We Almost Got a Vertigo Batman from Gerard Way

The lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, stormed the comic world with his book Umbrella Academy. It was huge hit and sold out at comic shops across the country in 2008, giving the multi-talented Way quite a bit of momentum. What we didn’t know is that he used that success to pitch his own vision of Batman to DC Comics in the never published series Batman: Kingdom of the Mad.

Presenting a Gothic, Tim Burton/Ben Templesmith-esque aesthetic and a new take on classic villains like Mr. Freeze, the series was originally meant to be published by DC’s darker line of books, VERTIGO. DC declined to pick up the project, likely to keep from muddling the VERTIGO line and the mainstream DCU brands. It’s why DC brought Animal Man, Sandman, and Swamp Thing back into the mainline from that division of publishing.

Recently, Way tweeted images and exercises he had created when pitching the comic. Check out what he had come up with:

Cover art to an approved DC comics proposal for a “Vertigo” Batman limited series.Never got to write it. Sadface. pic.twitter.com/gT4fFgHjPy
— Gerard Way (@gerardway) June 2, 2013

Nananananananananana pic.twitter.com/jkgMDi1vSm
— Gerard Way (@gerardway) June 2, 2013

“I’m Mr. Freeze!I like to dress up as my dead wife in armor I sculpted out of scrap-metal from her car accident!” pic.twitter.com/xNnluYpeXU
— Gerard Way (@gerardway) June 2, 2013

Leave you with a Batman study pic.twitter.com/oWUaW9jTvC
— Gerard Way (@gerardway) June 2, 2013

Though this had little chance of happening, especially under VERTIGO, I would have like to have seen where this would have gone. Maybe he will release something unofficial someday.