The Batman

[Lantern A-train Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern A-train]

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK: Capullo's "Death of The Family" Die-Cut Covers

When Batman's arch-nemesis makes his return to the Dark Knight's world this fall, the Joker will be coming with a horrific new "face mask" made up of his own torn off skin. And to help accentuate the frightening feel of the "Death Of The Family" event that kicks off with October's "Batman" #13, DC Comics has tapped series artist Greg Capullo to draw a series of special die-cut covers featuring the faces of Batman's closest allies.

Below, CBR News has an exclusive first look at Capullo's art for the covers. Capullo's art graces "Batman," "Batgirl" and "Catwoman" #13 in October, "Suicide Squad" #14 in November and "Detective Comics," "Batman & Robin," "Nightwing," "Red Hood & The Outlaws" and "Teen Titans" #15 in December.

When he spoke with CBR earlier this month, Capullo called the cover creating process "a bit of a challenge. The die cut itself had to have straight edges. The other challenge was working within the limitation of using only have of a characters face and reusing the same angle for all. Trying to show individual personalities within these confines. I think I pulled it off."

A few more pics in link

[Lantern A-train Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern A-train]

Announcing the New York Comic Con Exclusive Covers for BATMAN #13

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

New Pages For Absolute Final Crisis, Seaguy Vol 3 Before Multiversity And Two Issues Of All Star Batman Written – At MorrisonCon

5. Jim Lee “still has hope” for All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder Volume 2. Frank Miller has scripted two issues.

10. We will see Dr. Hurt again in Morrison’s Batman comics

12. JH3 is done drawing Batwoman in a few issues? It’s sad, but onward and upward. He will continue writing

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

Hurt is back? Fuck yes.

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

I enjoyed Detective Comics #13, Layman's approach reminded me quite a bit of Dini/Dixon. Without a doubt it's better than it was when Daniel was writing it.

Fabok's art was also quite nice, it's very much in the vein of Finch or Lee but much cleaner. Looking forward to seeing this team have a nice run.

[Janza Bowka Corpse Trainee Find all posts View Profile Close Janza Bowka]

i'm pretty sure finch was his mentor,

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

I, too, liked Det #13. The only issue I had with the art was Penguin's lips: they are fucking bloated.

It was also tremendously douchey, what he did to the children's wing's name. Bruce is probably seething with fury.

[d3v1lb0y Red Lantern Black Ops Find all posts View Profile Close d3v1lb0y]

made this one..



dont get mad Lantern A-train, but you forgot Jason!!

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

i'm pretty sure finch was his mentor,

He is, they share a studio together.

[Lantern A-train Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern A-train]

made this one..



dont get mad Lantern A-train, but you forgot Jason!!

I didn't forget Jason. I purposely left him out.

[d3v1lb0y Red Lantern Black Ops Find all posts View Profile Close d3v1lb0y]

I didn't forget Jason. I purposely left him out.

why??

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

Because fuck him, that's why.

[Lantern A-train Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern A-train]

Because I am not the hugest fan and I also wanted to save it for Halloween and include the Joker with it.

[d3v1lb0y Red Lantern Black Ops Find all posts View Profile Close d3v1lb0y]

oppss ok!

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

DC Comics gives the Joker some new face time

9:42PM EST October 3. 2012 - With his stark white face and ghoulish smile, the Joker has always been fear-inducing. But his twisted new visage? Well, that's downright horrific.

The Clown Prince of Crime is back in the comics world after being absent for a year — after having the skin of his face cut off — to torment the Dark Knight yet again in the pages of DC Comics' Batman series.

He has a major ax to grind this time, however, and not just with Batman. He has crafted a master plan to take out Batgirl, Nightwing and all the rest of the Bat-clan in a crossover arc, with Catwoman, Suicide Squad and other DC series, called "Death of the Family" — a play on the "Death in the Family" story line from the 1980s that saw comic fans vote for the death of the Robin of the time, Jason Todd, at the hands of the Joker.

Much of the story, which begins in Batman Issue 13 (out Oct. 10), is a nod to the long history of the dynamic between the hero and his archenemy, a symbiotic relationship that at times has been almost co-dependent. It will feature the Joker's first encounter in a while with his old foe, but also will have him face Batgirl — whom the Joker shot through the spine and crippled in Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke — and Todd, now resurrected and going by the name Red Hood.

PHOTOS: The Joker's greatest hits

"The Joker is coming and saying, 'Remember all these awesome times we had together,' which are obviously not awesome at all for Batman, but in the Joker's mind are these incredibly loving and terrific encounters over the years," says Batman writer Scott Snyder.

In his own oddball way, the Joker sees Batman as the ruler of Gotham and himself as the court jester — Snyder is including Peter Pan and fairy-tale imagery as the Joker shows his messed-up adoration.

"He believes he often brings the worst news of Batman's own heart to him in the form of these terrible nightmares he has to fight," the writer says. "If that's his purpose, then he sees this family in a lot of ways as interlopers and people who make his idol, his Bat-king, weak."

So, the Joker is just as demented as ever at his core — "just the window dressing is a little bit different" this time around, says artist Greg Capullo, who designed the villain's Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque look.

The psycho has managed to reattach his face to his head using a makeshift variety of hooks and belts going around his ears and into his mouth and neck, adding to his already animated nature.

"Maybe Batman clocks him or something and a hook busts loose," Capullo says. "One side of the face is hanging while the other is up in the twisted maniacal grin that we are all familiar with the Joker."

DC's Batman series is the most subscribed-to and best-selling title at Jetpack Comics in Rochester, N.H., and its owner, Ralph DiBernardo, and his customers have been eagerly awaiting the Joker's return.

"We all have crazy thoughts at times. We just don't act them out, so watching a character that does is intriguing," DiBernardo says."Clowns are supposed to be fun and friendly, but then you get a blast of acid in the face from their boutonniere. The real question is, like the chicken and the egg, did the Joker spawn people's fear of clowns or did coulrophobia (fear of clowns) start after the Joker's introduction in comic books? I'd like to believe it was the latter."

While Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson and Oscar winner Heath Ledger have all brought the Joker to life on the screen and helped him become one of pop culture's most infamous baddies, in comics the villain has been a thorn in Batman's side since 1940.

However, it has been many years since he has played a central role in a really big comic-book story, Snyder says. "He's intimidating because there are so many seminal stories from years before that really are some of the greatest Batman stories ever."

His goal for "Death of the Family" is to include "everything we would ever want to do with the character," the writer says.

"Let's make this Joker story the biggest, baddest, most terrifying thing we could possibly do so that no one wants to use the character again in this way for another 20 years."