Come this August it’ll be just under a year since Joker War, the last big Bat-title crossover from DC Comics, reached its conclusion. Since then a lot has changed for Batman and for Gotham, and we’ve gotten a glimpse of what the future may hold for the city and the rest of the DC Universe. Now the publisher has announced Fear State, the next crossover for the Batman titles, which will bring Gotham even closer to the fate seen during the Future State event.
Here’s how DC describes Fear State:
Fear State is a horror themed Gotham City event that unifies plot threads started in DC’s fan-favorite publishing events, DC Future State and Infinite Frontier. Fear State not only continues The Scarecrow’s vision of a fear-controlled Gotham, but also Mayor Christopher Nakano’s mission to protect the city with his ground-breaking deal with The Magistrate.
And here’s a look at the four announced titles that tie-in and set the stage for Fear State:
I Am Batman #0 – The age of a new Dark Knight begins! On August 10, picking up immediately from the events of The Next Batman: Second Son, Jace Fox begins the march toward his destiny when he fights to protect Alleytown against the oppressive forces of the Magistrate, using Batman armor and tech he’s found in Bruce Wayne’s old base of operations, the Hibernaculum!
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Written by John Ridley
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Art and Main Cover by Travel Foreman
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Card Stock Variant cover by Dave Wilkins
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Card Stock Variant cover by Derrick Chew
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Card Stock 1:25 Variant cover by Riccardo Federici
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40 Pages; $4.99 ($5.99 card stock variant cover)
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On Sale Tuesday, August 10, 2021
It’s unclear if I Am Batman is an ongoing series or just a one-shot, but either way it’s good to see Jace Fox’s story continuing and starting to dovetail with what’s going on in the rest of Gotham.
Catwoman #34 – Then on August 17, Alleytown continues to be the hotspot in Gotham City, with Selina Kyle’s quest to keep her home safe beset on all sides, not only by law enforcement gone bad, but a potential invasion by the city’s villains as well. And if those problems aren’t enough, Batman makes the scene, breaking his and Selina’s vow to give each other another one-year break.
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Written by Ram V
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Art by Fernando Blanco
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Main cover by Yanick Paquette
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Card stock variant by Jenny Frison
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32 Pages; $3.99 ($4.99 card stock variant)
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On Sale Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Harley Quinn #6 – What would any crisis that threatens all of Gotham City be without Harley Quinn? Boring, that’s what! The mistress of mischief and mayhem teams up with Catwoman to kick the Magistrate out of Alleytown for good!
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Written by Stephanie Phillips
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Art by Laura Braga
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Main cover by Riley Rossmo
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Card stock variant by Derrick Chew
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32 Pages; $3.99 ($4.99 card stock variant cover)
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On Sale Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Batman: Fear State Alpha #1 – The event over a year in the making begins…Fear State settles upon Gotham City, and no one is safe! Overwhelmed by the dual threat of the Scarecrow and Peacekeeper-01, Batman and his allies have been one step behind since the events of Infinite Frontier #0…and with the arrival of a mysterious anti-Oracle and the return of Poison Ivy…Batman might have more than he can handle!
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Written by James Tynion IV
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Art by Riccardo Federici
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Main cover by Ben Oliver
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Variant cover by Dylan Teague
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1:25 ratio variant cover by Jorge Jimenez
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1:50 ratio variant cover by Francesco Mattina
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40 Pages; $4.99 ($5.99 card stock variant cover)
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On Sale Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Along with those details, DC also released the interconnected covers for Batman #112-117, which will encompass the main arc of the Fear State storyline. The covers feature art by Jorge Molina:
Across the board, the Batman titles are better now than they’ve been in a long time. DC’s announcement says that Fear State will be used to launch “several new series and plotlines across all Batman-family titles,” and with the quality of the creative talent on all of the existing titles right now it promises to be an entertaining event. Still, with so many Bat-titles already coming from DC on a regular basis, here’s hoping the addition of more doesn’t dull down the overall line the way adding eXtra titles has for DC’s chief competitor.
Fear State kicks off in August.
