Even with all the movies that come after, 1989’s Batman by Tim Burton still looms large in the minds of Bat-fans everywhere. And that first, great Batman — with Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight and Jack Nicholson as the Joker — only got one true sequel, 1992’s Batman Returns. After that, both Burton and Keaton left the franchise. Batman Forever and Batman & Robin may have technically taken place in the same movie universe, but they were very much their own thing.

Finally, those first two Bat-movie classics will get another sequel — in comic book form. Batman ’89, as the series is called, with continue the story of those first two films. Even better, the co-writer of the original Burton Batman films, Sam Hamm, is writing the comic, which is illustrated by Joe Quinones. It’s such an obviously good idea, it’s astonishing it’s taken DC this long to make it happen. (DC has previously made a Batman ’66 comic, inspired by the Adam West television series.)

According to the announcement, “in the new Batman ’89 comic, Hamm and Quinones will help usher in the return of Selina Kyle/Catwoman and will debut a new Robin! Plus, Quinones has a vision for Harvey Dent/Two-Face that is as close to movie magic as a comic can get!” In Burton’s Batman, Harvey Dent was played by Billy Dee Williams; he planned for the character to become Two-Face in a sequel, but it never happened. Burton also almost introduced a totally different Robin than the one played in Batman Forever by Chris O’Donnell. This one would have been played by Marlon Wayans, so presumably his Robin is the one who’d appear in this series.

Here’s the full cover for the first issue.

DC Comics
DC Comics
loading...

Joe Quinones posted some of his designs for the series to Instagram; they bear the unmistakable visual style of those early Burton movies (and, in the case of that Bruce Wayne “underarmor,” the early Burton movie action figures):

Batman ’89 will be joined by a companion series called Superman ’78, chronicling the further adventures of Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel from his movies. Rob Venditti and Wilfredo Torres are creating this comic. “The sheer thrill of seeing a man fly, leap, or stop a bullet will be reflected in this environment where Superman has just been introduced!” the announcement promises.

DC Comics
DC Comics
loading...

Both series will debut online July 27 with six digital chapters on that date, followed by new chapters every week for six weeks. The issues will later be collected as individual comics and then as hardcover books in the fall. After that, how about a comic continuing the adventures of Christopher Nolan’s Batman?

Gallery — The Greatest Action Movie Posters in History:

More From 97.1 KXRX