The Joker returns in Batman #13

After 11 months, The Court of Owls story finally comes to an end on July 11th. So what comes next for Scott Snyder’s Batman? Well, a bit of a breather with issue #12 which will be all about Harper Row, remember the girl who shocked Batman back to life with jumper cables? Following Harper Row and the Gotham Narrows will be issue #0, a unique issue that rewinds the clocks for a glimpse at young Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham after his globe trotting adventures.

And then after a little downtime a new saga begins on a very unlucky number…

Straight from DC’s official blog comes news that issue #13 starts a brand new arc in which The Joker, long absent from the New 52 since removing his face in “Detective Comics” #1 returns.

Joker is my favorite villain of all time. Not just in comics. In everything – film, books, TV. He’s the greatest, hands down. So this story is something extremely important and personal to me – something I’ve been building in my head ever since I started working in Gotham. Basically, this is my big exploration of the Joker, my ARKHAM ASYLUM or THE KILLING JOKE, only bigger in scope. Bottom line: it’s the biggest, baddest, most shocking Joker story I could tell. This is Joker completely unleashed. He has been away for a full year planning this revenge, watching, plotting, setting things up. And now he’s back. He has his traps set, his knives sharpened… And wait ’til you see him. Greg’s sketches literally gave me chills. Point blank: This is Joker like you’ve never seen him before. He has a mission. He has a secret. And he has a serious axe to grind with Batman. It isn’t going to be pretty, but it’s going to be a wild ride. Thanks for taking it with us.

–Scott Snyder, The Source

When Scott told me that he’d written a Joker story for our next arc, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Talk about a dream come true! For me, the Joker is the ultimate rogue and the villain I most wanted to draw. I gotta tell you, after hearing what the story is about, this isn’t a dream come true. It’s a nightmare! A macabre and bloody, flesh crawling nightmare. We hope you’ll have the nerve to face what’s coming. Warning: It ain’t for the faint of heart!”

-Greg Capullo, The Source

The Joker like I’ve never seen him before and like Arkham Asylum or The Killing Joke but bigger in scope? That’s awfully big talk but I’m excited about this.

SOURCE: DC Comics