Preview - Marc Silvestri's Batman/Joker: The Deadly Duo #1

Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 art (Image credit: DC)

This is not a drill.

Batman and the Joker are teaming up.

In November, DC will debut Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo by writer/artist/industry giant Marc Silvestri, which is exactly what it sounds like - arguably the most iconic superhero-arch supervillain adversaries working together in what the publisher calls a "fragile alliance."

The seven-issue, Black Label series debuts with Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 on November 1. The second issue goes on sale December 6. Each issue is 32 pages with a cover price of $4.99.

"Batman and The Joker are two of the world's most iconic characters and have been at each other's throats for more than 80 years," says Silvestri in DC's announcement. "I always thought it would be pretty entertaining to have them on the same side so I wrote a story about it. Needless to say, stuff happens."

Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo art (Image credit: DC)

In what the publisher calls a "meticulously crafted" take on a "horrifying and suspense-filled version of Gotham City," Harley Quinn has been abducted by a strange, mysterious, and brazen villain, and The Joker will go to any lengths to get her back.

Plus, mysterious, "Joker-like" creatures are stalking the streets of Gotham collecting severed heads, and Jim Gordon is missing. When a package containing a bloody piece of his friend and ally is delivered to Gotham City Police Department, Batman concludes he must do anything to save him.

See where this is going?

Yes, when the Clown Prince of Crime proposes a team-up, the Dark Knight feels like he has no other choice but to accept the offer.

Check out a preview of the first four pages of Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1, along with some additional unlettered first look art:

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Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo will feature a plethora of variant covers for its first two issues, with main covers by Silvestri, plus variant covers by Greg Capullo, Kyle Hotz, Jorge Fornes, and two by Silvestri, including a 1 in 250 "signed ratio variant cover" for issue #1.

Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2 will feature a main cover by Kelley Jones, with variants by Jim Lee, Yanick Paquette, Christopher Mitten, and a black and white ratio variant by Silvestri.

Check out a gallery of covers for the first two issues:

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Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo — (Image credit: DC)

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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.