Tom King is a renowned and fan-favorite writer that has written many modern comic book classics such as Marvel’s The Vision, Vertigo’s The Sheriff of Babylon, DC’s The Omega Men and, currently, Batman. Ever since the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016, King has been at the helm of the title, guiding the Dark Knight on a journey that examines both his strengths and his weaknesses, as a superhero and a man alike.
Over the summer, the series reached a milestone with its 50th issue, which is said to be roughly the halfway point of the writer’s run on the world’s greatest detective. We may have only seen half of King’s long term plans so far, but already we might have a hint as to how the run will conclude.
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If you’ve been following Tom King on Twitter, then you know that the prolific writer has become infamous for something else entirely: his art. The scribe has become known to provide artwork for fans at conventions which feature crude stick figures. King may be an incredible writer, but he’s no master artist. It’s a running joke to be sure — after all, he signs all of his drawings with a message that reads “I’m sorry.”
Over the weekend, while King was at a convention, he was asked “to draw the final cover” of his Batman story by a fan and, of course, he took on the challenge. As is custom, the writer shared the epic artwork for all to see on Twitter and the results are certainly intriguing.
I was asked to draw the final cover of my Batman story… so revealed here for the first time… pic.twitter.com/xZDMcFw1KB
— Tom King (@TomKingTK) September 30, 2018
The cover features an exterior shot of the Batburger restaurant that has made sporadic appearances in the writer’s run on the title. Through the window, we see that Batman is sitting at a table along with… someone. The Bat-signal shines bright in the night sky, and there is also a kite riding a steady wind (obviously a reference to King’s signature use of small-time Batman villain Kite-Man). Are Batman and Kite-Man sitting down for a burger?
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This more than likely could be a joke, but it’s also specific enough that it makes us wonder… what if it turns out to be the actual cover of King’s final issue of Batman — or rather, a very simple, very crude take on the final product. If anything, perhaps this very drawing could end up becoming a variant cover for the upcoming issue.
We may not know where his story is going, but the writer certainly does — and he may have just given us a clue.