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Writer Mariko Tamaki’s three-month 12-part Detective Comics ‘Shadows of the Bat’ weekly story arc that began in January 4’s Detective Comics #1047 (opens in new tab) continues in January 18’s Detective Comics #1049 (opens in new tab) and Newsarama has a preview of this third chapter of ‘The Tower’ drawn by Ivan Reis and Danny Miki.
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The full ‘Shadows of the Bat’ event features the members of the Bat-Family dealing with a Gotham City crisis without family patriarch Batman, and involves the gaping hole the destroyed Arkham Asylum leaves in the city, as well as the ensuing attempt to replace it with Arkham Tower headed by the mysterious, cruel, and conniving Dr. Wear that ends up going horribly array.
Check out the five-page preview of Detective Comics #1049 below.
Each month’s issues are written by Tamaki but drawn by a different artist or art team.
January’s Detective Comics #1047-1050 are drawn by Reis and Miki.
February’s Detective Comics #1051-1054 are drawn by Max Raynor.
March’s final four chapters, Detective Comics #1055-1058, are drawn by Amancay Nahuelpan.
All issues also include a chapter of a 12-part backup story ‘House of Gotham’ by Matthew Rosenberg and Fernando Blanco which is told through the eyes of a boy whose life was changed by the Joker one night early in Batman’s career.
Check out the Detective Comics #1048 ‘Shadows of the Bat’ preview right here and below that Newsarama has collected the solicitations for all 12 issues of the event.
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January 2022
DETECTIVE COMICS #1047
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1047
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by IVAN REIS and DANNY MIKI
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
1:50 variant by SIMONE DI MEO
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 1/4/22
“The Tower” begins! The 12-part weekly Detective Comics event starts here. Arkham Asylum has fallen, and in its place, Arkham Tower has risen in the heart of the city, a pitch made by the mysterious Dr. Wear. Unlike the Asylum, Dr. Wear promises his methods and drug treatments will heal Gotham’s criminally inclined for good—a claim that skeptics like Deb Donovan and the Bat-Family don’t believe. There’s something wrong with the tower, with Dr. Wear’s methods—and with Batman away from Gotham City, the rest of the Bat-Family is going to find out what…but not before everything explodes. Written by critically acclaimed author Mariko Tamaki, continuing her incredible Detective Comics run, and drawn by DC Comics legend Ivan Reis!
Backup: “House of Gotham” begins! For a long time two houses have overlooked Gotham City, beckoning its broken: Wayne Manor and Arkham Asylum. In this epic 12-part backup story, writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Fernando Blanco will explore the impact that Batman and Arkham Asylum have had on the city…through the eyes of a boy whose life was changed forever by The Joker one dreadful night early in the Dark Knight’s career!
DETECTIVE COMICS #1048
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1048
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by IVAN REIS and DANNY MIKI
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 1/11/22
“The Tower” part two! The mysteries of Dr. Wear begin to unfold as a new doctor named Frow joins the staff of Arkham Tower. The Bat-Family tries to figure out the best way to infiltrate the facility, but someone may have gotten the drop on them…someone not unfamiliar with psychiatric facilities…one Dr. Harleen Quinzel, better known to you dear readers as Harley Quinn!
Backup: “House of Gotham” part two! A boy’s parents were killed by The Joker, and he fell through the cracks of the system. Instead of being sent to a facility that could care for him and his trauma, he was sent to Arkham Asylum! Will the villains inside eat him alive or show him how to survive in a city ruthlessly overseen by Batman??
DETECTIVE COMICS #1049 (opens in new tab)
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1049
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by IVAN REIS and DANNY MIKI
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by DAN MORA
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 1/18/22
When Huntress elected to go undercover in Arkham Tower, it was to investigate a place of healing that seemed too good to be true. But what happens when Helena Bertinelli really does need some healing? With Nightwing and Batwoman also on the inside, what began as an undercover mission has turned into a rescue operation as the mysteries of Dr. Wear’s Arkham Tower begin to unravel!
Then, in “House of Gotham” part three, the young boy rescued by Batman has begun his course of treatment at Arkham, so why are the only people showing him kindness those whom the law asserts are criminals? It’s a cycle of violence the Dark Knight has no answer for as Gotham’s most vulnerable struggle to keep their heads above water!
