Biography
Scott Beatty (also credited as Scott M. Beatty, Scott Matthew Beatty, and Scotty Beatty) has authored hundreds of adventures for many of comics' most iconic characters including Batman and Robin tales for DC Comics, as well as The Phantom, Buck Rogers, and Sherlock Holmes for Dynamite Entertainment.
Beatty has also contributed comic book stories to Antarctic Press, Crossgen Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, and Marvel Entertainment.
Beatty co-wrote the critically acclaimed and bestselling Robin: Year One , Batgirl: Year One , Nightwing: Year One, and Joker: Last Laugh miniseries for DC. Beatty's and Dixon's Batgirl: Year One —the middle arc of their Batman "Sidekick Trifecta" at DC—was named Best Miniseries of 2003 by Wizard: The Comics Magazine and is considered the definitive Batgirl origin story. In 2009, Batgirl Year One was adapted into a nine-episode Motion Comic featuring animation voice-over actress Kate Higgins in the role of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. It was later made available as a DVD with the Motion Comic of Batman Adventures: Mad Love featuring Harley Quinn, as well as on YouTube and streaming platforms. On its 20th anniversary, DC Comics published an all-new softcover collection of Batgirl: Year One on September 26, 2023.
Beatty's "Regnum Defende"—a two-part *Year One* styled origin of Batman's valet Alfred Pennyworth as an agent of the British Secret Service—was one of the stories which inspired DC Entertainment's Pennyworth streaming television series that lasted three seasons beginning on Hulu and concluding its run on HBOMax.
In addition to his comics work, Beatty has authored more than a dozen encyclopedic books about superheroes including DC Comics' Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Justice League of America, and Marvel's Avengers. Beatty's *Ultimate Guides* for UK publisher Dorling Kindersley in the early 2000s defined the standard for all genre character and movie guidebooks to follow. Beatty's technically accurate The Batman Handbook, a literal how-to guide on how to be the Dark Knight, was a top-selling title for Quirk Books.
Outside of comic books, Beatty has written G.I. Joe and Transformers animation for Hasbro, Inc.
Before he became a full-time freelance writer, Beatty launched ToyFare magazine as its founding Editor for Wizard Entertainment, publisher of Wizard: The Comics Magazine and other best-selling pop culture magazines, and guided it through its first two years of publication.
Beatty's novels have included prose adaptations of his own Sherlock Holmes: Year One (Dynamite), in addition to the young readers hardcover Batman: Scarecrow's PanicPlot (DC/Capstone) and Tron Uprising: The Junior Novel (Disney).
More recently, Beatty's Loot Crate exclusive Star Wars Adventures: Destroyer Down graphic novel was the top selling comic book of 2017 with nearly a half-million copies shipped to LC subscribers.
In his role as superhero and pop culture scholar, Beatty has appeared on E! Entertainment Television and Prism Films documentaries, and is a frequent guest on comic book, graphic novel, and superhero podcasts. He is frequently called upon to write introductions and essays for superhero books and collected editions. Beatty wrote the forewords for DC Comics' The Brave and the Bold – The Bronze Age Omnibus Volume 3 and Batman in the Silver Age Omnibus Volume 1.
DC Comics released Beatty's Nightwing: Year One - The 20th Anniversary Edition slipcase hardcover on August 6, 2024.
On September 3, 2024, DC published Beatty's Robin: Year One, Batgirl: Year One, and Nightwing: Year One in The Batman Family Year One Box Set, collecting all three popular graphic novels in a single set for the first time.
March 11, 2025 will see DC Comics collect two of Beatty's Green Arrow stories (from Green Arrowvol. 3 #22 and #33) in the Green Arrow: Archer's Quest Omnibus Volume 1 hardcover. Both were commissioned as fill-in issues during writer/director Kevin Smith's run on the title and are being reprinted for the first time.
