The Joker Returns To DC Comics in October

By Marcus Doidge / July 3, 2012

DC Comics have announced the return of the greatest comic book villian of all time... The Joker is coming back to DC comics this October. Offering up this disturbing teaser image (remember The Joker's face got removed at the beginning of the DC 52 relaunch) The Clown Prince of Crime is back and DC have lots to say about it. In the storyline '"Death of the Family' (which is devilishly exciting given the famous story Death IN the Family saw Joker kill a Robin) The Joker "will come out of the dark in a horrifying, unnerving, and huge way. And the grave consequences of his reemergence will be felt by not only the Bat-family, but by all of Gotham City". Exciting right? Adding more weight to the ominous tease in the title, DC go on to say "He crippled Batgirl. He killed Robin. What will The Joker do next?" Which seems to imply the Joker isn't just back he's going to do something major. The story begins in BATMAN #13 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion. Snyder goes on to say;

€œJoker 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.€

So Scott Snyder. The Joker. A year in the planning. Where do I click to pre-order already? Not excited enough already? There's more. Capullo added details about the Joker 'redesign'

€œWhen Scott told me that he'd written a Joker story for our next arc, I couldn€™t contain my excitement,€. €œTalk 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!€

I'm not 100% about the new face of Joker. It has me most worried. I really hope DC Comics don't feel the need to make Joker more like the Heath Ledger design from The Dark Knight. Comics following movies bugs the hell out me but in Synder we trust, right? BATMAN #13 hits stores on October 10th.