When DC first announced "The New 52," many of us were left wondering where Marcus To would end up. As the last artist on RED ROBIN (who also worked on 20 issues), it was surprising that he wasn't listed among the new titles. There was some relief as the HUNTRESS miniseries was announced.

Today, DC has made Marcus To fans happy with the announcement that he will be the artist on BATWING beginning with issue #9.

To's first issue will see Batwing still in Gotham City after pursuing Massacre from Africa to the United States. Now he will find himself up against the Court of Owls in the Night of the Owls crossover in May.

ok, thats cool on a couple levels. Makes me miss RR though...

I cannot be excited until I see where Ben Oliver ends up. I thought his art fit the series perfectly.

<3 Batwing.

I have to make some cuts from my pull lost and it's either batwing or nightwing...ufff this makes it even more difficult

Must. Buy. In. Trade.

Like.

Hell to the fucking YES! I am SO glad they got Marcus To on an ongoing series, especially a series I like! ^_^

I still miss Red Robin's series, but this is going to make Batwing even more awesome! Don't get me wrong the guy who's been doing it since issue 1 has been good, may need to work on backgrounds, but I just love Marcus ad his art so I am so happy right now. ^___^

He is good, but I was loving the art in the batwing series.

@jsphsmth said:

I cannot be excited until I see where Ben Oliver ends up. I thought his art fit the series perfectly.

Wait... Batwing will still not have brought Massacre to justice by issue #9? Really? Is Winick fresh out of ideas for new villains? Batwing has already been doing an abysmal job of preventing Massacre's crimes, but to learn that he'll continue to be the villain for the foreseeable future is a bit much. Does Winick not get how bad this makes Batwing look? Instead of allowing the character to stand on his own, in his title, Winick has had Batman appear twice to assist Batwing on his first case. Now, the action is moving to Gotham City? Has no one told Winick that he's not actually writing Batman anymore? When your lead character is referred to as "The Batman of Africa", one tends to expect to read the thrilling adventures of a masked vigilante, set in an exotic locale. Perhaps one that doesn't already have three or four Bat-Vigilante's mining it's every corner for criminal activity.

I guess it doesn't really matter. I was really only picking the book up for Ben Oliver's artwork, which has been phenomenal. If he's dropping the book, then so am I. It just seems like in the "new" 52, a new title, featuring a... relatively.. new character, operating in an unfamiliar locale that doesn't get a lot of comic book love, fighting against a host of interesting new villains... that's villians, not villain.... would have been pretty refreshing. I guess that's just not what the "new" 52 is all about. My mistake.

@chalkshark: I don't view it as reflecting poorly on Batwing but instead establishing a credible villain for the hero. I believe Winick said he wants to make Massacre the "Joker to his Batman."

Like Batwing. Can't wait for Night of the Owls

@ScoobyM said:

He is good, but I was loving the art in the batwing series.

Pretty much this. Marcus is great, but the Batwing art did seem to fit the series. It will be interesting to see the stylistic differences (in landscape, composition, etc.), and I do have faith in Marcus doing a great job.

Ths is cool. I liked Ben Oliver and I like Marcus To. I hope the story can stay strong and as long as there is great art I'm gonna be a happy Batwing fan : )

This is going to be well worth it

I'm sure this is going to be good news (though I won't read it probably)...I am just bugged that about this title!!!

IT SHOULD BE EITHER:

Marcus to Join Batwing

or

Marcus Joins batwing!!

It just bugs me...

somewhat interested in this...

@k4tzm4n: I think that desire was reasonably accomplished by the end of the second issue. Massacre has been established as a credible threat. One could even argue that he's a bigger threat than the Joker ever was, as Massacre has been murdering super-heroes left & right, a record the Joker can't touch. I like Massacre... as much as I can like a mass murdering psychopath.... but the comic is called "Batwing". Dragging the first villain's introductory arc out to nine issues... possibly more... is just absurd. If there's really a plan in place to make all of Batwing's adversaries analogous to Batman's rogue's gallery, then I'd like to move on to "Batwing's Scarecrow", "Batwing's Riddler", and, especially, "Batwing's Ra's Al Ghul". We've covered "Batwing's Joker", & he's pretty cool. Let's move on now, please.

