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Batman and Robin and Howard is a fun middle grade series that follows the rivalry turned friendship between Damian Wayne and his classmate, Howard. The titular trio’s adventures continue in the upcoming Batman and Robin and Howard: Summer Breakdown, but we almost didn’t receive the sequel according to creator Jeffrey Brown. During the ALA Annual Conference, he talked about his original planned follow up at DC Comics.

“I originally wasn’t intending to do another Batman & Robin & Howard book. I’ll come up with new characters,” Brown said. “ I have this kid who does fencing. There’s a kid really into steampunk. And there’s this kid who really likes animals. I thought they were going to be their own superhero team that didn’t have superpowers yet.”

Despite creating designs for the characters, he couldn’t quite find their story. At the same time, he began thinking more and more about Robin and Howard, and all these loose threads he introduced in his story such as allusions to Damian’s family. That lead to thoughts of Damian and his dad and developing their relationship more. Starting with a brand new kid superhero team, Brown pivoted to what would eventually become Summer Breakdown.

But he was still invested in his creations. Luckily he found a solution. “I can still have these new characters be part of the story and it sort of grew organically from there.” What a wonderful way to combine both ideas.

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