The DC Children’s Superhero Team Book Jeffrey Brown Almost Made It

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Batman and Robin and Howard is a fun middle-grade series that follows the rivalry between Damian Wayne and his classmate Howard that develops into a friendship. The adventures of the titular trio will continue in the upcoming Batman and Robin and Howard: Summer Breakdown, but according to creator Jeffrey Brown, we almost didn’t get the sequel. During the ALA Annual Conference, he spoke about his originally planned sequel at DC Comics.

“I wasn’t originally planning on writing another Batman, Robin and Howard book. I’m going to make up new characters,” Brown said. “I’ve got this kid who can fence. There’s a kid who’s really into steampunk. And there’s this kid who really likes animals. I thought they’d form their own superhero team that doesn’t have superpowers yet.”

Even though he was creating the characters, he couldn’t quite find the right story for them. At the same time, he started thinking more and more about Robin and Howard and all these loose threads that he was introducing into his story, like references to Damian’s family. That led him to think about Damian and his father and develop their relationship further. Brown started with a brand new superhero team of kids and moved on to what would eventually become Summer Breakdown.

But he was still excited about his creations. Fortunately, he found a solution. “I can still have these new characters be part of the story and it kind of developed organically from there.” What a wonderful way to combine both ideas.

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