McDaniel tackles the Boy Wonder

Newsarama talked to outgoing Richard Dragon artist Scott McDaniel and got the news on his next gig: Robin. McDaniel sums up why he -- and everyone else -- seems to favor the Bat-verse:

First, I could be Batman, Nightwing or Robin, given enough dedication - and money. In fact, when I was a boy, I went after Burt Ward's job as Robin! I sent in a letter to the local TV station making my case for why I would make a better Robin than Burt. I even promised that I would remove my glasses before doing the fight scenes. I never heard back from them. I don't think Burt lost any sleep over my bid.

Next, you can't get any more interesting environments than you find in the Bat universe. The places exist and have a tangible personality that you can't often get with more fictional and fantastic locations. Almost everyone has walked down a dark, wet, trash-strewn alley and felt the hairs stand up on the back of their neck. I don't know what it's like to walk down a hallway made of crystal and holograms. When you render a location, it carries just as much (sometimes much more) personality than the living characters in it, and for me, that is a real bonus.

Robin has been going through a number of artists lately, it seems, so it'll be good for the title to settle down for a bit. I enjoyed Damion Scott's run (what's he doing next?), but I'm a McDaniel fan. His work on Batman with Brubaker was overlooked and his run on Nightwing was excellent. Hopefully writer Bill Willingham can make use of his frenetic art style. I know he isn't loved by all, but I admire McDaniel's consistency and ability to do a book month-in and month-out, aside from his great pencil-work.