My Batman Begins Book

I've just completed a draft of a book for Sequart Research & Literacy Organization.

In 2005, I authored Batman Begins and the Comics, the first book published by Sequart. I managed to write it between the movie's theatrical release and its DVD release, getting it out there before the DVD hit stores.

It sold okay for a first effort, and we started working on our next books, including another from me, Tim Callahan's Grant Morrison: The Early Years, and Tom McLean's Mutant Cinema: The X-Men Trilogy from Comics to Screen. Everything took way longer than expected, going through several drafts. During that time, I started and stopped several books. Along the way, Sequart became a non-profit and got a new logo. The spectacular Kevin Colden stepped in to do all our covers. We've learned a lot about making books. The new, spiffy book line now has three books available, and the first one is coming to comic book stores in about a month.

But there was that old, embarrassing Batman Begins and the Comics out there... with our old name and logo... with that crappy photo cover... with our old, cramped interior formatting and no images... and with typos because we rushed it to press. Sitting next to our new books, it just looked stupid.

Well, I've now finally completed a full revision, with expanded contents, interior illustrations, and our nice new formatting. It was a lot more work than I expected, though the original version was in a lot better shape than I had worried.

It's also got a new, tentative title: Improving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen.

I formally submitted it to Sequart today.

There's still a lot of work to go. The editing process can take months and feel endless, and we're short of good editors right now. The cover's not completed. So we have no idea when it will be out.

But it feels good to finish a book, even if it's only a new draft of an old one. I think that it's a good book. I'm proud of it, and I'm proud that our organization's very first book is going to take its place along our nice new ones. It's been a long road, but a rewarding one.

Impoved foundations indeed.