First there was The New 52 with its relaunch of all new #1 titles in September 2011, then came Zero Month the year after that, and now we are getting Villain’s Month! In Villain’s Month, all 52 titles will get a “.1” issue with the series’ main villain as the new, temporary headliner. For example, instead of getting Batman #24, we’ll be getting Batman #23.1 or Joker #1.
- Batman #23.1 will be about The Joker’s early days and is written by Andy Kubert. It’s not clear who will be doing the artwork for this book just yet, but the cover is by Detective Comics penciler, Jason Fabok. This might actually be Kubert’s first stab at writing a comic.
- Batman #23.2 focuses on The Riddler in a story written by Scott Snyder and Ray Fawkes with artwork by Jeremy Haun. This is one I’m particularly excited about because it actually deals with the Riddler’s origin, something that’s not been approached in detail since… well, Batman: The Animated Series is the only good contemporary example of a good, detailed Riddler origin. An updated comics origin is long overdue.
- Batman #23.3 is about The Penguin and is written by Frank Tieri with art by Christian Duce. I would’ve rather seen a different rogue get the spotlight for this, honestly. Penguin has gotten the most face-time of any Batman villain in the New 52, including his own 4-part series Penguin: Pain & Prejudice.
- Batman #23.4 shall be written by Peter Tomasi with art by Graham Nolan, a fitting choice of illustrator seeing as how he is the original co-creator of Bane, this issue’s protagonist.
Something else cool you should know about Villain’s Month is that every release will come with a 3D image on the front and back of the book!
September will also mark the launch of a seven-part mini-series by Geoff Johns and David Finch called Forever Evil that will explore the darkness inside some of DC’s greatest villains. This new title will set into motion the first New 52 universe-wide crossover event and will feature a story called Forever Evil: Arkham War by Batman & Robin writer Peter Tomasi and X-Men artist Scott Eaton. Geoff Johns describes Arkham War as “The biggest story with bat-villains you’ve ever seen!”
If you look closely at the cover for Forever Evil #1, you an see Batman rogues such as Catwoman, Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Deadshot, Tweedle-dee (or it could be Tweedle-dum, who knows?), Bane, Firefly (possibly), Man-Bat, and White Rabbit.
So what are your thoughts on Villain’s Month and Forever Evil?
For more on Forever Evil and Villain’s Month check out the sources listed below:
SOURCE: USA Today, DC’s The Source, Comic Book Resources
