Bruce Wayne vowed he would never use a gun in his war on crime. DC Comics revealed Greg Capullo’s full cover for Batman #18 showing Bruce holding a gun on….Commissioner James Gordon?
Is the friendship between Bruce and Jim and/or Batman and Gordon over in the aftermath of Death of the Family?
Find out April 10th.
By Editor
Imagine Hannibal Lecter as a member of the family from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? That’s just a starting point to describe how Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have made the ultimate comic book villain even more sadistic and sinister.
In this week’s Batman #15 Snyder opens and closes with a monologue inside Bruce’s mind that makes the Joker creepier and sicker. Taking us inside Bruce’s mind is a perfect parallel with Bruce trying to get in the Joker’s twisted head. Snyder writes one word that gave me that same chilling ick when Hannibal Lecter touched Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.
The Joker claims he knows the true identities of Batman and his costumed allies. He declares when Batman’s friends will be dead by Batman’s hand. Just when you think the madman will be caught he turns the tables and plunges Batman into a new nightmare leading a meeting of the family.
Batman is confronted by Dick, Damian, Jason, Tim and Barbara in the Batcave forcing him to share an old secret. We can only guess what Death of the Family really means but in these scenes we are witnessing the fragile family’s trust being torn apart.
In the backup story by Snyder, James Tynion IV and Jock we see that no one – not even Gotham’s other villains – are safe from the Joker’s endgame. The Joker recruits Riddler and even names his role on the twisted plan to salute the King Batman.
What is the Joker’s final punchline? I have my guesses. Is DC letting the creators go there? Snyder and Capullo are creating a terrifying psychological thriller like masters of horror filmmaking. Inside your head you’re preparing for the shock of what you’ll find but you can’t stop yourself.
By Editor
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.
By Editor
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.
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.
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.
By Editor
DC Comics, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo unleash the Joker on Gotham City as Death of the Family kicks off this Wednesday. Buzzfeed has an exclusive first look inside Batman #13 in which the clown prince of crime emerges in the Gotham City Police Department.
The Joker has been missing for a year. The villain’s carved off face was left hanging in Arkham Asylum back in Detective Comics #1. Greg Capullo captures the shock and horror on Jim Gordon’s face as he realizes the foe is back. In the New 52 continuity the Joker shot Barbara (just like in Alan Moore’s classic The Killing Joke) but in the reboot Barbara recovered to become Batgirl again. It’s chilling to see Joker taunt Commissioner Gordon about Barbara.
The Joker will target every member of the Batman family (and some enemies) in this new arc. With a title like Death of the Family perhaps the Batman alliance of heroes will be left broken.
I can only imagine the Joker by Snyder and Capullo – the team that gave us that creepy kid in the Owl mask saying “hurt him some more” as Batman was tortured by a Talon.
For more of the preview pages here’s the Buzzfeed link.
By Editor
Batman’s greatest enemy is back this week. The Joker, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. You could call it a dream team. Call it Batman’s nightmare. The most infamous villain in comic book history returns in this week’s Batman #13 from DC Comics .
When publisher relaunched with The New 52 in September 2011 the Joker met a horrific fate at the end of Tony Daniel’s Detective Comics #1. The Joker’s face was carved off and nailed on a wall in Arkham Asylum. The clown prince of crime has been missing ever since.
Batman #13 by Snyder and Capullo kicks off the “Death of the Family” storyline. DC teases the classic villain will be used in “dark, horrifying, unnerving” way and the return will affect Batman, the Bat-family and Gotham City.
“Joker is my favorite villain of all time,” Snyder told on The Source. “Not just in comics. In everything – film, books, TV. He’s the greatest, hands down. So this story is something extremely important and personal to me – something I’ve been building in my head ever since I started working in Gotham.”
“When Scott told me that he’d written a Joker story for our next arc, I couldn’t contain my excitement,” added Capullo. “Talk about a dream come true! For me, the Joker is the ultimate rogue and the villain I most wanted to draw. I gotta tell you, after hearing what the story is about, this isn’t a dream come true. It’s a nightmare! A macabre and bloody, flesh crawling nightmare. We hope you’ll have the nerve to face what’s coming. Warning: It ain’t for the faint of heart!”
Given the cliffhanger of Detective Comics #1 could the classic villain be sporting a new face?
“Wait ’til you see him,” Snyder said. “Greg’s sketches literally gave me chills. Point blank: This is Joker like you’ve never seen him before. He has a mission. He has a secret. And he has a serious axe to grind with Batman. It isn’t going to be pretty, but it’s going to be a wild ride.”
This will be the first major story with the Joker in the relaunched DC continuity. The story title makes you think of the classic “Death in the Family” story in which the Joker killed Jason Todd. The Joker will target everyone in the Batman family: Nightwing, Batgirl, Catwoman, Red Robin and more. With a title like “Death of the Family” could the Joker’s new plot be to destroy Batman’s alliances with the other heroes of Gotham City? Could the Joker have been masquerading as another character this past year in the New 52?
Since the Joker’s face was carved off in Detective Comics #1 Snyder tells Comics Newsarama that means Capullo can create a new look for the classic villain.
“He really is going to, obviously, have a new look,” Snyder said. “At the same time, we want it to echo his iconic look. So it’s Joker in a much more horror movie fashion. But, without giving too much away, you will see the iconic face and the grin, and he might look a little bit different and scarier. But you’ll find that he’s still himself at his core. And he’s really here in his blood-stained clothes going to work.”
Capullo has a warning for readers.
“I would say that if you have any kind of heart conditions, or any kind of medical issues that could cause seizures or what-not, that you should check with a doctor prior to buying this story arc, because we don’t want to be responsible. DC does not want to be responsible for any fatalities or hospitalization or young or old people who may encounter this story and it just simply be too much for their system.”
Death of the Family with Capullo’s Joker redesign begins this Wednesday in Batman #13 and continues for five issues with tie-ins in other Batman family books.
By Editor
The Joker is back in Batman #13 next month but his reign over terror will spread into December and in all the Batman family of books. The Death of The Family crossover will entangle the kids of DC’s Young Justice book in December too.
The Red Hood and Red Robin will team up against the Joker in Teen Titans #15 by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth. Batgirl will guest star and Batman artist Greg Capullo created this creepy image. This is not the final cover.
The Joker has committed such horrible acts against Bruce, Barbara and Jason – it’s difficult to decide who I want to deal a brutal dose of retribution against him!
By Editor
Three critical stories of the past in the Batman family of books out this week.
Batman #0 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo takes us back to Bruce Wayne returning from this global quest and ready to declare war on crime. See how the uniform, car and gadgets were born.
Batgirl #0 How did Barbara Gordon first become Batgirl? Gail Simone and Ed Benes tell the origin of Batgirl and how she fought her way back into the cape and cowl after a terrifying attack.
Batman and Robin #0 The current Robin was raised to be a lethal assassin by his mother. Witness Damian’s early life under the grip of Talia Al Ghul in this tale by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason.
These zero issues are part of DC Comics marking the one year anniversary of launching The New 52. All the September DC titles will #0 and be stand-alone stories.
“Some issues will tell the origins of a character or a team, or in some case where an origin has already been told, they will fill in the blanks in terms of questions readers may have about the New 52 DC Universe,” said Bob Harras, DC Entertainment Editor-in-Chief. “Each of these issues promises to reveal something surprising.”
More zero issues this week include Deathstroke, Demon Knights, Frankenstein Agent of SHADE, Green Lantern Corps, Grifter, Legion Lost, Superboy, Team 7 and The Ravagers.
By Editor