Dan Jurgens, the writer behind The Death of Superman - not to mention the creator of great characters like Jon Kent, Doomsday and Booster Gold - is uniting with artist Mike Perkins for The Bat-Man: First Knight. The new DC Black Label comic is a modern retelling of some of the Caped Crusader's earliest adventures.
Starting in March 2024, the three-issue series will feature a main cover by Perkins, with variant covers by Ramon Perez and Jacob Phillips, plus a cool "pulp novel" style variant by Marc Aspinall. You can see all four covers in the gallery below and, we've got to say, we're loving this moody, retro style for the series.
DC's synopsis for the series reads:
"The year is 1939. The world, still reeling from the horrors of the First World War, is on the brink of tipping into an even more gruesome conflict, as fascism is on the march - and gathering strength in America's darkest corners. Against this backdrop, a series of violent murders has begun in Gotham, and the recent emergence of the mysterious vigilante known as The Bat-Man has the power brokers of the city living in fear of institutional collapse. All of the evidence in the murder investigation defies logic: the perpetrators are all men who died in the electric chair. But when the Bat-Man comes face to face with one of these sickening anomalies, he barely escapes with his life - throwing into question his ability to survive in a world that is brutally evolving around him!"
You can check out a gallery of unlettered pages from the first book below, which showcase Perkins gorgeously atmospheric art style, as Batman cuts through a rain-lashed Gotham city.
Also freshly announced by DC is The Joker: Year One, a new three-part story that will be taking place across the headline Batman book in February. Running across Batman #142 to #144, which will be published weekly, the story promises to reveal "the terrible secret" behind Bruce Wayne's greatest enemy.
The story picks up in the aftermath of the current 'Mindbomb' arc, which sees Bruce Wayne battling his extreme Batman of Zur-En-Arrh persona. It's written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stefano Nesi, Andrea Sorrentino, Alejandro Sánchez and Dave Stewart.
You can check out the covers for the new issues below.
Exciting times for Bat-fans! The first part of The Joker: Year One will publish in Batman #142 on February 6, 2024. The Bat-Man: First Knight #1 is published the following month, on March 5, both from DC.
The Caped Crusader is DC's biggest character and the star of some incredible adventures. These are the best Batman stories of all time.
