Face the Future: Dan Jurgens Talks Batman Beyond #2

08/05/2015 11:58 am EDT

Today marks the third issue of the DC You's first week of titles, including Batman Beyond.

In the issue, Tim and his allies are at the mercy of Brother Eye, taken prisoner and trying to fight their way out...well, mostly. Some of them are in the thrall of Brother Eye and need more of a rescue.

How did they get there? Well, it's a funny story...!

Writer Dan Jurgens joined ComicBook.com to talk about Batman Beyond #2 and look forward to today's #3.

Warning: This is a spoiler-heavy interview. If you haven't read Batman Beyond #2 yet, go buy a copy and read along with us. You can read our commentary track for the first issue, and a free, 8-page preview story published during Convergence in May, here.

The placement/positioning of Barbara's fingers on the first page splash kind of make it look like Tim has his Robin "R" on his chest. Was that on purpose or am I just seeing something that isn't there?

I'd have to ask Bernard to make sure, but I really think that's more of a coincidence than anything else. It is an attention grabber, however!

Is it safe to assume that what's outside of Gotham is significantly different than anything the Gothamites will have assumed up to this point?

We've made it pretty clear that the world is now full of unknowns. Communication with some areas has become impossible and, though safe, Gotham has certainly become isolated.

If you look at our world as it currently exists, I tend to think that we underestimate the incredible differences from among nations. Our basic idea is that, 35 years from now, given the presence of Brother Eye and other developments, that's a condition that has become even more extreme.

There is a TON of story here. You're averaging more than five panels a page and that's with two splash pages. Was there just a lot you wanted to get out in this issue?

I've always felt that when you're doing a new series, you have to get a lot of story on the table. That's even more true with something like Batman Beyond, where we're altering some of the basic concepts at the heart of the series.

How do you go about pacing a story that dense? It really doesn't feel as cramped as one might expect when you consider just how much is going on.

Every story should unfold at a natural pace. The character elements and key points of the story dictate that I've always tried to make sure that we not force an unnatural pace on the reader. A story really has to feel as though it exists in a "comfort zone" of sorts.

Is it possible to salvage Max at this point, or is processing an irreversible process?

You'll have to stay tuned on that, as we continue to follow Max's story.

The Brother Eye cyborgs in this issue feel a little less gruesome than they did in Futures End -- almost more like the post-COIE Metallo or something out of Mignola's Cosmic Odyssey. Is that intentional, or is that just how I read Chang's depiction of the concepts?

Some of them might feel less severe. But part of that is because we're developing different levels of cyborgs. There are some who are partially human and some more removed from any true aspect of humanity.

The African-American cyborg in this issue looks familiar, but I don't see him named. Should I know who he is, or is his vaguely Wetworks-y wardrobe just confusing me?

There's no particular reason you should recognize him. Bernard did a great job of giving him a unique look, which is important to the series. He's a great designer and is working incredibly hard to give this book a sense of place and existence. It's one of the reasons he's perfect for Batman Beyond!

When Tim pops up out of that hole, there's no shadow on the ground. So...six fewer weeks of nuclear winter outside Gotham?

Yeesh! Could be! Harsh for the folks of tomorrow!

With Volume 2 of Futures End out now, it strikes me just how different these futures are. How much of this world was already conceived back then?

We knew that Tim would replace Terry McGinnis as Batman, of course. We also knew that once we negated the Earth 2 invasion of earth, that aspects of the future would change because the past had changed.

We saw JL Beyond on the cover of #1, but Barbara says they're all assimilated. Any chance she's at least partially wrong?

We felt it was important to communicate the key aspects of the classic, Great Disaster timeline, as well as the generally recognized Batman Beyond timeline on the cover of #1.

The way all that shakes out and combines to form DC's future is what this series is all about. I think we have some real surprises coming.

Is it safe to assume that Brother Eye didn't actually expect to send Tim here?

Probably more safe to assume that Brother Eye fully intended to send Tim to the future without knowing exactly what the future would hold. No doubt that the Eye had every reason to assume he'd be successful in imposing his grand vision, of course.

What went into the decision to do those red-and-white panels? That was an interesting coloring choice.

That's all Marcelo. I absolutely love the effect. It gives the book a very unique feel, and that's what we need.

How complete are ALFRED's files on Tim, considering that he says something about how Tim will need to figure out how to be strategic or whatever?

Alfred's files are complete on Tim because he was able to access any and all records during his time as part of Futures End. It's safe to say that Alfred knows more about Tim than Tim knows about Alfred.

I also like that Inque has the misconception that Batman is obviously born out of trauma, since Tim is one of the very few in the Bat-universe who wasn't (although he had his share later). Was that intentionally playing with expectations, or just playing on the perception of Batman?

It's always important to help define the key elements of what makes Tim different from Bruce, or even Dick, for that matter.

Not all Batmans are necessarily alike. I've always thought of Tim Drake as a fabulous character, and this is really has chance to shine.

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