2011 DC Reboot: Relaunches For Batman Books... Dick Grayson Is Nightwing (Again) & Barbara Gordon To Return As Batgirl!

So many updates in just one day and I just happen to catch up with all of the latest juice. If you have just tuned in to this news, let me fill you in: DC has decided to renumber and update all their titles and superheroes, with 52 number1 titles to be released in September. 

Now here we are with the first major updates that would affect the Batman Family of books:

Information on DC's plans for the Batman and his comrades has surfaced and IGN has got all of the blow by blow details for that, but here's a quick roundup of the BIG CHANGES to our Dark Knight and his comrades for easy reference.

The list after the jump.

• For Grant Morrison fans, don't worry because our favorite Bat-writer who has authored and created the most massive Batman mythos we have seen in years is going to be involved in the relaunch with him writing a new #1 issue for Batman Incorporated. 

Here is Morrison's official statement:

"Batman, Incorporated will continue through to Issue #10 and August's shocking season finale that changes the Batman status quo yet again. The series will take a brief hiatus while I work on a major new project to be announced shortly. Batman, Incorporated returns next year with me, Chris Burnham and Batman: Leviathan, the epic 12 part conclusion to my 6 year Batman saga. Don't miss it!" 

Batman Inc has been going good and it is a big sucker to see that end just because of the reboot. But on the bright side of things, its nice to know that Morrison is still in the game writing Batman. He might not be the best writer for this hero, but he's done pretty well so far so I don't mind him writing volume 2.

• Long time comic book series Detective Comics will also be updated with a new number #1 - the first time this has happened in over 60+-plus years. The number one issue will be written and drawn by Tony Daniel.

Here is the cover for Detective Comics #1:

(click image for full size)

• Scott Snyder (American Vampire) will team up with artist Greg Capullo to create Batman #1. This will be Capullo's DC debut after working on Image Comics' notable titles like Spawn and Haunt.

Here is the cover for Batman # 1:

(click image for full size)

• For the first time ever, we will have a father-and-son tandem in Batman and Robin #1 with Bruce Wayne as the Bat and his only son Damian reprising the role of Robin The Boy Wonder. The team of Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason will take their talents at creating a new, interesting dynamic to the Batman mythos. 

Need I say more? This is freaking cool. Bruce will finally team-up with his hard-headed son Damian and it will be interesting to see how Tomasi will play around this imperfect family angle.

Cover to Batman and Robin # 1:

• David Finch will write and illustrate a new number #1 for his Batman: The Dark Knight series that will feature the Bat taking his adventures into the dreaded bars of Arkham Asylum. (Are we gonna see a story ala-Grant Morrison's Batman: Arkham Asylum "A Serious House on a Serious Earth"?)

The cover for Batman The Dark Knight #1:

Notes: Batman #1, Batman & Robin #1 and Detective Comics # 1 will star Bruce Wayne as The Caped Crusader, making him the only man to don the cape and cowl once more. Yes folks, its happening (as much as Dick Grayson as Batman is fucking cool).Which brings us to this...

• Current Batman Dick Grayson will be back as Nightwing in an all-new Nightwing series written by Kyle Higgins with art by Eddie Barrows. According to IGN, the story will put Dick back in his roots, mainly with the return Haley Circus to Gotham City - the famous attraction where Dick performed with his parents before they were murdered. 

Cover for Nightwing #1:

 

and finally, in what could be the most controversial of all title-relaunches:

• Barbara Gordon, known to comic book fans as Oracle - the strong and competent paraplegic leader of the Birds of Prey  - is going to take the role of Batgirl once again after years of being in a wheelchair as a result of the events that transpired in Alan Moore's 1986 Batman: The Killing Joke novel. Batgirl #1 will be written by Gail Simone.

Considered to be the greatest symbol of "girl power" especially for the disabled, Babs has been the quintessential kick-ass babe of the DCU as the original Batgirl, and even when she eventually worked behind the scenes as Oracle for 20 plus years, serving as the watchtower for many heroes (including Batman himself) with her intellect and dependable hacking skills. And now she's gonna stand up again, protecting Gotham as Batgirl.

I know this is a big deal for many readers who have followed and idolized Babs over the years, who watched her every pain, suffering and triumph - and honestly, I cannot blame them. Since reading Chuck Dixon's 2003 Batgirl: Year One, Babs became my one of my favorite heroines in any comic book and I even loved her more as Oracle for the qualities she exemplify.  

This is a bittersweet farewell to the character I used to know for so many years, but I know that DC and writer Gail Simone has nothing but GREAT plans for her. Simone has this to say:

"Barbara Gordon is pretty much my everything. Because of the Batman TV show, she was the reason I fell in love with superheroes. Because she was a redhead who could kick ass, she is the reason I fell in love with comics. She was always forward-looking as Batgirl, a girl who was smarter than the male characters, who had class and elegance and style, as well as tough-as-nails grit. For a long time, there was simply nothing else like her in comics, and for me and a lot of other readers, her every appearance was joyful and explosive.  

For many years, I got to write the character as Oracle, and there is to this day, no character who means more to me. This is classic Barbara as she was originally conceived, with a few big surprises. It's a bit of a shock, to be sure, but we're doing everything we can to be respectful to this character's amazing legacy, while presenting something thrilling that a generation of comics readers will be experiencing for the first time...

...Barbara Gordon leaping, fighting, and swinging over Gotham. Now, when citizens of that city look up, they are going to see Batgirl.

And that is absolutely thrilling." 

Cover to Batgirl #1:

(click image to enlarge)

Keep it locked here on Comically Graphic for more updates on the 2011 DC Universe Reboot.