E-Mail
Print
And now, Williams will get his opportunity to further put his stamp on the character. Rucka recently left for another gig, and Williams has agreed to take on writing duties as well.
He'll be working with co-writer Haden Blackman. The "zero issue" of the comic series, which Williams describes as a "bridge from what came before to what comes next," will hit stores in November. The book takes a look at the Batwoman character from Batman's point-of-view, Williams said.
"It was pretty daunting, but at the same time, I'm pretty confident," he said. "It's not like I'm unfamiliar with writing, but a lot of the stuff I've written before was unto themselves. I haven't had to follow another writer on the same subject. Following Greg, I'm not sure how people will respond to my take on it. Hopefully, they'll like it."
Williams says he grew up reading Marvel Comics, but eventually gravitated toward DC's iconic characters -- Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
"I got more interested in DC because they have a lot of oddball characters, who you wouldn't normally expect to see. They have some weirdness to some of their stuff."
And he's hoping to bring a little of that weirdness into Batwoman's world.
"We're kind of all over the place," he said. "The first story is horror, the second is espionage and intrigue, then we have a fantasy epic and then it goes into a family nighttime drama -- all with a twisted point of view. It sounds like it's all over the place with the genres, but we figured out how they dovetail into each other in a natural way. I think it's really, really cool."
While other forms of print media are worried about what the future holds, Williams says he's confident the comic industry will continue to grow. He's heard gripes that sales of individual comic titles are down, but insists it's only because the selection of books has grown.
Technology will continue to introduce new readers to comics, he says. One of the first applications for the iPad, in fact, was a digital comic book reader.
And there's always Hollywood, which seems to have a voracious appetite for movies that were once comic books or graphic novels.
"Even when some of the films don't do as well as expected -- 'Watchmen' is a good example -- it's not stopping that train," Williams said.
"Honestly, it's because Hollywood is out of original ideas, and they see a ton of ideas in this field. We can develop them for relatively low cost, and they're willing to take gambles."
Hollywood producers haven't yet knocked on Williams' door, but he's ready to talk: "There have been hints of offers, but nothing concrete has happened yet. But we're hoping, at some point."
If that happens, one of Batman's fairly famous quotes may apply to a local boy who has made the big-time: "Lieutenant, is there a six-foot bat in Gotham City? And if so, is he on the police payroll? And if so, what's he pulling down after taxes?"
Online editor Brandon Bowers can be reached at (209) 385-2464 or bbowers@mercedsun-star.com.