On the one hand Marcus To is awesome so yay. On the other Oliver is superb.

I have no idea how to feel. Someone tell me how to feel!!

Hope Marcus To does some costume alterations like he did with Red Robin...

ONE SUGGESTION:

• Change the mask (why do the fins/ears point off the face so much, just keep it a basic domino mask like Nightwing & Robin)

I LOVE Marcus To art, he's art one of the reasons I'm fan of Tim (also if I want to drool of hotness I look at his art)

@phantom64 said:

Hell to the fucking YES! I am SO glad they got Marcus To on an ongoing series, especially a series I like! ^_^

I still miss Red Robin's series, but this is going to make Batwing even more awesome! Don't get me wrong the guy who's been doing it since issue 1 has been good, may need to work on backgrounds, but I just love Marcus ad his art so I am so happy right now. ^___^

Now we are two

@The Poet said:

I'm sure this is going to be good news (though I won't read it probably)...I am just bugged that about this title!!!

IT SHOULD BE EITHER:

Marcus to Join Batwing

or

Marcus Joins batwing!!

It just bugs me...

Psst... reread the headline and story and you'll see that there is no typo. The artist's name is "To."

@BatClaw89 said:

Like Batwing. Can't wait for Night of the Owls

First time i heard of Batwing:

"Come on is Baman in Iron-Man suit!"

Now:

"Batwing is F&CKING AWESOME!!!"

Oliver fit the series perfectly. Kinda conflicted.

wow i'm really impressed with that cover art. might have to check it out...

Uhm, isn't the last sentence a very huge spoiler? Though I really like the court of the owl, this gives away too many things. Batwing still chasing Massacre, coming to Gotham, and the court...

However, imho and liking the (background) story about the Court of the Owls is the best story arc of all the New 52 so far. So I'm still looking forward to reading more about it. One more reason to stick to Batwing btw... though there's way too many Bat-related volumes out there, Batwing actually is one of the more interesting and exciting reads.

@chalkshark: You know, I couldn't put my finger quite on it, but I think your rite about Batwing's rep losing credibility fast. I take it that Massacre is to be his Joker or something, but the series being so fresh and having Batman show up already does makes you wonder if dude is up to the part. I don't even want to mention the failed attempts of keeping the retired heroes alive, that was just depressing and quite the let down. It obviously looks like he is fighting hard, but everything is super life and death moments. Every time he walks away from a battle he is mortally wounded (even when encased in mini mech armor).

I was really hoping to see Batwing forge ahead strong before he started meeting failure at every turn because it really does make him look like he is a bit incompetent at this, and that totally shouldn't be the case because he has the skills and the history, but something just isn't adding up after all this time...sigh.

One of the first things that got me to even keep following Batwing after a friend told me to check him out was the art style in all honesty. I love the textured and smooth coloring with the fine drawings to match. I got so engrossed actually feeling the atmosphere of the story that I had to continue. The facial features for the many people represented in the comic are beautifully constructed and a breath of fresh air to see African done so naurally .

I'm not going to drop ship just yet because of a new artist, but I am heavily wavering after seeing what I couldn't put my finger on...

@chalkshark: what about joker to batman, you say batwing still wont have massacre defeated by issue 9, so what if batwing is still up against massacre i actually love the idea that he is not defeating an enemy an issue or in 2. The series is incredible and i love every issue!

Interesting!

yaaa night of owls arc is getting me pumped up! i think ill start readin batwing at issue 9 and beyond if it interest me. ima try to read as many bat titles as i can. currently i am only reading nightwings and the scott snyder batman run. hope to see if i can get interested in more!

Awesome! I can't wait, I thought Red Robin had some of the best art! I still miss that title and his old costume too... Oh well, onto Batwing!

