Word Balloon - Don Kramer on Nightwing, JSA and More

On this edition of the Word Balloon podcast, host John Siuntres sits down with DC artist Don Kramer. They go through Don's career path from his early days at Caliber Comics through his work on Dr Fate, JSA and Batman, where he's collaborated with writers like Geoff Johns, James Robinson and Paul Dini.

They also go in depth, discussing his current work on Nightwing with writer Peter Tomasi. Today, they start a new arc in issue #147, featuring a confrontation between Dick Grayson and Harvey (Two-Face) Dent - the one Batman villain that has always shown nothing but contempt for Dick, going back to his early days as Robin.

"Dick hates Harvey, he doesn't feel the guilt that Batman does about him, and we'll see that right away in part one." says Kramer.

Kramer and Siuntres also revisit classic stories that Kramer has drawn, like the "Black Reign" arc in JSA that explored the hero/villain dichotomy of Black Adam. "He's the anti-hero, a Superman, with the Punisher's mentality. A lot of fans can understand his motivations and sympathize with his point of view, that's what makes the best kind of villain."

And Detective #826,"Slay Ride," featuring the solo story of The Joker holding Robin (Tim Drake) bound, gagged and at gunpoint, as they drive through Gotham in a Black SUV. Two characters, one setting. "When I got the script I read it, and became giddy. I just made sure I didn't screw it up. Seriously, I'm very proud of my work on that particular story."

Click here for the episode.

Related: 

Word Balloon: Chuck Dixon

Word Balloon: Dean Haspiel

Word Balloon: Batman: Gotham Knight Creators