On March 14, 2023, I will realize a lifelong dream: Â Publishing an honest-to-goodness Batman graphic novel with DC. Â The project has been in the works for over three years, but I have been sworn to secrecy by DC — until now.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been a huge fan of Batman. Â Because Batman was just about the only superhero that I could be. Â He had no super powers. Â He wasn’t bitten by a radioactive animal or given a magical object by aliens. Â He was just a normal guy (albeit a very rich one) who used his brains, his skills and some cool gadgets to defeat evil.
So the idea that I could actually get to write a Batman story is a dream come true.
The story of how it all came to happen is kind of a long one, but the short version is that, around three years ago, I was invited to come to the DC Comics offices to discuss doing a graphic novel project with them. Â The exec in charge actually asked me ‘Is there any chance you’d be interested in writing a Batman?’ at which point I exclaimed ‘YES YES YES!’
I was so excited by the idea that I think I hatched the whole story on the way home from the meeting. Â I had to go through a few rounds of pitching them the idea, but they agreed to do it right around the time that Covid hit. Â I wrote the script way back then, but it has taken quite a while to get the art done — because, in all honesty, the art is INCREDIBLE.
The artist is Berat Pekmeczi and I could not be more thrilled with it. Â It is dynamic and hilarious and fantastic.
Click here to preorder it!
You can click here to learn more.
Here’s the pitch from the DC website:
On sale February 7, 2023, Bruce Wayne: Not Super follows a 13-year-old Bruce Wayne as he attends an exclusive prep school for the gifted. But, in this book written by Stuart Gibbs (Spy School) with art by Berat Pekmezci (Flash), this school is for the super-gifted. Bruce doesn’t stand a chance of winning a race against the future Flash, or a swim meet against the future Aquaman, and he always gets picked last for dodgeball.
It’s hard enough being in middle school, but it’s even worse when you’re the only kid at your school who doesn’t have super-powers. Bruce does have a goal though: he wants to make a difference in the world. But how can he do that when he doesn’t have any powers? While the Future-Supers are currently content to simply use their gifts to glide through school and court popularity, Bruce struggles to figure out if he has any gifts at all — and if so, how to use them. His challenge comes when he discovers fellow student Jack Napier and his hired bully Bane shaking down lesser-powered students for money, including that hapless kid Dick Grayson. Someone must stand up to them and somehow, it’s going to be Bruce!
Bruce Wayne: Not Super represents an alternate origin story for Batman and a number of other iconic DC characters, imagining them all as school age kids and with Bruce as the misfit. Filled with a lot of humor, this is a light-hearted take on a well-known and beloved character.
UPDATE: Â You may have noticed that the date for the release of this graphic novel has moved back a month since this post was originally published. Â That’s because there was a conflict between the release dates between this graphic novel and my next FunJungle book, Whale Done. Â This way, I’ll be able to spend more time focusing on the release of each book.
Awesome! I wish you luck! I do have a question! Will this thing become like a series? Or just a One Time Thing? Just curios!
The 7th Grader –
For now, this is just a one time thing. But I suppose there’s a chance there could be more in the future.
Congratulations
I won’t lie, the cover looks the best! I am just laughing so hard when I see the joker their, just chilling! This might be the coolest book I will buy!
-The 7th Grader
On Wikipedia, it says that Funjungle 8 is called “Tree Top”,
Agent Red panda –
Wikipedia is wrong.
THATS INSANE! I CANT WAIT! CONGRATS ON SUCH A HUGE WIN!
NO SHOT. Would not have seen this coming. Congrats!!!
Wow, I did not see that coming
CHARLIE THORNE 3 IS OUT TOMORROW! AHHHHHH! I AM SO EXCITED!
-The 7th Grader
Mr. Gibbs
When will Spy School Project X be released? I can’t wait to read it!
Ya me too
Chocolate chips –
The release date for SSPX — and all my upcoming books — is in the Upcoming Releases box that is on every single page of this website.
