Finch made it seem things were well underway and that the first arc was already in the bag. Understandably it can be attributed to a number of different things, but I would venture to guess that this may have a little bit to do with the revamp of the new DC Universe which is set to launch this September, 2011. We posted some of the covers and the accompanying solicits to the upcoming 52 new titles earlier, so be sure to check them out here if you haven't already. The good news is that Finch's Batman: The Dark Knight won't be stranded in comic book limbo and is set to start over in September beginning with issue #1 as part of the 52 new ongoing titles.
It seems like Finch had a pretty solid understanding of what he wanted to do with the story and where he wanted to take it based on a variety of different interviews.
If I could be so bold as to draw a comparison, I would want to associate it with Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil's work from the early '70s. It's a street level book, very hands on, down and dirty. That's just more my style. But Dark Knight will take Batman in a bit of a darker direction. He's going to be dealing with mysticism, dark arts, and demonology. All things that are well outside of his comfort zone. The challenge for Batman will be to pit his brains and grim determination against forces that defy logic and fear. But he's a fast learner, and he'll have help... The Demon [Etrigan] plays an ongoing part in the book. Jason Blood is very helpful to Batman when it comes to understanding his enemy. But Jason has his own allegiances to worry about. Helping Batman puts him at direct odds with his masters. Alfred, Gordon and the usual cast are heavily featured, along with characters from other Batman titles.
So how much of Finch's vision for his initial series will carry over into the relaunch of Batman: The Dark Knight? Finch initially stated that he wanted a "dark and gothic" feel to his Batman book, and it will be interesting to see if that's something prevalent this September starting with Batman: The Dark Knight #1. Be sure to look for issue #3 of Batman: The Dark Knight this Wednesday written and penciled by David Finch as well as issues #4 and #5 due to hit July 27th and August 24th respectively.
Source: DC Source
