Artist Mike Mayhew has revealed his variant cover for the upcoming DC Comics one-shot Joker: Year of the Villain.
The cover, which Mayhew shared to his official website, depicts the Clown Prince of Crime himself. The Joker is seen with a wicked, open-mouthed grin on his face, bloodshot eyes trained on the viewer. In his gloved right hand, he is holding a joker playing card. Just behind him, the Bat Signal is seen illuminating the cloudy sky.
Part of DC's Year of the Villain event, the Joker one-shot comes from the writing team of legendary horror director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) and video game writer Anthony Burch (Borderlands 2, League of Legends). Joining Carpenter and Burch is the artistic team of Philip Tan (The Curse of Brimstone) and Marc Deering (Green Lantern: New Guardians), who also provide the comic's main cover. Joker: Year of the Villain follows Batman's archenemy on a quest to prove just how evil can be in a world changed by Apex Lex (that is, a version Lex Luthor that has been empowered by Perpetua.)
Written by John Carpenter and Anthony Burch and illustrated by Philip Tan and Marc Deering, Joker: Year of the Villain #1 goes on sale Oct. 9 from DC Comics.