Batman No. 85 rumored to be Tom King’s last issue

Batman No. 85 will reportedly be Tom King’s last on the comic book series.

According to a story broken by Bleeding Cool News, it is rumored that writer Tom King will be forced out of DC’s flagship book, Batman at the end of the year, taking him to through issue No. 85. Another writer will take over the title at the beginning of 2020. This will cut Kings planned run by 15 issues, as his run was initially slatted to end at issue 100.

According to Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool, the decision was made during last week’s Megacon in Orlando, and no reason for the last minute shake-up, has been leaked or made public.

Nothing has been made official by DC comics, but the rumor was possibly verified by Tom King himself, as he took to Twitter to let everyone know he appreciates the support.

While being an Eisner nominated book, King’s run has been extremely controversial as the Knightmares arc was dividing Batman fans. Johnston also reported on how the usual consistent book had fallen in sales during the Knightmares run.

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The move, if true, will no doubt leave some comic book fans scratching their head as this comes as somewhat of a shocking move. King has had one of the most impressive runs with the company, writing some of the most critically acclaimed books for DC, including Grayson, Mister Miracle and The Omega Men.

King had also teased a big change coming to Batman in issue No. 75 and the report does not state whether or not that decision played a part in King’s possible removal.

King has been the writer on Batman since the company wide reboot known as Rebirth back in June of 2016, taking the mantle from Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo.

With no official statement made from DC comics, there has been no rumor as to who will replace King on Batman.