DC's newest villain Miracle Molly made her full-fledged debut in May 4's Batman #108, and apparently, retailers are really interested.
"Sales on 108 were insane," James Tynion IV writes in his newsletter. "We broke 200K on this one, and there are a bunch of amazing covers spotlighting Miracle Molly out in the wild."
Those figures would seem to be the combined retailer pre-orders of Batman #108 and all its variant covers, but would not include re-orders, possible reprintings, and digital sales numbers. Publishers are notorious for not sharing sales numbers, but 200,000 is a big number, and Tynion's reveal here seems symbolic of something bigger happening.
"[Batman #108] is an unusual issue of a Batman comic, but my goal here is to make you love this new character as much as Jorge Jimenez and I do by the time you put the issue down," Tynion continues. "With [Miracle Molly] we wanted to create a character with a strong moral code that Batman respects but doesn't necessarily agree with… Her story is one of the key defining threads of what we're doing in the main Batman title this year."
If you're asking who Miracle Molly is, make sure you read our first take on the character as a kind of anti-Joker.
The next issue, Batman #109, goes on sale June 1 but Tynion says a better idea of the Batline as a whole will be unveiled more this month in the other various titles.
"This month, you're going to find out what a lot of the line has been building to since A-Day in Infinite Frontier #0," Tynion writes. "'The Cowardly Lot' [arc of Batman] is just the beginning, and the story is going to evolve into something bigger, as our story's climax coincides with a bunch of the other Bat-Books.
"I can't say much more than that, but I am verrrrrrry excited about [REDACTED ON PAIN OF DEATH]," Tynion continues (and redacts himself). "But we've lined up a bunch of really really exciting stuff around what we're doing this fall. Let's just say we couldn't pass up throwing a Halloween party with our good pal, Scarecrow."
In mentioning a recent writers' meeting for the Bat-family of titles, Tynion doubles down on what he told Newsarama before about the line being more connected than it has been in over a decade.
"My single favorite thing about them? Well… for the last decade of working in Gotham City, there were so many times where people would ask about their favorite Bat-Family member and not be able to explain the weird internal politics that were acting as a barrier to seeing those characters get the spotlight they deserve," writes Tynion. "But right now? There's a plan for ALL of them.
"Gotham City is a whole superhero universe in and of itself, and we're all working together to build this exciting tapestry of superhero awesome that brings each of them forward and lets them shine. Your favorite characters are in good hands, and we've got some incredible stories cooking. I got an email earlier this week about something that won't happen until next year, but when I heard it I stood up and cheered."
While the writer wouldn't disclose what that was, he did say there's a Tim Drake story coming he's "particularly thrilled about" as a fan of the character since he was a teen.
June 8's Batman: Urban Legends #4 anthology has a Tim Drake story planned where he "has returned to the streets of Gotham City and is seeking a new purpose..."
Read more about that in our upcoming DC Comics June 2021 schedule.
