The Joker’s Coming Back

Back when the New 52 started, I’m guessing fans were particularly surprised by the first issue of Detective Comics when they killed off the fucking Joker. His death was felt in the Detective Comics world with riots and shit, and it was even the cause of a whole story arc in Suicide Squad. But, since this is comics, of course we knew he wouldn’t stay dead. So this October, writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo are bringing the Joker back with Death of the Family.

Not much was revealed about the storyline itself, other than the Joker is coming back and something big planned. Not just for Batsie and his ilk but for all of Gotham City.

Snyder had the following to say about his next arc.

“Joker is my favorite villain of all time. 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. Basically, this is my big exploration of the Joker, my Arkham Asylum or The Killing Joke, only bigger in scope. Bottom line: it’s the biggest, baddest, most shocking Joker story I could tell. This is Joker completely unleashed. He has been away for a full year planning this revenge, watching, plotting, setting things up. And now he’s back. He has his traps set, his knives sharpened… And wait ’til you see him. 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. Thanks for taking it with us.”

Capullo added:

“When Scott told me that he’d written a Joker story for our next arc, I couldn’t contain my excitement. 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!”

Death of the Family starts with Batman issue 13, on sale October 13th.