Buy: Amazon (opens in new tab)
DETECTIVE COMICS #1050 (opens in new tab)
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1050
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by IVAN REIS and DANNY MIKI
Backup 1 written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup 1 art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Backup 2 written by MARK WAID
Backup 2 art by DAN MORA
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
4-part connecting variant by JORGE MOLINA
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
Team variant by JAY FABOK
$5.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $6.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 1/25/22
It’s the landmark, oversize issue Detective Comics #1050, and some of the biggest names in comics are here to celebrate the Dark Knight! First up in “The Tower” part four, the villainous force keeping Arkham Tower’s patients sedated is at last revealed—and this villain’s return is guaranteed to catch you by surprise! It’s the dramatic conclusion to act one of Mariko Tamaki’s Arkham Tower epic, brought to life by the legendary Ivan Reis! Then, in “House of Gotham” part four, Matthew Rosenberg and Fernando Blanco take us into the seedy underbelly of Gotham’s criminal elite through the lens of the original Robin (Dick Grayson), and reveal what it takes for a young man to survive amongst the deadliest killers in the DCU. It’s a tour de force of Gotham’s vilest villains!
Buy: Amazon (opens in new tab)
February
DETECTIVE COMICS #1051
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1051
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by MAX RAYNOR
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 2/1/22
Psycho-Pirate! Qu’est-ce que ç’est? The mind manipulations of one of the DCU’s most calamitous villains are revealed at the heart of Arkham Tower…but who’s really calling the shots? As Batwoman’s undercover operation takes a disastrous turn, Huntress finds her own mission inside the Tower growing more perilous by the moment! All is revealed in this explosive first chapter in act two of the “Shadows of the Bat” weekly event!
Then, in “House of Gotham” part five, the Boy emerges from his Scarecrow caper with a new perspective on the world…but what’s scarier: Dr. Crane’s fear toxins, or Batman’s control of Gotham’s militarized youth?
DETECTIVE COMICS #1052
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1052
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by MAX RAYNOR
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 2/8/22
“His hold is breaking!” That’s the message written in blood across the minds of Arkham Tower’s inhabitants, after a nightmare melee is unleashed! With Gotham’s deadliest criminals reverting to their former, murderous selves in one horrific night, Dr. Wear has a lot of explaining to do…and a lot of covering up to perform. Can Nightwing get to the bottom of this mystery before the people of Arkham Tower are put in peril again?
Plus, Batman’s iron grip on Gotham is enough to drive the desperate to madness…and madness is on the mind of the Boy in part six of “House of Gotham.” When an average night at coat check at the Iceberg Lounge turns into a violent battle royal between the Dark Knight and the Penguin, lines are blurred, people are hurt, and the Boy’s descent into a life of crime deepens…
DETECTIVE COMICS #1053
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1053
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by MAX RAYNOR
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 2/15/22
War in the streets! As Dr. Wear desperately tries to keep his plans for Arkham Tower from crumbling, a major drug deal gone bad puts the nervous doc in the sights of both the Party Crashers and the Penguin! The list of people very badly wanting to kill Dr. Wear grows, and Nightwing is on the precipice of cracking the whole scheme wide open! But with the maniacal Party Crashers waging war against the Bat-Family across Gotham, Dick must choose between helping a tower full of villains and helping his family!
Then, it’s Knightfall in Gotham during part seven of “House of Gotham,” as the Boy (growing into a man before our eyes) runs afoul of an uber-violent, unhinged Azrael Batman! This latest conflict pushes Gotham’s most vulnerable into madness, and one man’s rogues gallery reveals itself as another man’s salvation.
DETECTIVE COMICS #1054
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1054
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by MAX RAYNOR
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (Card stock)
ON SALE 2/22/22
It’s Nightwing versus Psycho-Pirate in the grand finale of “Shadows of the Bat” act two of three! As Gotham’s elite gather to celebrate the formal opening of Arkham Tower, Dr. Wear’s secret weapon is more unhinged than ever, and the storm clouds of disaster gather above the city’s monument to reform! The Party Crashers, the Bat-Family, Penguin’s forces, and a tower full of innocent civilians and villainous patients converge in the chapter you’ll need to see to believe! Spoiler alert: not everyone makes it out alive!
