It’s been almost a year since James Tynion IV, a self-professed fan of Tim Drake, took over Detective Comics, a series in which Drake starred alongside Batman and a number of other young Gotham heroes — and almost immediately killed Tim off. As August winds down, Detective is on the cusp of “A Lonely Place of Living,” the story that will bring Tim back into the DC Universe.
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The title itself — and the cover to the first part of the story — reference “A Lonely Place of Dying,” the Batman/Detective Comics/Teen Titans crossover that introduced Tim to the comics-reading world in 1990.
“Honestly, it’s a story that I’ve wanted to tell since the beginning,” Tynion told ComicBook.com during a recent interview. “Since I knew that we were going to take Tim off the page for a bit, and I remember that I was in the meeting with Geoff Johns right at the beginning when we were setting up the death moment and the immediate reveal that he’s been taken by Mr. Oz. In that room, I’m like, ‘Geoff, I know you’ve got all this stuff building, but when he comes back, I want that story.’ And thankfully Geoff was like, ‘Yeah, you’ve got it.’”
The solicitation text for the issue suggests that once certain secrets are laid bare, Tim will have to decide between rejoining Batman and company, or staying in Mr. Oz’s prison — which seems like it should be a pretty easy choice, right?
Well, don’t be too confident that there won’t be a major twist there.
“We’re going to be able to do some really cool things in that book. Stuff that I don’t even fully want to touch on just yet, but we’re going to be able to do a deep dive analysis into why Tim drake does what he does, and the deep, innate drive to act. He always needs to act, even when it’s not in his best interest. He has a compulsion to do this that rivals Bruce’s and the mirror between the two of them is really important,” Tynion explained. “When we reveal who else is locked away in that prison with h im, we are going to be able to approach that vision of Tim from a whole new perspective. It is a love letter to Tim Drake, both in showing his greatest aspects and also how those greatest aspects have the potential to destroy him, which is something that goes into why Mr. Oz has a fascination with him in the first place.”
Could it be that whoever is locked away with him, is either a game-changer that can fundamentally alter Tim’s perspective, or someone who needs Tim’s help (even if it isn’t in his best interest)?
Fans will find out when “A Lonely Place of Living” kicks off in late September.
You can check out that first cover, and some other September covers for the Mr. Oz-related Action Comics story “The Oz Effect,” in the attached image gallery and the pertinent solicitation text below.
ACTION COMICS #987
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by VIKTOR BOGDANOVIC
Lenticular cover by NICK BRADSHAW
Variant cover by MIKEL JANIN
“THE OZ EFFECT” part one! The agents of the mysterious Mr. Oz begin to move as the Man of Steel works to stop the chaos they unleash in Metropolis and across the globe. But when Mr. Oz steps from the shadows his identity rocks the Last Son of Krypton to his core. The story that began in DC Universe: Rebirth #1 begins to end here!
On sale SEPTEMBER 13 • Lenticular version $3.99 • Nonlenticular version $2.99 US • RATED T
ACTION COMICS #988
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by PATCH ZIRCHER
Lenticular cover by NICK BRADSHAW
Variant cover by MIKEL JANIN
“THE OZ EFFECT” part two! As Superman struggles with the ramifications of Mr. Oz’s identity, the mysterious figure’s origins and the long road to Superman’s doorstep finally reveal themselves.
On sale SEPTEMBER 27 • Lenticular version $3.99 • Nonlenticular version $2.99 US • RATED T
DETECTIVE COMICS #965
Written by JAMES TYNION IV
Art by EDDY BARROWS
Cover by EDDY BARROWS
Variant cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
“A Lonely Place Of Living” part one! It’s the story you’ve demanded: Where in the world (or otherwise) is Tim Drake? Red Robin faces a crossroads…escape the most devious prison ever devised, or find himself abandoned beyond time and space for all eternity! Not much of a choice, right? But when he finds out just who is locked in there with him, Tim’s world will change in ways he never imagined! This is one of the biggest stories of the REBIRTH era, setting the stage for an explosive DETECTIVE COMICS epic!
On sale SEPTEMBER 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