Mr Gibbs,
I don’t know if you have said this already, and I just missed it, but will CT3, and BWNS have exclusive edition? BWNS might not, but will CT3 have one?
I am just curious!
The 7th Grader –
There is no exclusive edition of CT3 — and Bruce Wayne Not Super is being published by DC comics directly, so the chance ot them making a deal with barnes & Noble to make an exclusive edition is highly unlikely.
How much of what you said in CT3 about Cleopatra that didn’t involve what she discovered in the book was true?
Mr. Gibbs-
Will your book be canon to other Batman comic books? Or does it happen in its own bubble in the multiverse?
Kitten-
I think its in its own universe! This is because the flash is the flash at a young age, which makes no sense, as he was the flash later on! So yeah, thats my idea!
Steve Urkel –
Except for the parts about the discovery, everything I said about Cleopatra in the book is true. (Or at least, believed to be true. It’s hard to have 100% accuracy about a person who lived 2000 years ago.)
Kitten –
There is no canon in the Batman universe. Batman has already been reinvented a dozen times. This is an origin story, so it can’t really be canon, because there have been other versions of this story already. But maybe, if it become really popular, then people will see it as the ultimate origin story. And then it will be regarded as canon.
Congratulations Mr.Gibbs, I cannot wait to read this the cover looks amazing.
Congrats man I’ll be picking this up for sure
Just Curious, but how would you rate the 7 current funjungle books? Here is mine! From best to worst!
1- Big Game
2-Poached
3-Belly Up
4-Bear Bottom
5-Panda-monium
6-Lion Down
7-Tyrannosaurus Rex
The bottom 3 aren’t bad, I just like the others more!
1. Pandamonium
2. T-Rex
3. Poached
4. Bear Bottom
5. Big Game
6. Belly Up
7. Lion Down
Hi Joni (the 7th grader)
Hey Stu, I was re-reading the Spy School at Sea book and I noticed that it mentions Snakes Alive which is a place in the Funjungle books. Does this mean that you could have a crossover with them? Are the Charlie Thorne books connected to these books too?
Shredskis –
Just because I put an easter egg in one of my books does not mean there are going to be crossovers between series. Or that all of my series are related.
(It is completely possible that Snakes Alive could exist in two separate universes.)
Stuart Gibbs –
Wow I’m glad you were able to make a deal with DC. I don’t know much about Batman or any of the other superheroes, but I’m excited to find out! And also Happy Birthday! Hopefully you had a lot of fun.
Omg happy birthday Mr. Gibbs!! Was your day good?
Jane Ripley –
Yes, I had a very nice day, thanks.
This looks awesome! When will we be able to pre order this?
Zomebody_Oof
I am not sure when preordering will be possible. That’s up to DC.
Looks sick 😛 you’re an epic, amazing, writer mr Gibbs, if you ever see this. you have a lot of fans out there. Have a good day!
