Forty years after beginning his professional career at DC Comics, Marc Silvestri is returning to the publisher for a brand new limited series. Starting this fall, DC will launch Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo, a seven-issue event that finds Silvestri pulling double duty as both writer and artist.
The title hints that a fight to the death between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime is in store. Regardless, Silvestri has other plans for the longtime adversaries. His story begins with the Joker reeling from the sudden abduction of Harley Quinn, promising to go to “any lengths” to get her back. Meanwhile, Batman is working his own kidnapping case after Jim Gordon goes missing, and the only clue he has is a package containing a “bloody piece” of the commissioner.
As if that weren’t terrifying enough, Batman must also deal with several “Joker-like creatures” collecting severed heads throughout Gotham. Faced with no other choice, the Joker proposes a “fragile alliance” to get to the bottom of things. By the looks of things, the pair might face a common enemy. But whatever they discover will ultimately “shake Gotham City and the Bat-Family to their cores.”
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“Batman and The Joker are two of the world’s most iconic characters and have been at each other’s throat’s for more than 80 years,” said Silvestri. “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.”
As the CEO of both Image and Top Cow Productions, Silvestri doesn’t do a lot of work for Marvel or DC. However, he hasn’t completely abandoned the mainstream comics realm. In 2011, he worked with writer Jason Aaron on Marvel’s Incredible Hulk relaunch. He also drew covers for DC’s latest volume of Batman: Black and White in 2013. But this time, Silvestri is collaborating with DC Black Label on The Deadly Duo, which should give him some creative control on the project.
Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 hits comic shops on November 1. You can also view the cover for issue #2 (out December 6) below.
Are you excited to check out the series later this year? Let us know in the comment section!
Recommended Reading: Joker (DC Black Label Edition)
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