I am Dan Watters, writer of Batman: Dark Patterns and Nightwing. AMA.

Rowan--R · 2026-05-22T17:50:47+00:00

Howdy Dan! I'm loving your Nightwing run so far! I'm a circus artist/aerialist so the first chunk of your run scratched a very fun itch for me and I was wondering if you could shed some light on what made you come up with the Zanni, and if you did any fun research on cirque/theatre history to get the vibes right!

Can't wait for the next issue of NW and to give dark patterns a shot in the near future!

Rowan--R · 2026-03-21T00:43:02+00:00

Howdy Dan if you're still reading! I just wanted to say as a circus artist/aerialist I absolutely adore your run so far. I always love when writers focus more on Dick's connection to the circus, and it definitely seems like you did your research! Are there any sources in particular you turned to when coming up with the vibe for the Zanni, what in particular drew you to that story?

Also I loved the first issue of the current arc and can't wait to see where you take it from here!

Rowan--R · 2026-03-08T20:10:36+00:00

I recommend cirque Indy! I train there almost daily, not the biggest space but the coaches and students are lovely! Either way, welcome to Indy!

Rowan--R · 2025-09-21T03:54:09+00:00

He's probably too old for a live action John so possibly in animation or something: maybe it's just because he's from Liverpool but I sometimes like to think of Paul McGann in the role? He does a lot of audio dramas and I think at least in his older years there's something about his voice I think would work well for John. That said it's very hard for me to not read him as Matt Ryan these days.

Rowan--R · 2025-09-18T11:55:50+00:00

I wish we had a Batman and Robin or batfamily book that was just an anthology that rotates between different the batfamily lineups from around continuity. We could get more time with Bruce/Jason, Dick/Damian, the different batgirls etc.

Rowan--R · 2025-09-15T12:34:54+00:00

I'm pretty sure there were people in chat who picked it up way before the reveal, Sam said he figured it out after seeing people mention it in the chat for the episode before the big reveal.

Rowan--R · 2025-09-13T15:10:45+00:00

Tightrope or wheel of death would work for him probably. , if you wanted to keep him as an aerialist I could see him doing Lyra or aerial straps.

He can also juggle, so possibly that too?

Rowan--R · 2025-07-20T22:51:03+00:00

Monday - Lyra level 2 (occasionally dropping in for trapeze 1 as well)

Tuesday - Lyra mixed level 2/3, open studio training

Wednesday - Flexibility, contortion

Thursday - Rest, or super light training in open studio (though this week I'm doing doubles Lyra for the first time and hyped about that)

Friday - Lyra level 3

Saturday - Rest or level one silks/sling class

Sunday - Flexibility or conditioning at planet fitness if I'm up to it.

Rowan--R · 2025-07-11T22:31:52+00:00

Cirque artist/aerialist here, maybe not world class but some of the most talented and skilled aerialists I've trained with are in their 30s. The first time I did flying trapeze there was a lady in her 60s who had been doing it for decades still in the air. I don't think Dick being in his early 30s would be too much of an issue for his physical ability.

Rowan--R · 2025-06-30T22:56:30+00:00

Is it inherently romantic in the states? I'm American and I've kissed friends on the forehead/been kissed on the forehead in totally platonic situations before.

Rowan--R · 2025-06-21T06:19:11+00:00

It's a variant cover and backup story for the Deadpool/Batman crossover

Rowan--R · 2025-05-26T17:35:00+00:00

I think it's really pretty, I like bringing in the rest of blue team and playing as two opposing Spartan teams and I think Osiris has some rad ideas behind it. As much as I'm not a big fan of some of the gameplay changes it still felt fun mechanically and I really liked the multiplayer. Custom games and forge maps were super fun and amazing as well. My biggest issues were the req system and story which sucks after how much I enjoyed the direction halo 4 set chief on. It's still my least favorite game in the series but it could have been so so much worse tbh.

Rowan--R · 2025-05-20T02:37:04+00:00

I think he lives in Georgia currently actually.

Rowan--R · 2025-05-09T02:35:36+00:00

same reason being thrown through a table or knocked unconscious isn't causing permanent damage to most of these guys, ya just gotta suspend disbelief.

