Held the 3rd Saturday in September since 2015, Batman Day is an annual celebration of one of DC Comics’ most iconic superheroes, who made his debut in Detective Comics #29 in 1939.
Created by Bob Kane with the help of writer Bill Finger, Batman has remained popular with fans throughout the world for over 80 years through comics, TV shows, movies—and novels like Wayne of Gotham, by New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance).
In 2012, author Richard C. White interviewed Hickman for Rich’s how-to book for writers and RPG gamemasters, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. In addition to the ins and outs of proper world building for fantasy and science fiction projects, they also discussed what was then Hickman’s latest novel: Wayne of Gotham, in which Bruce Wayne traces his family history to discover whether there was more to the murder of his parents when he was a boy—the traumatic event that led to his becoming Batman—than a simple robbery gone wrong.
“When approaching an iconic character like Batman, you walk a really fine line. My first reaction after we proposed this story and they accepted it was, ‘Oh man, I get to write Batman.’ And then the second reaction was, ‘What have I done? I have to write Batman!’ Because everyone has an idea of who Batman is.”
However, since the topic had nothing to do with Terra Incognito’s focus on world building, I cut it from the book during the editing process. But there’s no reason why you can’t read it now, given today’s celebration of all things Batman.
So head on over right now to the Richard C. White blog and celebrate Batman Day by reading all about Tracy Hickman’s Wayne of Gotham!
And to read the rest of Rich’s interview with Hickman—which includes a discussion of Hickman’s creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons—pick up a copy of Rich’s Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, which takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. In fact, it’s a book that’s become so popular with gamers that it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media Design program at Becker College in Worchester, Massachusetts!
Terra Incognito is available in print and digital editions. Visit its product page for more information.
