Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader?

SDDC '08: More on Batman-Gaiman with Dan Didio - Newsarama

Neil Gaiman is teaming up with Andy Kubert again for a two-part Batman story. As indicated by both chief editor Dan Didio and editor of the Batman line Mike Marts, the story will act as a sort of capstone for the last few decades of Batman stories. The title of the two-parter is a dead givaway to what DC has in mind for the Dark Knight: Whatever Happened to the Cape Crusader. It's a direct play on the seminal story Alan Moore did in 1986 after Crisis on Infinite Earths and before John Byrne started his Man of Steel reimagining of Superman for the modern era of comics. Moore titled his two-part closure of the Silver Age Superman Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow. It is one of the most poigant comic stories you will ever read, even if you have little to no knowledge of the Silver Age Superman.
With Grant Morrison's Batman: R.I.P. concluding around October and DC's Final Crisis event story--written by Morrison as well--finishing at the end of the year, the Gaiman story is slated for January of 2009. It also means that whatever the conclusion of Final Crisis is will affect what happens after Gaiman's story. Morrison, as far as I know, will continue to write Batman afterwards but has left open the question of who Batman is under the mask. Everyone involved is staying mum about Final Crisis, Batman, and Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader with Morrison saying that he's still writing and Gaiman posting on his website that he's not talking until it's done. Still, exciting times for Batman fans. I just wonder when DC will let Morrison loose on The Flash and talk Gaiman into writing a Superman/Batman story arc.