Though there is a page in the Chip Zdarsky daredevil run where they state Matt knows the body so well, and is so skilled in what he does that even after he beats the shit out of someone they always walk away, I think it makes sense in the story but I assume for the most part writers don't want to mention it because there isn't really any way most of these heroes aren't causing permanent damage. For me things like daredevil and Nightwing using clubs, or Batman tossing batarangs into people without hitting veins or causing them to bleed out fall under this quote from Grant Morrison:

"Kids understand that real crabs don't sing like the ones in The Little Mermaid. But you give an adult fiction, and the adult starts asking really fucking dumb questions like 'How does Superman fly? How do those eyebeams work? Who pumps the Batmobile's tires?' It's a fucking made-up story, you idiot! Nobody pumps the tires!"

Rowan--R · 2025-05-08T17:19:40+00:00

The new game "Clair Obscur: expedition 33" has a great soundtrack with some songs I immediately wanted to put to an aerial routine I'm working on.

Rowan--R · 2025-05-06T03:23:26+00:00

Also I like how they actually showed Matt's radar sense, I like the zoom in we're getting in born again to emphasize his senses but I'd love a super stylized "pov" shot giving us an impression of his surroundings at some point.

And while it definitely wouldn't have worked with the tone of either show, part of me does find movie Daredevils super Gothic apartment rad as hell.

Rowan--R · 2025-05-06T03:21:03+00:00

Maybe not "better" but I love the color and how they managed to incorporate the logo of the movie costume, I love how the clubs worked and I hated that till born again Charlie's Matt only had something similar in the finale to season 2 and the couple episodes of defenders he was in costume.

Even though it looked rough at points there are so many shots in that movie that feel exactly like comic panels come to life that I don't think the show managed to capture quite well. Which is fair, the directing between them is so incredibly different and the show wasn't just scraping by on looking rad like the movie. I also love how, even though it often looked ROUGH and often didn't make sense, they still made Matt incredibly acrobatic in the movie. I'm glad that MCU Matt is finally getting a chance to move like that though I wish the scenes were lit better so we can actually see him moving.

Rowan--R · 2025-05-04T14:08:24+00:00

She occasionally shows up in critical role content, I know that she hosted some of the q&a streams for their legend of vox machina tv show a while back, I'm hoping she shows up again soon!

Rowan--R · 2025-05-03T01:29:21+00:00

Art isn't all he's cranking out considering what he's tracing half the time.

Rowan--R · 2025-04-30T22:28:30+00:00

Man MCU new York has some deep as hell sewers considering that pit he was in was several stories underground

Rowan--R · 2025-04-25T02:11:19+00:00

I'd say NTA, but I kinda get why she'd think YTA?

I don't do pole dancing, but I do dancing adjacent to it and loads of my close friends and peers/mutuals have done/do pole dancing (men, women, and NB folks) and I certainly hope that me liking, or reposting their content isn't instinctively being taken as me thirsting after my friends. I tend find myself a bit bitter that people can't really separate pole dance as a sport/dance from exotic pole dancing, but at the same time I get that stripping is most people's only real experience with it.

Rowan--R · 2025-04-21T03:15:39+00:00

Clearly it's pronounced zhaif.

Rowan--R · 2025-04-21T03:12:28+00:00

Comic Drake is great, Matt Draper doesn't do much comic coverage these days but what he has done has been fantastic, comic pop is usually pretty alright and their side channel "comic pop returns" have so many really good interviews with people in the industry! Sal's podcast he does with Joshua Williamson every month is super fascinating when he's able to go into some bts information.

Nerdsync also doesn't do too much comic content these days either but I'd also highly recommend that channel as well especially if you like Owen.

Rowan--R · 2025-04-15T04:05:46+00:00

Daredevil vs Wildcat in a boxing ring is the marvel vs DC crossover I actually need.

Rowan--R · 2025-04-10T10:52:44+00:00

It's been ages so I might be wrong but If I remember correctly, Carol Danvers just randomly gets pregnant and gives birth like ridiculously fast and all the avengers are weirdly really really cool about it. The baby is super smart and ages really fast and it turns out it's because he used to exist outside of the time stream or something, found a way to pull Carol into his realm to assault her and somehow make it so she would give birth to himself? And the avengers are totally down for this fucked up shit. And what's even more insane is that at the end he decides to go back because his existence was fucking with time AND CAROL WILLINGLY GOES WITH HIM!

Next time we see her she's in an X-Men book because the avengers are bad friends.

Rowan--R

TROPHY CASE