Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are making the Joker more terrifying and twisted than you’ve ever seen him in Death of the Family. In the first chapter the Joker turned Gotham Central into a slaughterhouse and made a surprise attack on Bruce’s oldest friend. This week’s Batman #13 picks up with Batman in a deathtrap at the scene of the Joker’s birth. Bruce soon learns the terrible truth. Alfred is in the Joker’s clutches.
There is a truly chilling moment when the Joker is torturing Alfred. We never see it. Bruce hears it. I felt it.
After a confession to Nightwing, Batman races to save the next victims but in every circumstance the Joker has beaten him. The Joker is revisiting scenes of his old crimes and putting a theatrically sick twist on each one.
The Joker reveals to Batman the bizarre reason behind his comeback and new campaign against Batman’s allies and friends. But there are two huge declarations from the villain that set the stage for Death of the Family striking into the other Bat-family books.
Snyder and Capullo have orchestrated a chapter of psychological and visceral terror with the Joker’s painfully personal attacks. This creative team delivers a disturbing thrill ride that only gets more twisted from here.
All-New X-Men #1 The original five X-Men are yanked from the past into the Marvel Now – and they don’t like what they see! How will the young Scott, Jean, Bobby, Hank and Warren react to seeing how their lives and Professor X’s dream went so horribly wrong?
Batman #14The Joker is back with the vengeance! Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo managed to make the ultimate villain even creepier and horrifying! What has the Joker done to Batman’s oldest ally?
Fantastic Four #1 Marvel’s First Family relaunches into the Marvel Now. Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley send Reed, Susan, Johnny, Ben and the kids on the ultimate vacation through time and space.
Saga #7 The beautiful and disturbing sci-fi hit begins a new storyline. Two lovers from warring alien races fell in love, had a baby and became targets of a the most sinister hunters in the galaxy. What will the family find in the darkest corners of uncharted space?
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 #7 Which is the greater evil: Borg or Cybermen? Doctor Who and Captain Picard’s new friendship is tested as they try to stop the threat to the Federation. In this chapter the Time Lord travels back to Starfleet’s greatest defeat in order to save the future!
The Joker’s comeback campaign against the Batman family rips through Batman, Batgirl and Batman and Robin books this week! DC Comics is teasing the final issues of the Death of the Family storyline coming in February 2013.
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo deliver the final showdown between the Joker and Bruce in Batman #17. Who lives, dies and laughs last?
The Joker will have his own cult? In Detective Comics #17 Batman will track down the League of Smiles and encounter new villains with ties to Arkham Asylum.
Batgirl #17 courtesy DC Comics
Gail Simone has Barbara Gordon dealing with the aftermath of the Joker’s reign of terror in Batgirl #17 and looks to pull the trigger on a storyline she’s been building up to: the attack of Barbara’s own brother. DC promises this issue will change Batgirl’s status quo in The New 52.
Death of the Family will have a devastating effect on the men who were Robin. In Nightwing #17 how will Damian Wayne reach out to a defeated Dick Grayson. In the aftermath of the storyline Bruce will confront Jason Todd in Red Hood and the Outlaws #17 by Scott Lobdell.
The Joker’s terrifying comeback continues in three Batman family books this week! Last month the Clown Prince of Crime invaded Gotham Central and left a wake of death. In the final panel of Batman #13 we finally saw the Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s horrific new take on the classic villain as he attacked Alfred at Wayne Manor. The cover of this week’s Batman #14 shows a chilling image of the Joker in his own makeshift Batcave-like control center watching his targets.
Batman and Robin #14 courtesy DC Comics
One of those targets will be Damian. The renegade Robin sets out on his own mission. What sinister plan could the Joker have for Bruce Wayne’s son? This week’s Batman and Robin #14 could be a critical tie-in to the Death of the Family event.
Another Bat-family target is Barbara Gordon. Her mom has been abducted by the Joker’s gang. As discussed at GeekGirlCon, Gail Simone has made Batgirl a story of overcoming trauma. Barbara has come so far and in this week’s Batgirl #14 she must face the psycho that left her paralyzed in their last encounter and threatens her real family now.
Batgirl #14 courtesy DC Comics
As a huge Barbara Gordon fan the Joker’s plan for her could be the most compelling for me. I have been thinking about what Death of the Family could really mean. Could a member of the Batman family be pushed so far that they kill the Joker? I hope Barbara doesn’t kill but I would love to see her unleash some severe punishment I.E. beat the hell out of the Joker!
Death of the Family will continue in upcoming issues of Catwoman, Teen Titans, Red Hood and the Outlaws and Nightwing.
Bruce Wayne in a death grip. Merlyn and some of DC’s greatest assassins assembled. Leviathan’s grip on Batman’s home is getting tighter. Good thing there’s a new dynamic duo in Gotham City!
In this week’s Batman Incorporated #4 Bruce Wayne’s global crime fighting franchise goes to work against the forces of Talia Al Ghul’s League of Assassins. Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham give members of Bruce’s army great screen time and moments. This issue features the debut of Wingman and Redbird – this twist is a great example of how the creative team deliver crazy comic fun mixed with drama, violence and sharp humor.