Every story has two sides, and as much as Batman has reached out his hand through the darkness to try to help the Boy, there are too many hands in the shadows of Gotham pulling in the other direction. The finale of act two of “House of Gotham” poses a stark choice: Live with the family you know, or betray everything you’ve learned to be true?
March
DETECTIVE COMICS #1055
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1055
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant cover by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages
Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 3/1/22
The Tower under siege! With their grand scheme crumbling around them, Dr. Wear and the mysterious Dr. Ocean have lost control of Arkham Tower to the patients it houses…who just so happen to be some of the most violent, murderous villains Gotham City has ever seen. The Bat-Family on the inside are in shambles: Huntress is wounded, Nightwing is carrying 175 pounds of smarmy jerk on his shoulder, and Dr. Meridian is incapacitated. Who’s left to save the civilian hostages from this nightmare? Hmm…wasn’t there a patient who thought she was Harley Quinn?
Then, in “House of Gotham” part 9, the boy is growing up…and growing into the man that Gotham City has made him. Through the trauma of his time with the Penguin to the terror wrought by Azrael, a new mission springs to mind for this lost son of Gotham…murder.
DETECTIVE COMICS #1056
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1056
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant cover by JORGE FORNÉS
The Batman variant cover by PUPPETEER LEE
$4.99 US | 40 pages
Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 3/8/22
The Scarecrow stalks The Tower! Dr. Jonathan Crane, who recently terrorized Gotham City during “Fear State,” is but one of many villainous inhabitants of Arkham Tower jockeying for position as leader of the hostage situation unfolding before everyone’s eyes. But with security down, Huntress, Nightwing, and Harley Quinn are no longer quite so outnumbered…here come Batwoman, the Batgirls, and Tim Drake to the rescue! Can the Bat-Family save the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire? And that’s not the only help arriving on the scene…
The boy kicks his plan into gear in “House of Gotham” partt 10! On a mission to kill the source of his trauma, the boy’s aim squares solely on The Joker and the Batman…two sides of the same coin that have, in his mind, caused him and the city nothing but pain. Plus: Batgirl, a villainous run-in, and another step toward disaster for Jim Gordon!
DETECTIVE COMICS #1057
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1057
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN
Backup written byMATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant cover by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 3/15/22
Batman is back! And just in time to save the life of Nightwing, who was given a fear toxin super-dose and tossed out of a skyscraper—another tragedy surrounding Arkham Tower’s hostile takeover. As Scarecrow readies his forces for the big bat, war erupts on every floor of the building between the Penguin’s thugs, the Party Crashers, the murderous Arkham inmates, and an overwhelmed Bat-Family who’s struggling to get everyone out alive! Will the return of the bat be enough to turn the tide to victory…or does another X factor lurk in the battle that could save the day?
The penultimate chapter of “House of Gotham” arrives as a battle erupts between Batman, The Joker, and the Boy in horrifying fashion! Bruce Wayne has felt responsibility for this situation for years now…but does he have what it takes to save the life of his sworn enemy?
DETECTIVE COMICS #1058
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DETECTIVE COMICS #1058
Written by MARIKO TAMAKI
Art by AMANCAY NAHUELPAN
Backup written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG
Backup art by FERNANDO BLANCO
Cover by IRVIN RODRIGUEZ
Variant cover by LEE BERMEJO
1:25 variant cover by JORGE FORNÉS
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 3/22/22
The Tower crashes to a close! In the epic finale to this weekly tale of terror, alliances are forged amongst unlikely allies, and the Bat-Family reassess their strategy in their war on crime in Gotham City. Will Psycho-Pirate be Batman’s newest eyes and ears on the streets? Can Koyuki Nakano ever recover from the traumatic events she witnessed? How much fun will the Batgirls have beating the snot out of Penguin’s goons at a seedy motel? The answers await you and much, much more in this cataclysmic culmination! (Except for the Batgirls, I’ll tell you right now that answer is “a lot.”)
As if one dramatic conclusion wasn’t enough, the finale of “House of Gotham” will leave you breathless as Batman is faced with an impossible decision: kill a monster of his own creation…or let others be killed in the process. “Save the patient in front of you” was the advice from Thomas Wayne…
Keeping track of a 12-part weekly event is exactly why Newsarama created its guide to all the new Batman comics, graphic novels, collections from DC arriving in 2022.
