Batman is going to have One Bad Day.
Worse than dying in Justice League #75?
...Sorry, we couldn't resist.
Revealed via its social media over the course of May 17, DC will publish a series of standalone, 64-page, one-shot comic books over eight months featuring Batman's most iconic enemies.
The specials, released monthly starting in August under the umbrella title Batman – One Bad Day, will tell what the publisher calls "definitive tales" featuring The Riddler, Two-Face, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Bane, Clayface, and Ra's al Ghul, respectively.
No Joker, however.
August's "tense intellectual thriller" Batman – One Bad Day: The Riddler will be written by Tom King with art by Mitch Gerads. When The Riddler starts killing at random counter to his meticulous rules and systems SOP, Batman has to figure out his motivation and race to stop him.
DC is currently holding the 'Tom Taylor and Tom King in Conversation' panel at San Diego Comic-Con and showing off art from Batman – One Bad Day: The Riddler, seen below.
September's Batman – One Bad Day: Two-Face will be written by Mariko Tamaki with art by Javier Fernandez and Jordie Bellaire. DC describes the special as a "tragic noir Two-Face epic."
The third Batman: One Bad Day in October one-shot will focus on the Penguin (who recently died in the pages of Batman) and the Umbrella Man when Oswald Cobblepot's criminal empire is stolen by a former associate. It will be written by John Ridley with art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Arif Prianto.
And for November's fourth one-shot, writer Gerry Duggan and artists Matteo Scalera and Dave Stewart will tell a tale of Mister Freeze, flashing back to a winter so cold Freeze could move about Gotham without his special containment suit.
In December's fifth one-shot, Batman's bad day is courtesy of sometimes-villain Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, who's hell-bent on stealing back a brooch her mother once pawned for scraps. Now it's part of a high-bid auction, but that won't stop her. This issue is written by G. Willow Wilson, with art by Jamie McKelvie and Tamra Bonvillain, and is slated for release in December.
The sixth special, which hits shelves in January, focuses on Bane, whose mind, body, and spirit get ravaged.
It's written by Joshua Williamson, who recently killed the Justice League, and features art by Howard Porter and Tomeu Morey.
Following Bane, the next Batman: One Bad Day one-shot in February will focus on the shape-shifting Clayface in a story from writers Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing and artists Xermanico and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Batman follows Basil Karlo AKA Clayface to Hollywood where the villain is killing his way to the fame he dreams of and can't achieve in Gotham City.
Finally, the eighth and final one-shot, from writer Tom King and artist Ivan Reis, will feature Ra's al-Ghul (who was recently killed in the pages of the Shadow War crossover).
Batman: One Bad Day launches in September with a monthly release schedule.
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- Joker becomes the Man Who Stopped Laughing in new ongoing this fall
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