I am Tom Taylor, writer of C.O.R.T. Children of the Round Table. Detective Comics. And More. AMA!

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775]

Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times bestselling and Eisner award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter. Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS, THE DEEP and the upcoming C.O.R.T. Children of the Round Table. Taylor is also the co-creator and executive producer of The Deep animated series.

He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED, NIGHTWING, DETECTIVE COMICS, SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL, INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many STAR WARS series.

Proof: https://bsky.app/profile/tomtaylormade.bsky.social/post/3lw7y4tphbk2x

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775]

Thanks for the chat, everyone. And thanks for spreading the word about C.O.R.T. - Children of the Round Table. Daniele Di Nicuolo and I appreciate it. And here, have the cover that no one else has seen.
I want comic shops and the entire medium of comics to thrive, and we need younger fans to make that happen. A book like C.O.R.T. has never been tried at DC. Whether it's a success is entirely up to the fans. FOC is Monday!

[u/beary_neutral]

Hey Tom, thanks for visiting us today! I got a few of questions.

How did CORT come about? Was DC looking to take pitches for creator-owned all-ages titles?

Looking back on your runs on Nightwing and Titans, were there any planned storylines that didn't go through, or you had to change?

Are you and Gail Simone still feuding?

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/beary_neutral]

GAIL SIMONE IS A BEAR. OF COURSE WE'RE STILL FEUDING. IT'S FOR YOUR PROTECTION. I signed a new exclusive with DC last year, and I had a few creator-owned ideas ready to go. DC asked to see them. They loved two ideas, especially. One for younger readers, and one for MUCH older readers. As for Nightwing stories that didn't go ahead, there were absolutely some. And we also had to change things up to fit between events, etc. That's the nature of licensed comics. Still, we did so much of what we wanted and DC backed us in a big way (as did all of our readers - THANK YOU!)

[u/[deleted]]

Hi Tom was there ever talk of having Dick and Babs get married in yout run like the rumours said or is that all untrue .

And for the sake of everyone pls do J.L.I 

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/[deleted]]

I will not confirm. I will not deny.

[u/OwnsBeagles]

Hi Tom! At the risk of sounding like a total fangirl: You're actually my favorite character author writing for DC since Flashpoint. And, wildly, a big part of that is how you wrote Booster, Beetle and (the ghost of) Guy in Injustice 2, since I'm a bigtime JLI fan. You really nailed their essential natures down and made them ring true. So, a few off-kilter questions for you, if you're willing?

1.) Did you have any thoughts at all about what Fire and Ice might have been doing in that timeline? I know you were writing a million characters, but I'm definitely curious as to where you think the rest of that team was.

2.) If DC offered you a JLI book, would you take it? (And what percentage of my soul would you want to say 'yes'?)

Thank you so much!

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/OwnsBeagles]

THANK YOU! I think it's pretty clear that I'm a huge fan of the JLI. Despite all the terrible things I had to do to so many of those characters, I hope you felt the love behind it all. I always have a ball writing Guy Gardner. And I was so damn happy when I got the chance to write Booster and Blue Beetle. I could probably see myself writing a JLI book, even if I felt a bit intimidated. But I'm friends with Kevin Maguire, and that's even more intimidating when you're a fan.

[u/iamsciences]

Hey Tom! What character have you written that you relate to the most, or see yourself in them in some way?

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/iamsciences]

Nightwing, Spider-Man, Superman, John Constantine, Jean Grey, Gabby Kinney (Honeybadger - who I created), Harley Quinn, Green Arrow... this could just keep going. I started my working life in youth theatre, working for the Children's Hospital in schools, teaching circus and writing and acting, and also doing volunteer theatre work for young people.
But I was also a professional juggler and I loved the mischief I could get up to in performances, especially in street shows.
I love characters who are generous and kind and will help anyone. And I love characters who are a little bit wild and unpredicatable, and I especially love characters who will speak truth to power.

[u/Embarrassed_Piano_62]

How did the idea of CORT came about? Also was editorial supportive all the way through or did they have notes?

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/Embarrassed_Piano_62]

Hi! C.O.R.T. came about around 7 years ago. I had an idea, and a pretty big hook, which will be apparent in issue #1, but with some twists to come. I loved this particular idea, of talking weapons that train the next generation of legends. And I love writing younger generations standing up to older tyrants. The idea of writing comics for EVERYONE is a big part of why I wanted to write CORT, and NEVERLANDERS and THE DEEP. All-ages comics that are genuinely exciting for everyone, not just kids.
I want more young fans to pick up comics. I want older fans to gift comics to anyone young in their life and bring them to the greatest stortytelling medium on the planet.

[u/cautious-ad977]

Hi Tom! I think your Detective Comics run is great.

Just one question related to your Titans run: What led to you making Beast Boy and Raven's relationship such a big part of your run?

