Al Ewing doesn’t just write Batman. He walks it.
In Detective Comics Annual 2025 (out April 30), Ewing crafts a three-act mystery that not only channels the spirit of the title — true, cerebral detective work — but adds layers of supernatural intrigue and location-specific flavor. On a chilly, damp New England afternoon, which is presumably the same weather from where Ewing spoke, we chatted all about his distinctly esoteric tone that’s rare even for the Dark Knight.
“I was able to kind of write it in kind of one block before it went to the three artists,” Ewing said, adding how the annual format allowed him to pull off a tightly plotted mystery. “To try and keep the audience kind of pulled along Batman’s brain. So they don’t feel like Batman’s left them completely behind and things are just coming out of left field.”
Three Acts, Three Artists, One Twisting Trail of Clues
Written during a time crunch, this annual came to Ewing when the editorial team needed a quick fill-in and approached him at a retreat.
“They said, ‘Hey, listen, we sort of need somebody to write a Detective Comics Annual. Can you do us like a 30-pager,'” Ewing said. “But because, you know, time’s a little tight, if there’s something you could sort of split between three artists, that’d be great.”
From that constraint, a structure emerged: “I thought, OK, well, let’s have three acts that sort of function as like three little mini00stories, but [that] connect,” Ewing said. “And then I just slotted those all together like little jigsaw puzzles.”
It begins with one of Batman’s most classically satisfying cases: a locked-room mystery.
“I sort of had an idea in my head for what’s the most locked room you could have? And it’s a bunker deep underground,” Ewing said. But this was no ordinary case — on the wall, written in the victim’s own blood, are the words: “Batman, don’t solve this murder.”
As it turns out, artist John McCrea had already drawn that exact image for a variant cover before seeing Ewing’s script. As Ewing laughed, “Now I have to do it.”
The opening page. Courtesy of DC Comics.
Gotham in York: Plotting Batman’s Path
Ewing based much of the story in York, England — a location he knows intimately.
“I do live in the vicinity of where Batman is having his big adventure,” Ewing said. “I actually walked in Batman’s footsteps and plotted out his route.”
In additon to McCrea joining Ewing on this “journey,” the annual also feature Stefano Raffaele and Fico Ossio. Ewing didn’t know ahead of time who would draw what, but he loaded the script with reference material. McCrea specifically draws the scenes in York, which was a win in Ewing’s book.
“It was a lovely surprise when I found out John was going to be drawing that bit,” Ewing said. “He definitely caught the place.”
In fact, fans could quite literally retrace Batman’s steps in real life. “They absolutely could,” Ewing added with a grin.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
Angels, Mind-Bending Mysticism, and the Sci-Fi Closet
Without spoiling too much, the mystery escalates into something much more surreal. There are apparitions, hints of ancient esoterica, and even references to Elizabethan magic. Specifically, the historical figure John Dee, court magician to Queen Elizabeth I, provided a strange anchor point for the plot’s dive into the otherworldly.
“I’m a huge fan of [Grant] Morrison Batman… and they did something great,” Ewing said. “There’s this moment where Batman says, ‘I’m going to open the sci-fi closet,’ and it’s just full of crazy stuff. It’s like, of course, Batman has a flying saucer. Of course he does. Why would he not?”
The page Ewing references from 2004’s JLA Classified #1. Courtesy of DC Comics
That mindset — Batman can do anything, as long as it’s bat-themed — drives the story’s more metaphysical turns.
“If he’s entering higher states of reality, he’s got to do it in a bat-themed way… he’s got a bat reality transgressor,” Ewing said half-joking. “It’s got little scalloped wing tips, you know?”
Even the angelic entities Batman faces are inspired by real historical occultism.
“John Dee’s big thing was Enochian Magic,” Ewing said. “The creatures Batman fights in the middle of the book are just these wonderful, weird things. It’s a lot of fun.”
The Esoterica of the Annual
Ewing relished the opportunity to tell a story that feels different from the monthly grind.
“If I know I’ve got an annual, I generally use it to tell something that’s related to the main story, but sort of off to the side. It’s like apocrypha,” Ewing said. “This one doesn’t tie into a larger arc, but it’s a standalone that’s worth the money on its own.”
And that’s fitting, he noted, because Detective Comics itself is often more left-field than its sibling title Batman.
“Batman is all about Batman. Detective is all about detection,” Ewing said. “It’s a little more esoteric by nature.”
Tea time! Courtesy of DC Comics.
Traveling Clothes and Yorkshire Tea
There’s also a lightness to this story, as evidence in moments like Batman’s costume subtly shifting from black to blue when he arrives in England.
“You could say those are Batman’s traveling clothes,” Ewing joked.
And, yes, Batman drinks tea. How could he not?
“Yorkshire Tea,” Ewing said. “Batman would not take sugar. He might take milk. He might need the calcium. He’d probably take skim milk.” Back in the Batcave, though, Ewing envisions something more unique. “He probably has a special herbal tea that he blended himself. With special herbs that only exist in the DC Universe.”
Courtesy of DC Comics.
Mystery, Myth, and a Bat-Symbol on Everything
With its smart structure, historical layers, and willingness to embrace the odd, Detective Comics Annual 2025 delivers the kind of one-shot that feels both satisfyingly self-contained and memorably strange.
Or, as Ewing put it: “I had a lot of fun doing my version of Batman…and stirring up a little more of what’s already there.”
And really, if Batman can punch angels in a British street and still make time for a properly steeped cup of tea, what more could you want?
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