@mynameis7: To each their own. I prefer reading three or four stories a year in any given title. Facing off against the same adversary month after month after month after month, stalls the forward momentum of the series. The one thing you don't want is for a book to become predictable. If I know going in... and thanks to that press release I do... that every issue of Batwing, at least for the next three issues, will be a continuation of his seemingly endless struggle with Massacre, then it's going to be hard for me to sustain interest in the series. I was prepared for a 5-6 issue story arc, as that's the common practice regarding story length these days. Stretching it out to 9 issues, and possibly beyond, is just wheel spinning. I like Massacre. I do. It's kind of hard, though, to anticipate his return when he never exits the title.

@lady_toyano: Regarding those retired heroes Massacre keeps offing, I find The Kingdom to be one of the more interesting elements about the Batwing series. I like that Winick has established the historical presence of super-heroes in Africa. That Winick is killing them as fast as they're introduced is a real shame. It's great for building Massacre's reputation and credibility as a serious threat, but I hate to see so many story avenues closed off. I can only hope that fan interest is such that a KIngdom mini-series might come to fruition. I also would not be surprised if Batwing becomes the foundation stone for a new Kingdom, once this story arc, finally, concludes. Maybe bring in Dr. Mist & Impala to flesh out the line up, along with some new characters and, assuming one survives, even an original member of The KIngdom.

@chalkshark: I feel like Batwing is something different in the DC universe and the extended battle with Massacre is a part of that. The world that Batwing moves has a much more pervasive sense of violence to it, even in its non super hero factions (much like the real Africa) and i think that Batwing reflects that real world horror well, nt only in its choice of hero, but in its choice of villain and how he is dealt with also. I think with the Kingdom, that there could be a lot more to tell there. I don't see it as a closing off of potential story lines but a glimpse of the super hero history in Africa that may yet be revealed. I like your thoughts on Batwing possibly becoming a lead in to a new Kingdom group forming around him. We'll have to wait and see. I think we'll also have to wait and see what other secrets Africas' super heroic past has to offer.

@chalkshark said:

@k4tzm4n: I think that desire was reasonably accomplished by the end of the second issue. Massacre has been established as a credible threat. One could even argue that he's a bigger threat than the Joker ever was, as Massacre has been murdering super-heroes left & right, a record the Joker can't touch. I like Massacre... as much as I can like a mass murdering psychopath.... but the comic is called "Batwing". Dragging the first villain's introductory arc out to nine issues... possibly more... is just absurd. If there's really a plan in place to make all of Batwing's adversaries analogous to Batman's rogue's gallery, then I'd like to move on to "Batwing's Scarecrow", "Batwing's Riddler", and, especially, "Batwing's Ra's Al Ghul". We've covered "Batwing's Joker", & he's pretty cool. Let's move on now, please.

I understand your point, but I find the character especially appealing, so I'm pleased to see he's getting the intro story he deserves.

I am happy Marcus To is joining Batwing!

I'm actually disappointed in this, I thought Batwing had the best art of all the new 52 books.

This announcement just reminds me of how much I miss Red Robin. That book was awesome.

@evo031 said:

I'm actually disappointed in this, I thought Batwing had the best art of all the new 52 books.

I'm disappointed about this too. Ben Oliver's art fit perfectly with the story.

His art is amazing! But I don't care about Batwing, I just want Marcus To on a new Red Robin comic.

@chalkshark said:

Wait... Batwing will still not have brought Massacre to justice by issue #9? Really? Is Winick fresh out of ideas for new villains? Batwing has already been doing an abysmal job of preventing Massacre's crimes, but to learn that he'll continue to be the villain for the foreseeable future is a bit much. Does Winick not get how bad this makes Batwing look? Instead of allowing the character to stand on his own, in his title, Winick has had Batman appear twice to assist Batwing on his first case. Now, the action is moving to Gotham City? Has no one told Winick that he's not actually writing Batman anymore? When your lead character is referred to as "The Batman of Africa", one tends to expect to read the thrilling adventures of a masked vigilante, set in an exotic locale. Perhaps one that doesn't already have three or four Bat-Vigilante's mining it's every corner for criminal activity.