oh yea fun fact I graduated 5th grade at the time of writing (6/15)
The 7th Grader-
A little late but here:
1. Panda-monium
2. Big Game
3. Poached
4. Belly Up
5. Bear Bottom
6. Tyrannosaurus wrecks
7. Lion Down
Dear Mr.Gibbs-
(apologize for the late correction)
Actually, you’re both mistaken on multiple levels. There is no such thing as the “Batman Universe”, if you mean the universe where the current still running Batman(Detective Comics) series is in, then you are referring to Prime Earth(Prime Earth and Earth Prime are different universes; Earth Prime is the name for the pre-crisis metaphysical representation of our world in the Overvoid, while Prime Earth is the name for the post-crisis “main” comics universe, Prime Earth is the result of the merging of the New Earth, Vertigo, and the Wildstorm timelines)(Sorry if I got the 2 confused, I’m going off of memory here). Also, there is a canon in the DC omniverse, just it’s not as simple as in other fandoms. Whenever Batman is reinvented, that’s called a retcon, and that IS canon. If anybody is confused, the definition of a retcon, according to wikipedia, is, “Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself), are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work which recontextualizes or breaks continuity with the former.” Basically, this means the author and publisher can basically contradict anything they’ve previously written and it’ll still officially be canon, so Batman being “reinvented” over the years is definitely not evidence that there is not a main Batman universe. Now here’s where it gets tricky, and this is the real definition of “canon” in the DC omniverse, as there’s not really a right or wrong answer here. If you’re going on the “textbook” definition of canon in other fandoms, it would be “In fiction, canon is the material accepted as officially part of the story in an individual universe of that story by its fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction. The alternative terms mythology, timeline, universe and continuity are often used, with the first of these being used especially to refer to a richly detailed fictional canon requiring a large degree of suspension of disbelief (e.g. an entire imaginary world and history), while the latter two typically refer to a single arc where all events are directly connected chronologically. Other times, the word can mean “to be acknowledged by the creator(s)”” As you can see, this doesn’t really apply here, as there isn’t a singular “canon” universe in the DC continuity, which is a problem in other fandoms that include multiverses too, like the Marvel multiverse. Most people go off of the last one, which is “to be acknowledged by the creators”, and yes, since DC is publishing this, then it would be canon. Usually, offical stories of Batman or any other story that takes place in it’s own universes is named “Elseworlds”, which is where universes like Injustice, Kingdom Come, and others come from. Those are canon in the sense that they have their own respective universes in the multiverse. So yes, Stu’s newest graphic novel will have it’s own “bubble” in the comics and main DC multiverse. For example, Earth 33, which is the current post crisis metaphysical representation of our(the readers) world(just like how the empty hand represents our greed and hunger). This is where characters like Superboy Prime come from, though characters like The Writer, the author avatar of Grant Morrison, exist outside such boundaries. Just to clear things up a little, the Overvoid is the same thing as the Omniverse, the blank canvas where all of reality is contained and drawn on(still a tool to The Writer, though). The extent of the DC omniverse isn’t just the widely known comics multiverse, but contains transfinite other multiverses with transfinite universes from other published works from DC. Though the omniverse also contains alternate planes of existence, dimensions, and other things. The omniverse is contained in the Overvoid, which was created by the source, and where characters like the Great Darkness are contained. The flaw is everything that the overvoid is not. The space between multiverses is called the bleed, and is the metaphorical lifeblood of the entire DC omniverse, which Mandrakk feeds off of. It should be noted that the “omniverse”, is different from the greater DC omniverse, which is the overvoid. The overvoid contains a transfinite amount of everything, and is beyond anything. A brief history of the omniverse: Officially, the Source created the overvoid, but it’s debated over who’s actually the supreme ruler and creater. The Hands, some of the first creatures in the omniverse, were tasked with creating multiverses, until Perpetua, a female Hand, rebelled and tried to take over(each Hand is suppoed to leave whenever they finish creating a multiverse, but Perpetua didn’t) . Blah blah blah, several crisises happens, entire Dark Knights: Death Metal event happens, she dies, but basically at the gist of Dark Knights : Death Metal from a cosmological perspective is that the Hands rewarded Crisis Wonder Woman for defeating Perpetua by repairing all the damage the Darkest Knight caused, and restoring a system of all of the different versions of the Multiverse, into a smaller “omniverse”(which is not the same thing as the Greater DC Omniverse or the Overvoid btw).
TL;DR
To answer Kitten’s original question, it will be canon in the sense that it is contained within the greater DC omniverse(which, by the way, contains the universe that Stu’s novel is set inn, as every piece of fiction that has ever been written and published by DC comics does have a place in the omniverse unless explicitly stated it’s timeline was merged, destroyed, or reset), but it is not canon in the sense that it is going to be in the same universe as the other DC comics, it all depends on which definition you’re going off of. It definitely won’t be canon to “the other Batman comic books”, depending on whether you mean the Detective Comics(or Batman) series, or one of the Elseworlds(like Injustice, Red Son, or Gotham by Gaslight), but it’ll be set in it’s own separate universe(probably).
