Batman and Catwoman are about to collide once again. DC has announced Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War, a storyline that will run through each character’s ongoing series as well as a series of one-shots and a tie-in miniseries. The event story, which spins out of the events of Knight Terrors: Batman #2, is shepherded by Batman writer Chip Zdarsky and Catwoman writer Tini Howard.
The storyline will kick off in a one-shot, Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Battle Lines, at the end of August. Here’s how DC describes the issue, which is co-written by Zdarsky & Howard and illustrated by Mike Hawthorne and Adriano Di Benedetto:
A coordinated effort in Gotham City has led to a reduction in violent crime, but at what cost? Villains scatter as their lives begin to crumble under a new regime. And as Batman recovers from his epic battle through the Multiverse and the horrors of Knight Terrors, one name runs through his mind. One name at the heart of this new, safer Gotham: Catwoman. A conflict that’s been brewing for well over a year finally hits the streets, and it will fracture the Bat-Family as war erupts! The special kickoff issue features a main cover by Jorge Jimenez, open-to-order variants by Joe Quesada and Kael Ngu, a 1:25 variant by Otto Schmidt, a 1:50 variant by Ngu, and a 1:100 inked version of Quesada’s cover.
From there, the storyline continues in September and October’s Batman #137 & 138 by Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez and Catwoman #57 & 58 by Howard and Nico Leon, as well as in a two-issue tie-in miniseries, Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Red Hood, by Matthew Rosenberg and Nikola Čižmešija. Here’s info on all of those entries:
The second part of Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War takes place in the pages of Batman #137 written by Chip Zdarsky with art and main cover by Jorge Jimenez. Batman descends on Gotham City, full of rage and force, more driven than ever to save his home. But the new landscape has turned friends into foes. Can anyone stop his reign of terror? Should they? The issue will also feature open-to-order variant covers by Joe Quesada, Gabriele Dell’otto and Rose Besch. A 1:25 variant will be available from Salvador Larroca and Quesada’s cover will also be available as a 1:50 variant.
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War continues in Catwoman #57, written by Tini Howard with art by Nico Leon. While Batman finds himself more and more isolated, Selina is never alone. With a volunteer army and two powerful generals by her side, the ballet between her and Bruce enters its next act with a shocking twist. Catwoman #57 is available on September 19 with a main cover by David Nakayama, open-to-order variants by Jamie McKelvie and Joshua “Sway” Swaby, a 1:25 variant by Rian Gonzales, and Sway’s cover available in a 1:50 version.
The Gotham War will also feature the two-issue miniseries Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Red Hood from writer Matthew Rosenberg with artist Nikola Čižmešija. The Gotham War has fractured the Bat-Family in dramatic ways—none more intensely than with Jason Todd. This stunning event will forever alter the destiny of the man who wears the Red Hood!
The storyline will wrap in October with a capper one-shot, Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Scorched Earth, from Zdarsky, Howard, Hawthorne, and Di Benedetto, though details on that one are forthcoming.
Along with all the information about the event, DC has also released a new Dawn of DC timeline:
It’s interesting to see the storyline placed so prominently on the timeline, considering its a crossover between two individual series and not a linewide thing like Knight Terrors or a big springboard event like Lazarus Planet. Gotham War sounds very localized, but that placement makes it seem like it’ll have larger ripples throughout the DCU.
In a statement announcing the storyline, Zdarsky and Howard both expressed the requisite enthusiasm at bringing the story to readers and at working together to tell it:
“From the moment Tini and I started working on these titles, we realized we had a huge opportunity to build toward something that would shake up the power structure of Gotham City,” said Batman writer Chip Zdarsky. “The Gotham War is just that: relationships explode, relationships are formed, and it all leads to massive changes! Being able to take these kinds of big swings together has been extremely exciting.”
“Comics thrive on team-ups. Whether it’s a team of creators or a heroic partnership, all of my favorite stories are about two strong personalities and the space between them,” said Catwoman writer Tini Howard. “On the page, we’ve got one of comics’ greatest love stories: the world’s greatest detective and the world’s greatest criminal. And they both love Gotham City. But the course of true love never did run smooth.”
“I don’t want to spoil anything, but with Selina’s recent breakout from jail and Bruce’s struggles with Zur-En-Arrh, things are going to get intense in Gotham,” added Zdarsky.
I feel like things are already usually pretty intense in Gotham. How much more tension can that city take?
We’ll find out when Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War kicks off on Tuesday, August 29th.