Morrison and Burnham have been building to a huge showdown between Bruce’s Batman Inc versus Talia’s Leviathan for the soul of their son.Just as the war is coming to a head Bruce makes a decision in the final panel that may seal Damian’s fate. It’s another entertaining chapter that ends with a “WTF?!” moment.
Astonishing X-Men #55The villainess who blew up Logan, mindwarped the team and enslaved Karma has given the X-Men a mission impossible in Madripoor! Innocent people are caught in the crossfire of Hatchitech weapons around the globe. Will the team sacrifice Karma to stop Hatchi?
Batman Incorporated #4 Move over Batman and Robin, here comes Wingman and Redbird?! What is the Dark Knight’s connection to these new crusaders? Talia Al Ghul escalates her plot to Damian.
Captain America #19 The end of an era. Ed Brubaker’s final issue of the hero he revitalized. Artist Steve Epting returns for Brubaker’s final Steve Rogers story.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #6 Can the Doctor convince Captain Picard to join forces with the Federation’s greatest enemy? Will the Time Lord shatter his new alliance with the Enterprise crew in order to defeat the Cybermen?
Wolverine MAX #1 Logan unleashed in a brand new, more mature readers only book by crime novelist Jason Starr. Is Wolverine the pawn or target of a terrorist plot in Tokyo. The X-Man gets to cut loose!
Adam West as Batman, courtesy Emerald City Comicon
Make way for pop royalty! A hometown boy made good is coming home! Adam West will appear at Emerald City Comicon in Seattle March 1-3. 2013. The Seattle native played Batman on the camptastic 1960’s ABC television series and in the first Batman feature film.
That voice. That delivery. That style. Adam West is an icon. Every weekday I would rush home from school to watch Batman reruns in the afternoon. I watched the first Batman movie over and over.
In recent years West has become a popular voice actor on Spongebob Squarepants, Johnny Bravo and as “Mayor Adam West” on Family Guy.
West was born in Seattle and raised in Walla Walla, Washington. The iconic actor will appear at Emerald City Comicon 2013 all three days – his first public appearance in Washington state in nearly 20 years. This will be his first Northwest convention appearance in 3 decades.
Adam West will always hold a special place in the hearts and memories of comic book fans. The campy classic series was the gateway to comic books for young geeks like me at the time. No matter how dark the Dark Knight turns there is always a special for in pop culture for West’s Caped Cruader.
Emerald City Comicon will make the Washington State Convention Center a giant Batcave March 1-3, 2013 in Seattle.
Talon – a new series spinning from the Court of Owls crossover in the Batman family of books. In last month’s Talon #0 we learn how Calvin Rose escaped the Court of Owls – for now. In this week’s Talon #1 Rose returns to Gotham City.
On The Source co-writers James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder and artist Guillem March reveal their creative process and share what to expect from this hero.
“We felt that with #0, we could give you a real sense of Calvin’s history and who he was before the inciting event of “Night of the Owls.” That battle with Batman really hurt the Court, and that’s what #1 is about – Calvin, for the first time in years, thinking it might be safe to stop running because of what he sees on the news about this battle in Gotham between the Batman and the Owls. So #0 gave us an opportunity to show you how harrowing it’s been for Calvin these past years, on the run, hunted because he did the right thing. Issue #1 is where it all comes to a head. So excited for what James Tynion IV has planned for you!” Snyder said.
“Launching with a zero was a really interesting proposition from the start, because we knew that the first two issues had to be places you could jump onboard the series, without doubling down on any of the same material. So the way I started thinking about it is that issue #0 introduces our leading man, Calvin Rose, and issue #1 introduces the story in the present day that will drive our series issue-to-issue. So when the next issue comes out, people who have read the zero issue will have a special understanding of Calvin and his history that helps frame the premise of the actual monthly series. It helps to read both, but if you missed the zero issue, you should be able to jump on board with issue #1 and be fine,” Tynion added.
“I love drawing dark and solitary characters, more than groups of colorful superheroes, so I love working in the Bat family. I’m also really excited by the fact this is a new character, so I’m somehow establishing his world, instead of sticking to what a previous artist has done with him. That’s a responsibility I enjoy a lot, March revealed.
Talon #1 courtesy DC Comics
Talon is the first book in The New 52 to star a brand new character. The Batman writer and co-writer talk about the challenge of adding a new hero to the DC Universe.
“There’s always pressure. Writing Batman is like a ton of pressure on you all the time. The only way to do it is block it out and just dive into the story – pretend you’re writing it for yourself and no one else is going to read it. Just assume if you love it, and have really invested in it, emotionally, intellectually, they’ll love it too,” said Snyder.
“Absolutely! Rather than reinterpreting and recreating a figure known and loved for decades, we have to hook the readers from the start and show them why Calvin Rose deserves a place in the pantheon of DC heroes. I remember a conversation that Scott and I would have over and over when we were in the early stages of the book, about looking forward with the character. It wasn’t about building him up so we can reach issue #12, because we have a big story that will take us right up through the first year. It was about building a character that could last well beyond what we have planned, and about building a series that still has big stories to tell when it gets to issue #26 and even issue #58. If we were going to create this new character, it had to be someone with the potential and the personality to stick around the DC Universe for years, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth creating him in the first place. If the readers dig the series and support it, I honestly believe that there are years and years of great stories for Calvin, and a real chance that he will be sticking around for quite some time, Tynion adds.