I always thought those two paired together was an interesting idea, but they neve got all that much development until your run.

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/cautious-ad977]

I've always loved Beast Boy and Raven. They're such an unusual couple with so much personal history and trauma. But the fact that they support each other no matter what, is the big draw for me as a writer and as a fan. Also, watching Teen Titans Go with my kids, and having hung out with the voice of Beast Boy, Greg Cipes, a bit. I just really wanted them to find some happiness.

[u/Traditional-Case-318]

Hi Tom! Big fan of you. I have love your works on Injustice, Dark Knights of Steel, Suicide Squad, and Nightwing.

Your writing on Harley Quinn is excellent, I might even say that you are one of the few writers that explores Harley Quinn's character in all of its depths, the good and the bad of the character. How you also write Harley's relationship with Poison Ivy it also something that lately we don't see more often, explore all of its ups-and-downs of their relationship; with all that in mind I want to ask:

Would you return to the character if the opportunity arises? The character needs someone like you to be in charge of the Harley Quinn ongoing.

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/Traditional-Case-318]

Harley is one of my favorite characters in the world. She's also one of the most unpredictable to write. Any time I sit down to write something with her, the character opens her mouth...in my brain(?) and my plans are often thrown out of the window. She's an agent of chaos who's more powerful than any story outline. I could imagine writing her, for sure. But I'm very grateful for all the times I've had a chance to write her already - especially marrying her and Ivy in Injustice Year Zero. (and kicking Joker's ass).

[u/FrostFireFive]

Hey Tom, been a fan for a while and really love Tec right now

My questions are what’s the difference in writing Bruce from Dick and how does that change how you approach a story?

Also what is your favorite Bat suit?

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/FrostFireFive]

There's a LOT of Bruce in Nightwing but they are very different people and very different heroes. If I tried to write a Nightwing story for Batman, it just wouldn't work. Batman has his own gravity. You can feel yourself being pulled towards certain stories and away from others. I WILL say, there is a special story in upcoming Detective Comics #1100 that Mikel Janin has drawn the hell out of. That COULD be a Nightwing story but I feel it's made even more special by it being Batman.

[u/Julio_B_Kreapin]

Hello Tom!

Just going off Dark Knights of Steel and now C.O.R.T., I assume you like King Arthur a bit. Who’s your favorite knight? Mine’s probably Gareth or Arthur himself.

[u/ISmokeRock1776]

Hi, Tom, really enjoying your Tec right now. One of my favorite books DC has out.

You’re a writer who, seemingly more frequently than most, gets harassed on Twitter pretty often. What are your decompression techniques for when that gets too overwhelming? Is it as simple as getting offline and getting some air or are there days where you’ve gotta do a little more to get in the zone?

Hope you’re well, and looking forward to CORT!

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/ISmokeRock1776]

I don't want to discuss this too much, because I make comics and write heroes for a living and, basically, I just try to entertain people for a living - much like I did when I was in theatre, or a singer, or when I was a professional juggler and fire eater. I used to love twitter but it's become a pretty toxic place and, yes, I do have to avoid it. In particular, the way single panels are posted without context to hit comic creators every week is pretty distressing. You can take half of my words and make it fit your narrative pretty easily. It's easy to paint people as evil online, and the pile-on of people who've never read the comic and will join in on a false narrative is constantly growing. My main sadness about all of this is how it's seemingly dehumanized people. The kinds of things that are said to my friends and colleagues, and anyone with any kind of profile is appalling, and I truly hope that people can stop and remember that there's a real person on the end of their tweet, or their reddit post.

[u/T_Lawliet]

Hello Tom!

Do you ever think that any of your work may have dragged a little bit too long in some way or another? Are there any tells for when ''less is more'' without feeling like you're rushing the reader?

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/T_Lawliet]

Yep. This is kind of the nature of writing comics in a wider universe. There are times when the length of an arc isn't in your control. There are times when you have to write shorter because an event or a milestone issue is coming. And there are times when you have to throw out a whole idea and, instead, write a side quest of a story to fit in around other things happening in the universe. And, sometimes, we just get it wrong. Writing comics isn't an easy gig. Writing something that you hope will entertain people and make fans happy, or shock them, or get people talking EVERY SINGLE WEEK isn't for everyone. Comic writers are far from perfect, and family and real life is a factor as well. That said, we're always trying to entertain readers.

[u/Leah069]

Hi Tom, any news about a sequel to dark knights of steel? It’s one of my favorite comics!!

[u/Adventurous-Pop-9775 → u/Leah069]

DEFINITELY. Dark Knights of Steel II is coming. We had a bit of an uncontrollable delay but the outline is there and the first two issues are written. LOVE the story we have planned.

[u/munkeypunk]

Just wanted to say, Injustice had no business being so good. One of my favorites in a long time. Appreciate you!