This week, DC Comics launches a brand new epic in the Dark Knights of Steel. Batman, Superman, and several of the publishers' most iconic heroes will join a world of sword and sorcery, in a new tale from Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri. The much-anticipated series blends fantasy with superheroes, in what's set to be an incredible reinvention of the DC Universe.
Taylor is no stranger to writing different takes on the DC Universe, including Injustice and DCeased. The Australian author is currently writing the Nightwing and Superman: Son of Kal-El for DC Comics. Meanwhile, Putri, who is best known for her striking covers, will tackle her first full-sized comic. Together, the pair are taking on Dark Knights of Steel, a high-fantasy story set in the DC Universe - where the world is much different than readers are used to.
We spoke with Taylor and Putri about Dark Knights of Steel. The talented creators discussed how the series came about, how daunting it was to create a new DC Universe, and what readers can expect going forward.
I got the chance to read the book early, and I think it's a really cool take on the DC Universe. How did the series come about?
Tom Taylor: Ben Abernathy and I were working on DCeased very early on, and we were just having an absolute ball. And one day, an email came to me saying, "What would you think of doing a fantasy DC hero book?"
Ben didn't know at the time that I hate horror. I was writing DCeased and enjoying it, but I'm not a horror guy at all. I don't like zombies, but I like a challenge. Then came this idea of fantasy book, and what Ben learned is that what I love is fantasy. I grew up on superheroes and fantasy, so the idea of being able to merge those two worlds and genres was just incredibly exciting.
We floated a few names. Yasmine and I had worked on an apocalyptic Supergirl story, which was just beautiful. Everything she did was just incredible. Her name came up, and she was the only person that could make this world happen. And the rest is as you've seen.
What about you, Yasmine? What attracted you to this book?
Yasmine Putri: I think Tom is being very generous with his assessment of my previous work, but thank you. I think I've always been attracted to fantasy elements since way back, because I used to play RPGs during my time in college a lot. I was drawn to works like Final Fantasy Tactics, and to Charles Vess from Stardust, which he worked on with Neil Gaiman, who is also one of my favorite writers.
I've been drawn to fantasy stories from way back. Once Ben unfolded this idea to me, I guess I just jumped on it and said, "Yeah, definitely. I'd love to work on this." And as Tom already said, we've worked on a book before, so I'm very familiar with his work and just jumped on the chance to work on this.
How daunting was it to rebuild the DC Universe in this way? Narratively and visually.
Tom Taylor: It was all about how far we could push this, and what we could do differently. What really excited me was changing the status quo - not just doing the DC universe as you know it in a medieval setting, but changing the DC universe as you know it.
What you're going to find out about Batman in issue #1 changes everything. How Kal-El comes to this world is completely different, and there's a twist there that nobody's ever done that I've ever seen in comics. I remember I was sitting in a hotel room with Donny Cates in 2019. He was telling me his everything he had planned for Thor for years, and I was telling him about this. And we were both just one-upping each other and giggling like madmen at about 3am. I told him the big twist that happens in those first few pages of Dark Knights of Steel #1, and his jaw dropped. He's just like, "You bastard, why didn't I think of that?" Which is what you want.
But then it was just about expanding that and finding the separate kingdoms. There's so much about this book that isn't quite what it appears. There are more twists to come, and the interpersonal relationships we see - especially in issue #2, when we meet Wonder Woman and some other characters - are things that we've never seen before.
And with Yasmine, there's a certain point where I just go, "Well, I'm stepping back." Jasmine does her thing, and it's jaw dropping. In the scenes in the court, you see the throne room, and there's stained glass that tells stories of Krypton. The integration of the DC universe into a medieval world is entirely her, and it's incredible.
And what about from a visual sense, Yasmine?
Yasmine Putri: It's been really daunting. At first, we played around with a lot of designs that were really crazy. Stuff like, "Batman one would probably look like this if we set him in a high fantasy universe, and Superman might look like this." But in the end, we decided on more simple designs, because the characters as dictated by story need to be instantly recognizable. And so, we settled on more grounded designs, and keeping those crazier or more high fantasy designs for later. Because nobody knows what's going to happen ten books in.
We're keeping those designs, hopefully, for later. But right now, the designs seem a little more grounded. It's been a challenging process building everything from the ground up, because the assets in this particular story were never really before. It's been a long process, building them and conceptualizing them.
What inspired you when it came to this series, Tom? I know you've been working on it for a while.
Tom Taylor: I think we've been working on this for about two and a half years. It's the longest I think I've ever worked in a DC comic, for sure, as far as from the start of it to the moment an issue #1 comes out. I've just put heaps into it; just that sort of innate knowledge of high fantasy and all the books I've read over the time.
