In May, the mysterious Court of Owls, a Gotham City secret for centuries, makes its presence fully known in the first major crossover event of the newly-rebooted DC Universe. With the storyline anchored in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's "Batman," the "Night of the Owls" storyline begins to unfold throughout the month, affecting the worlds of Batman and his family and partners.
In January, Snyder spoke with CBR about the then just-announced event, and the writer explained how it came about, why Tony Daniels' "Detective" isn't a part of the event and what level of .
"What I did was ask the other writers if they wanted to use an element of the Court of the Owls story in their books, without giving too much away," Snyder said. "They were welcome to use it however they wanted, and if they didn't, that was totally fine, too. We didn't want to interrupt anybody's stories, so some books, like 'Detective,' are not going to be a part of the 'Night of the Owls' event because Tony is having so much fun with his story and we'd interrupt it. Same with 'Batwoman.'
"Some books are just going to keep on going as they are, while other books, where the writer decided they thought they could use some material from "Night of the Owls" to just further or do something within the story they were telling, or tell a short story in a way that would fit the series that they were writing, those series will tie-in," the writer continued. "'All Star Western,' 'Birds of Prey,' 'Batgirl,' 'Nightwing,' 'Batman and Robin,' 'Red Hood' and 'Dark Knight' -- we're really excited to be including all of those books in the crossover. But they will all be self-contained, too, just to be clear. Meaning, you could read 'Batman' and none of the other books and it will not affect your reading experience when it comes to the narrative in 'Batman.' You will not need to go and read 'Nightwing" to understand 'Batman.' And you really shouldn't have to read 'Batman' to understand what's happening in any of these other books."
And now, courtesy of DC Comics, CBR presents an exclusive first look at the solicitations and covers for "Batman," "Detective Comics," "Nightwing," "Birds of Prey" and the rest of the Bat-family's May-shipping titles.
BATMAN #9
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Backup story by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV
Art by GREG CAPULLO and JONATHAN GLAPION
Backup story art by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
1:25 Variant cover by DALE KEOWN
1:200 B&W Variant cover by GREG CAPULLO
On sale MAY 9 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• Batman must stop the TALONS that have breeched the Batcave in order to save an innocent life...and Gotham City!
• In the backup story, learn more about the PENNYWORTH family and the secrets they've kept from the Wayne family!
This issue is also offered as a special combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
BATMAN ANNUAL #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and cover by JAY FABOK
On sale MAY 30 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• MR. FREEZE is introduced to The New 52!
• What is Mr. Freeze's relationship to the COURT OF OWLS? Is he an ally - or do they want him dead?
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
DETECTIVE COMICS #9
Written by TONY S. DANIEL
Art by TONY S. DANIEL, JOEL GOMEZ and SANDU FLOREA
Backup story art by SZYMON KUDRANSKI
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
1:200 Variant cover by TK TK
1:25 B&W Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL
On sale MAY 2 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for details.
• BATMAN has been poisoned at the hands of the deadly MR. TOXIC!
• Featuring a TWO-FACE backup story written by TONY S. DANIEL with art by SZYMON KUDRANSKI
This issue is also offered as a special combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #9
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
1:25 Variant cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
On sale MAY 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• Guest-writer JUDD WINICK joins artist DAVID FINCH for the return of RED ROBIN!
• Red Robin is back in Gotham City just in time to face off against TALON and THE COURT OF OWLS!
BATWING #9
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art by MARCOS TO and RYAN WINN
Cover by MARCOS TO
On sale MAY 2 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• BATWING arrives in Gotham City just in time to fight the chaos the Court of Owls has unleashed! Outgunned and on unfamiliar turf, can Batwing survive?
BATMAN AND ROBIN #9
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art and cover by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• NIGHT OF THE OWLS continues here!
• ROBIN faces TALON alone with the skies of Gotham City at stake!
BATWOMAN #9
Written by J.H. WILLIAMS III and W. HADEN BLACKMAN
Art by AMY REEDER and ROB HUNTER
Cover by BEN OLIVER
1:25 B&W Variant cover by AMY REEDER
On sale MAY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. The variant cover will feature the standard edition cover in a wraparound format.
• The next chapter in "TO DROWN THE WORLD!"
• An unconventional spy thriller of six interweaving lives with only one thing in common: BATWOMAN!
BATGIRL #9
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art and cover by ARDIAN SYAF and VICENTE CIFUENTES
On sale MAY 9 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• BATGIRL faces off against the Court of Owls to protect the life of her father, Commissioner Gordon!
BIRDS OF PREY #9
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art by TRAVEL FOREMAN and JEFF HUET
Cover by JESUS SAIZ
On sale MAY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• BLACK CANARY, BATGIRL, KATANA and POISON IVY risk their lives in Gotham City to battle THE TALON and The Court of Owls!
• A secret is revealed about Black Canary's husband...Kurt Lance?!
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #9
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT
On sale MAY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• The Court of Owls is attacking, and the last person in the world you'd expect to answer Batman's call to arms is the RED HOOD!
• Also featuring MR. FREEZE!
NIGHTWING #9
Written by KYLE HIGGINS
Art by EDDY BARROWS, RUY JOSE and EBER FERREIRA
Cover by EDDY BARROWS
On sale MAY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• NIGHTWING faces another villain claiming to be THE TALON at City Hall as the Court of Owls' plans go into action - but will he be able to figure out what's going on before it's too late?
CATWOMAN #9
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH
On sale MAY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
• "NIGHT OF THE OWLS" continues here!
• CATWOMAN and SPARK are forced to defend THE PENGUIN against the Court of Owls!
ALL-STAR WESTERN #9
Written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by MORITAT, PATRICK SCHERBERGER and DAN GREEN
Cover by LADRONN
On sale MAY 23 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+
• A tie-in to "NIGHT OF THE OWLS!"
• Concluding JONAH HEX'S battle with THE AUGUST 7!
• Discover what the Court of Owls was up to in GOTHAM CITY circa 1880!
• NIGHTHAWK and CINNAMON hunt down killers and fall in love in this issue's backup story.