This fall, John Layman (CHEW) will be writing DETECTIVE COMICS. And joining him to tell his twisted stories about the Dark Knight will be fan-favorite artist Jason Fabok. So what’s in store for DC Comics’ flagship title? We asked the duo to shed some light on what fans can expect from their collaboration.

“Obviously, this is a happily surreal and exciting turn-of-events for my career,” Layman told THE SOURCE. “Not only is this my first work within the DC Universe, but I get to work on one of DC’s undisputedly coolest and highest-profile characters. I’m going to take a look at the role of criminal organizations within Gotham City, hopefully from a perspective that does not get considered very often (if at all). From the symbiotic relationship a master criminal must have with Gotham in order to survive, to the lowly, often faceless criminal underling hoping to rise up the ranks. All that, plus Batman’s gonna play with a bunch of crazy new toys and kick all kinds of butt.”

“First, I want to express how thankful I am to have this opportunity. I am humbled that DC Comics would entrust me with one of their greatest titles,” continued Fabok. “To work on a Batman title has been the number one goal that I set for my career and I am honored to have this opportunity to make my dream become a reality. I'm really hoping to deliver a dark, epic Batman with hints of the art deco stylings of the old animated series and the more modern take seen in recent incarnations. I am hoping to let my influences gush out onto the page and create something that is familiar, classic and yet my own. As for working with John Layman, I couldn't be more excited. John is a great visual storyteller and he packs every page with meaningful panels that bring the story forward and add incredible depth. Together we hope to deliver a quality Batman tale, filled with mystery, twists, turns, shockers and most of all, fun!”

DETECTIVE COMICS #13 flies into stores on October 3rd. Below, take an exclusive first look at Fabok’s cover for the issue.

This book is going to get amazing.

Good for him, that's a pretty big deal, just hope it doesn't interfere with his work on Chew.

So both Dark Knight and Detective are fixed? Good.

@InnerVenom123 said:

So both Dark Knight and Detective are fixed? Good.

Dark Knight...? Tell me more.

@ReVamp said:

@InnerVenom123 said:

So both Dark Knight and Detective are fixed? Good.

Dark Knight...? Tell me more.

Did you not hear that Gregg Hurwitz took over writing duties on TDK and made it into a good book?

@The_Tree said:

@ReVamp said:

@InnerVenom123 said:

So both Dark Knight and Detective are fixed? Good.

Dark Knight...? Tell me more.

Did you not hear that Gregg Hurwitz took over writing duties on TDK and made it into a good book?

I have not. When was this?

@ReVamp said:

@The_Tree said:

@ReVamp said:

@InnerVenom123 said:

So both Dark Knight and Detective are fixed? Good.

Dark Knight...? Tell me more.

Did you not hear that Gregg Hurwitz took over writing duties on TDK and made it into a good book?

I have not. When was this?

last month? And announced like 4 months ago.

Well now Batman will be getting all around good writers. Snyder's awesome in Batman, Tomasi was brilliant in Batman and Robin, hopefully Hurwitz will be good in Dark Knight, Morrison should write as he usually does for Batman Inc and I'll reserve judgment about John Layman as I haven't really heard of him. Why isn't Superman getting this creative reshuffle that he deserves? Superman needs a better creative team and I'm not convinced Lobdell can do that. Now Rocafort on art is good, I loved his work on Reign of the Doomsdays.

@sethysquare said:

last month? And announced like 4 months ago.

Meh. Must've forgotten to check it out.

I've heard really good things about Chew. I might have to buy every batman book 'cept Morrison's.

@ReVamp said:

@sethysquare said:

last month? And announced like 4 months ago.

Meh. Must've forgotten to check it out.

You should give it a shot, it's a huge improvement from before.

@Lvenger said:

Well now Batman will be getting all around good writers. Snyder's awesome in Batman, Tomasi was brilliant in Batman and Robin, hopefully Hurwitz will be good in Dark Knight, Morrison should write as he usually does for Batman Inc and I'll reserve judgment about John Layman as I haven't really heard of him. Why isn't Superman getting this creative reshuffle that he deserves? Superman needs a better creative team and I'm not convinced Lobdell can do that. Now Rocafort on art is good, I loved his work on Reign of the Doomsdays.

Rocafort wont leave outlaws if not for scott. Plus Scott has done so much more for teen titans than few of the previous writers combined. He obviously had a good pitch and DC decided to go with it. Plus he is the best person to write Superman cos he is very fluid and doesnt really stick to what he has planned before. This makes it easy to coordinate with the ever changing editorials at superman books.

@The_Tree said:

You should give it a shot, it's a huge improvement from before.

I may.

@HotSauceCommittee said:

Good for him, that's a pretty big deal, just hope it doesn't interfere with his work on Chew.

Chew is ending and as far as I know, he finished writing it a while ago.

now im confused again. I originally only wanted 1 batman title, now im pulling 3. After Hurwitz and this, I might have to pull all 5 batman titles. grr. Think I'll wait for trade.

@sethysquare: I have to disagree here. I personally feel the quality of both Superboy and Teen Titans has gone down since Lobdell has been writing for them. Pre New 52, Connor's character was utterly perfect and it's sad that he's lost what made him brilliant these past few years. Lobdell still hasn't gotten to grips with the character yet and the fact Superboy messes up Death of Superman means it's littered with continuity errors.

Teen Titans was also superior pre New 52 to me. Currently the action is stereotypical, the dialogue is predictable, it's poorly paced and the plot devices haven't been fully utilised.

However, out of all of Lobdell's titles, Red Hood and the Outlaws is the one I dislike the most. Roy's been returned to former addict status, Jason's done alright but that hardly counts for much when one looks at what Lobdell has done to Starfire. Reducing Starfire's experience of her time on Earth to sensory/emotional events, this just grills me up every time. I hate that Lobdell has stripped her of all her character pre New 52. Maybe the space arc will be the spark that will ignite the journey of restoring it, maybe it won't. But as with many other New 52 titles, the continuity issues regarding Wolfman's Titans run are glaring. This is a series I would love to be cancelled in the next wave of cancellations, I'm just not feeling it at all with these characters.

http://www.comicvine.com/news/dc-entertainment-announces-new-creative-team-for-detective-comics/144905/