I'm fortunate enough to work every week with two big fantasy authors, Jay Kristoff and C. S. Pacat. We met today; we meet in a cafe and sit down, and we generally talk for two hours and catch up. Then we all pull out our laptops and work; Jay's just had Empire of the Vampire come out, and C. S. just had Dark Rise come out - both in the last month, and they both hit the New York Times Best Sellers List.
They're really great fantasy authors, so having them to bounce off of, just to say, "I'm thinking about this," or "What do you think of this?" is great. Or just talking about standard Hero's Journey stuff and the twists and turns, and having them as first readers as well, is really cool. To have them be the first people to look at this and give feedback has been fantastic.
How is Batman and Superman's relationship different than usual? Obviously, there's a pretty big thing at the end.
Tom Taylor: Yeah, there's a very big thing at the end. They're close, but Batman's job is to protect him. He is a witcher; his job is to root out magic in this world, because magic is the one thing that can harm Superman, and he takes that job very seriously.
While Superman would like to be friendlier - and we actually see them as kids much later in the book, when they are much friendlier - they're sort of antagonistic. Even though they certainly respect and like each other.
Speaking of the magic, what was it like to adapt certain powers into a medieval setting?
Tom Taylor: It's been great. We hunt a banshee in the first issue, and that banshee is Black Canary. That was actually my son's idea. My son came to me and was like, "Dad, you should make them hunt for a banshee, and it could be Black Canary because she screams." I'm like, "Oh my God, that's genius." I will admit right now, that was stolen from my now 15-year-old son. It was a good idea, what can I say?
But taking other elements, like Green Arrow and Black Canary, and there's a scene in the dungeons in issue #2 that is great with everything Jasmine has drawn in the background. The people you're going to see in there are really exciting, and their story has some stuff coming up. The idea that the powers are seen as magic, and Batman has to stop all magic users because they're the only threat Superman, gives us a great setup from the very beginning.
And, of course, there's a prophecy that tells them all of this and implies that Superman is going to end the world. We'll see if that's true.
What was it like to be tasked with showing powers in new ways, Yasmine?
Yasmine Putri: We're pretty much keeping a very familiar look for now. Things might get crazier in later issues, but right now we're just trying to establish who's who in a very familiar way, I think.
I'm going to just lay it out in the open that we won't find any crazy visuals or anything in issue #1, because we need the characters to be instantly recognizable for readers. But things might happen in future books that lead to something that's probably wilder or not recognizable, so I can't give out spoilers. Things might happen, but I won't say what.
Tom Taylor: I can say without spoiling too much that one of the other kingdoms is the Kingdom of Storms, and that's Black Lightning's kingdom with his family. You will see Black Lightning's powers used in ways never seen before, integrated in that medieval setting in a way that's never seen before - and the same for his family. Playing with that stuff's really exciting.
What's his role in this story?
Tom Taylor: He knows the prophecy, and he believes that something has come from the stars and will end the world. And he believes that's Superman. I don't want to spoil something else, but there's something that happens in the first three pages. So, there's more to it that you'll know as soon as you read it.
What do you hope readers get from the series?
Yasmine Putri: I hope readers will enjoy it and find a familiar yet new kind of adventure in it. Basically, I'm also curious how this book is going to come out because this is my first work of this particular scale. I'm as curious and excited as most readers regarding this book, I think.
I'm just hoping everyone will find it enjoyable, and that they will find things that they can enjoy.
Tom Taylor: For me, I think this book is something not seen before. And I love that. I love that Yasmine and I have had the opportunity to create a new DC universe. That's exciting to say. I'm pretty confident that people are going to get a lot out of this.
And if you don't like the story, that's fine. You've still got Yasmine's art.
Yasmine Putri: And if you don't like my art, you've still got Tom Taylor's story.
Tom Taylor: But it is stunning. It is just beautiful to look at. And it's exploring these characters. It's not just throwing what you know into a new setting or into a new environment; it's changing the DC Universe in fundamental ways, in ways we've never seen before. It's changing the characters and the relationships.
There are things that are going to annoy people or scare people or horrify people or shock people. And that's fantastic from a storytellers' point of view. That's where we have fun. But I just hope that they love the world we've built, and I hope that Dark Knights of Steel, the 12-issue series, is just the beginning. I hope we can play in this world for years to come.
Yasmine, is this literally your first-ever 26-page comic? That is mind-blowing. When you look at this book, and you know this is Yasmine's first book, it is staggeringly good.
Thanks to Tom Taylor and Yasmine Putri for taking the time to talk with us. Dark Knights of Steel #1 (of 12) comes to comic book stores Tuesday!