*bows*
wow that is a LONG comment
Dc Fans be like
this also gets back at Disney
Hi Stuart! Congrats with the Batman ” Collab “! Ive really enjoyed reading your books for a while and have been devoted to buying all your books when they release! I would say that youre probably my favorite writer in this particular genre ( I read Tolkien so you cant really be compared to him). Your sense of humor has always made me laugh out loud (and make people think im a psychopath, but its worth it) and you are great for a middle schooler like me. Keep doing what you do! You really are a great human being and an amazing writer! I was wondering, since Ben has amazing morals, what would you say are the morals of Bens friends in terms of violence and/or killing people? Thank you for everything, SwitchfootFan. P.S., These are my favorite Spy School books in order…
1.) Evil Spy School
2.)Spy Ski School
3.)Spy School
4.)Spy School British Invasion
5.)Spy School Goes South
6.) Spy School Secret Service
7.)Spy Camp
8.)Spy School at Seas
9.)Spy School Revolution
(The bottom 4 I have no beef with but i felt they were less enjoyable than the thrillers above, totaly my opinion)
Oh Sorry I kinda went off topic… hope you understand how eager I was to talk about books
SwitchfootFan-
Have you read Spy School Project X yet? If yes, how would you rank it among the other Spy School books? If no, you should DEFINITELY read it!
Ruben G-
No! Ive been meaning to but Ive been super busy and havent really had the time, but the first to chapters are great!
Hey Mr Stuart i really love your books but i would like to suggest that you add 10 more books in the series because they are so so so so so so so so good
YOOOOOOOOO I LOVE YA BOOKS
I REALLLY LOVE YOUR BOOKS AND I HOPE YOU WRITE MORE OF THE SPY SCHOOL
7th grader:
little late but here is my rating (out of ten):
belly up: 10
poached:6
panda-monium:7
lion down: unfortunately i haven’t read it or tyrannosaurus wrecks.
bear bottom: 9
i forgot big game:10
Mr. Gibbs:
the book looks swasome! i’m normally not a fan of DC but i can’t wait to read this!
Ranking of FunJungle novels:
Belly Up: 8
Big Game: 9
Poached: 10
Panda-monium: 7
Lion Down: 8
Tyrannosaurus Wrecks: 9
Bear Bottom: 10.
Spy School series ranking:
Spy School: 10
Spy Camp: 7
Evil Spy School: 10
Spy Ski School: 8
Spy School Secret Service: 10
Spy School Goes South: 8
Spy School British Invasion: 9
Spy School at Sea: 10
Spy School Project X: 10.
Other Stuart Gibbs Books:
Space Case: 9
Spaced Out:10
Haven’t yet read Waste of Space.
Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation: 10
Charlie Thorne and the Lost City: 6
Haven’t yet read Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra.
The Last Musketeer: 10
The Last Musketeer Traitor’s Chase: 10
The Last Musketeer Double Cross: 10.
Once Upon A Tim: 7
Haven’t yet read Once Upon A Tim the Labyrinth of Doom
Expected rating of following Stuart Gibbs books:
Whale Done: 10
Bruce Wayne Not Super: 11 (not a typo)
Spy School 11: 10
Labyrinth of Doom: 7
Sea of Terror: 8
Curse of Cleopatra: 7
Charlie Thorne 4: 7?
Waste of Space: 10
Spy School Graphic Novel: 9
Spy Camp: 9.
Overall, Stuart Gibbs as an author is: 10. No one is a better writer than him.
I wish a crossover would happen, but I understand why it can’t. It would be cool if any of his characters switched role for a book though. Imagine Ben in FunJungle. He’d be
so confused. LOL. And Erica wouldn’t know what was going on either but act like she did so as not to worry Ben. That’d be pretty funny don’t you guys think?