Catwoman has cleaned up Gotham in Batman's absence -…

Catwoman has cleaned up Gotham in Batman's absence - and the Caped Crusader is not impressed

Batman and Catwoman's relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs over the decades. They've been friends, foes, lovers, and even married - well sort of, but that's a long story. You hope that one day these two crazy mixed up kids will figure out a way to get along, but that day is certainly not going to come any time soon. There's a war brewing in Gotham City with Bruce and Selina on opposite sides.

Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War is the next stage of the ongoing Dawn of DC saga. The current horror-themed Knight Terrors event will wrap up this month and leads directly into a new one-shot, Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Battle Lines #1.

Written by Chip Zdarsky and Tini Howard and drawn by Mike Hawthorne and Adriano Di Benedetto, with colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., the special issue sets in motion events that will shake the city.

We have a first look at several unlettered pages from issue below.

DC's official synopsis for the new book reads:

"After his battles with Failsafe and Red Mask, and enduring the horror of Insomnia and his Sleepless Knights in Knight Terrors, Batman is in serious need of rest to repair his body, mind and spirit. But The Dark Knight returns to a Gotham City that's down on violent crime, thanks to Catwoman taking over the criminal underworld.

But to Batman, crime is crime, and its eradication at all costs is still his sacred mission. Catwoman's new direction puts her, her allies and even some of the Bat-family in his crosshairs, and The Gotham War is bound to change things between Batman, Catwoman, and the rest of the Bat-family."

You can check out a gallery of covers for the new book below. The main cover is by Jorge Jiménez and the variants (from left to right) are by Joe Quesada, Kael Ngu (with an additional black and white version), Otto Schmidt, and Jonboy Meyers.