Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie take on Batman

Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
(Image credit: Lindsey Byrnes)

Longtime friends and collaborators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are reuniting for a new short story in a whole new world: DC.

(Image credit: Lee Weeks (DC))

The UK duo is working on a Batman vs. Riddler short for April 27's Batman: Black and White #5. A story which, according to DC, "pits Batman against the Riddler in a way you’ve never seen before!"

McKelvie and Gillen have worked together on-and-off for the past 17 years, with creator-owned series such as Phonogram and The Wicked + The Divine, along with a celebrated run on Marvel's Young Avengers. They actually got their start with a video game comic in Newsarama's sister news outlet PlayStation Magazine UK. Gillen and McKelvie's 'Save Point' ran in the magazine for several years. This Batman short would be the duo's first major project together since the conclusion of The Wicked + The Divine in 2019.

Outside of this Batman: Black and White #5 short, MckKelvie is writing and drawing an upcoming creator-owned series The Killing Horizon. Gillen has two creator-owned series underway (Die and Once & Future) and is also writing Marvel's Eternals and the licensed title Warhammer 40,000: Marneus Calgar.

(Image credit: Gary Frank (DC))

This would be Gillen's first work for DC. While DC says this would be McKelvie's first DC work, they are omitting his 2009 work drawing portions of Gotham Gazette: Batman Dead? And Gotham Gazette: Batman Alive? #1.

DC's Batman: Black and White anthology series has been a fertile ground for these surprise team-ups and unusual circumstances. Also in April's #5 is artists Jorge Jimenez, Jamal Campbell, and Lee Weeks writing their own stories in a rare turn.

Keep track of all the new Batman comics, graphic novels, collections in 2021 and beyond.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)