I guess it doesn't really matter. I was really only picking the book up for Ben Oliver's artwork, which has been phenomenal. If he's dropping the book, then so am I. It just seems like in the "new" 52, a new title, featuring a... relatively.. new character, operating in an unfamiliar locale that doesn't get a lot of comic book love, fighting against a host of interesting new villains... that's villians, not villain.... would have been pretty refreshing. I guess that's just not what the "new" 52 is all about. My mistake.

I feel exactly this way!

@chalkshark: I absolutely loved the idea of the Kingdom and the fact that they were retired left more question then anything, but I was really excited about learning more about them and getting to see more of them in action. I would totally be open to a mini on the Kingdom back when they were together because I'm sure they has some hella interesting struggles to overcome and what not. I was disappointed that they all got offed so fast for being such iconic figures for the same exact reasons. So many doors closed to explore some pretty cool characters and possible team ups with Batwing to take on other threats in the future (not to mention different training revenues). I totally wasn't even expecting their to be a woman in the Kingdom team, but when I heard I was at least looking forward to a good fight between her and Massacre...yeah, kinda wish they hadn't even bothered since she was killed off panel...

I actually do really dig Massacre as a villain. He isn't just a mass of chaos; he has a goal that he is determined to reach. Although he is taking a machete to a slew of people, he does have his own code of conduct witch is always something neat to see in a villain because you know there is something that is making them tick besides the "I want it all" mentality. Truthfully, I'm beginning to think a book about his exploits would be more compelling then Batwing at the moment. Not that I am hating on Batwing, but dang it's going to be hard to have faith in is abilities if his first major villain is besting him left and rite. I truthfully don't even see it as much of a competition at the moment, but here's to Batwing gaining some major exp and fast. This whole thing must be killer on the confidence in ones abilities.

Now that's an idea rite there. That would be really neat if after this whole Massacre arch the fire to start up a new Kingdom comes to fruition because of the aftermath. Africa is definitely a place that could use a justice headquarters to defend the people.

I am conflicted at this news

loool some of the comments on here really do make me laugh.. the term "barely veiled" comes to mind.. -___-

but anyway i like the premise of "Batwing" as an agent of Batman Inc even tho i detest the very idea of Batman Inc. as its been presented

the idea of Bruce coming back from the dead &starting his own international multi city strikeforce isnt so far fetched but the whole Batman of this country.. Batman of that country seems silly childish &almost batman foreverish/batman&robinish (the movie, batcard anyone??) anyway i digress... this new bat has a lot of promise, hes JUST started &at the very beginning hes been thrown off the deep end dealing with a villain more insidious/dangerous than original Bats greatest ever villain.. &hes STILL ALIVE.. yet everyones spouting incompetent this out of his depth that..lol this is an inititiaton of sorts baptism of fire if u will.. hes not sposed to just mop up the villain then move on to the next pop up of the month.. yes the writer could be better sharper &could do with a little less of the batter new hero till he gains sympathy/bat-crutch tactics &more open direction (Batwing has no known previous history, so u can take his character almost anywhere)

Marcus To, awesome.

Ben Oliver did very well, I hope to see more.

Agreed that the Massacre storyline may become tired, giving it a break for year one. Would love to see Batwing explore new things, however.

Night of Owls tie-in, excited and expecting great things.

(Sidenote) I'm pretty surprised myself that they're keeping Massacre around so long, 9 issues is a long time! I hope they begin setting up other villains before this arc is through! I thought Marcus was supposed to go to Gotham next issue though? Really hope he gets his ass kicked, if Batman is getting beaten to a pulp by The Court then an inexperienced Marcus definitively should! Unless they somehow bring how he doesn't let his arrogance get in the way, like Batman.

So excited! I love Marcus and I love Batwing! Although I am sort of sad to see the current art go ):

Alright!!! Now we get backgrounds