Danny DeVito is the Penguin once again (with a little help from Dan Mora) in Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant preview

By Michael Doran
published

Some of Batman's greatest Rogues are celebrated in DC's latest 100-page anniversary special

Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1 excerpt
Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1 excerpt (Image credit: Dan Mora (DC))

DC and Marvel seem to be celebrating a lot of significant anniversaries lately. The latest will be observed on November 30 when DC publishes the Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1. 

Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1 main cover (Image credit: DC)

'Giant' - as in 100 pages and a format that's become familiar to DC readers - the anthology marks the 80th anniversary of some of Batman's most iconic foes, including Oswald Cobblepot, AKA the Penguin, who made his debut in 1941's Detective Comics #58.

As previously revealed, actor, screenwriter, and producer Danny DeVito will write a story starring the character he famously portrayed in 1992's Batman Returns. Illustrated by Dan Mora, the story co-stars Catwoman, also a villain from the Tim Burton-directed sequel in a "fun heist story/romance."

Check out a preview of the story below:

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Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1
(Image credit: DC)

The DeVito-Mora Penguin-Catwoman story 'Bird Cat Love' isn't the only story in the special of course. The special features many more of who DC calls "some of the deadliest, most nefarious villains in the DC Universe."

Here's a run-down of the other villains that will be featured in their own stories and their creative teams:

  • The Scarecrow: 'The Fearless Man' by writer/artist Wes Craig
  • Poison Ivy: 'Ophiocordyceps Lamia' by writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Emma Rios
  • Ra's al Ghul: 'Demon's Game' by writer by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Riccardo Federici 
  • Talia al Ghul: 'The Second Eye' by writers Nadia Shammas and Joshua Williamson and artist Max Raynor
  • The original Red Hood: 'For the Sky is Red' by writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Max Fiumara
  • The Mad Hatter: 'The Perfect Fit' by writer Dan Watters and artist Skylar Patridge
  • Killer Moth: 'The Happiest Man in Gotham' by writer Mairghread Scott and artist Ariela Kristantina

With pinups coming from David Lapham and Trish Mulvihill, Khary Randolph and Emilio Lopez, Jill Thompson, Ken Lashley and Juan Fernandez, Christian Ward, and Gabriel Hernandez Walta.

The Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1 will be available with what DC calls "highly collectible" variant covers. 

Here's a rundown of the artists contributing covers along with a preview gallery:

  • Main cover by Lee Bermejo
  • The Penguin variant by Frank Quitely
  • The Scarecrow variant by Wes Craig and Jason Wordie
  • Poison Ivy variant by Marguerite Sauvage
  • Talia and Ra's al Ghul variant by Riccardo Federici
  • Killer Moth, Red Hood, and Mad Hatter variant by Dan Mora
  • Batman/Villains 1:25 ratio variant by Francesco Mattina
  • Batman/Penguin 1:50 ratio variant by Chris Burnham and Nathan Fairbairn
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Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1
(Image credit: DC)

Most of these villains chart high on our list of the 50 greatest Batman villains.

Michael Doran

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.