Dan Watters Interview: Batman Dark Patterns, Nightwing, and Creature from the Black Lagoon

I’m hanging with Dan Watters, one of my favorite writers in comics. We go deep on Batman Dark Patterns, how you structure 12 issues as self contained cases that still add up to one big story, and why Dan wanted an early Batman who feels flesh and bone. Then we jump to Nightwing, including the creation of Zanies and Nightwing Prime, plus what’s coming next with Dennis Cowan joining the book. We also talk co writing, including The One Hand and The Six Fingers with Ram V, and Universal Monsters Creature from the Black Lagoon. Comment below to enter the giveaway, and if you’re a collected editions reader like me, this chat is for you. 00:00 Intro and who Dan is 00:41 Dark Patterns giveaway and what we’re covering 01:03 Surprise question from Hayden Sherman 03:21 How Dark Patterns is structured as “cases” 05:14 Writing an early Batman who isn’t perfect 07:09 Breaking down key Dark Patterns panels 08:27 Continuity as “memory” and why Dark Patterns is easy to jump into 11:19 The Tower arc, Scarface, and action movie DNA 13:11 The Batman film and why detective Batman clicked 14:31 Working with Hayden Sherman and how scripts leave artists room 20:43 The “patterns” page and why it moved from issue 1 to issue 7 23:44 Recurring themes and “patterns” in Dan’s writing 26:17 The One Hand and The Six Fingers co writing format and best reading order 33:46 Creature from the Black Lagoon as True Detective vibes 38:13 Nightwing section begins and why Dick matters 39:51 Creating Zanies and tapping circus history 43:06 Nightwing Prime and avoiding the obvious story turn 45:20 What’s next, Dexter Soy to Dennis Cowan 48:45 Gotham vs Blüdhaven and how the cities feel different 51:56 Mystery vs horror and why the line is fuzzy 54:04 Would Dan ever do more Dark Patterns style stories 56:18 Giveaway reminder and preorder date mention 57:56 Dan’s plugs and best jumping on point for Nightwing 58:22 Outro Click here to subscribe for more awesome content from us!!! https://bit.ly/TBATBYOUTUBE Check out Panel Bound Comics: https://bit.ly/TBATBOPB Buying 1 to 3 books? Save $2 with our code Braveboys Buying 4 or more books together? Save 5% with our code Braveboyssit Thank you for watching, and until the next time, keep reading and stay brave! Connect with us on social media: Our Discord:   / discord   Our Instagram: https://bit.ly/TBATBInstagram