The Batman: Black and White miniseries will return to the world of DC Future State, giving that timeline's Dark Knight a new female sidekick.

Batman: Black and White #3 will feature a story from Academy Award-winner John Ridley, who is writing The Next Batman for Future State. Ridley will be joined by artist Olivier Copiel (ThorAvengers) as they introduce the new sidekick. Little is known about her, but she is described as "not exactly Robin."

RELATED: Batman: Black and White - Karl Kerschl Shares Another Image of DC's Next Robin

Other stories include a medieval take on Batman from writer/artist Bilquis Evely (Wonder Woman) and a horror tale from writer Tim Seeley (Nightwing) and artist Kelley Jones, who worked on several Batman stories. Making their writing debuts in the issue are artists Nick Dragotta (East of West) and Bengal (Death or Glory).

The timeline of Future State sees Gotham City being overtaken by the militaristic police force known as the Magistrate, who has outlawed all vigilante activity. Bruce Wayne is believed to be dead but has taken up the new mantle of the Dark Detective, with a new Batman taking up the mantle. Though this Batman's identity has yet to be revealed, the fan-favorite choice is Luke Fox -- the son of Batman's ally Lucius Fox and the former Batwing. His story begins Jan. 2021 in The Next Batman as part of the two-month Future State event.

Ridley is a prolific writer, best known for his screenwriting work including the Oscar-winning film 12 Years A Slave. He has other comics in the works, including the Black Label miniseries The Other History Of The DC Universe and a story in Wolverine: Black White & Blood.

Batman: Black and White is an anthology series featuring stories revolving around the Dark Knight from a variety of all-star creators. The prestige format series will feature two sets of covers, with the main cover focusing on Batman and variants featuring his foes.

BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE #3

  • written by BILQUIS EVELY, NICK DRAGOTTA, TIM SEELEY, JOHN RIDLEY, and BENGAL
  • art by BILQUIS EVELY, NICK DRAGOTTA, KELLEY JONES, OLIVIER COIPEL, and BENGAL
  • cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON
  • variant cover by SANA TAKEDA
  • Poison Ivy variant cover by KHARY RANDOLPH
  • PRESTIGE FORMAT | ON SALE 2/23/21
  • $5.99 US | 48 PAGES | 3 of 6 | FC | DC
  • The mythology of Batman continues to expand in this issue of Batman Black and White as we explore alternate takes and possible futures for the Caped Crusader from the minds of comics’ most innovative and creative thinkers!
  • Academy Award-winning writer John Ridley and iconic Thor and Avengers artist Olivier Coipel reteam to dip into the world of Future State and expand the legend of the next Batman and introduce us to his new—well, she’s not exactly Robin!
  • Bilquis Evely, Eisner Award-nominated artist of The Sandman Universe’s The Dreaming and Wonder Woman, writes and draws a tale that takes the myth of Batman to a medieval realm of knights and sorcery. In this vision of Batman, the Dark Knight is a real knight—and he must save a community from a dryad known as Ivy!
  • Nick Dragotta, co-creator of East of West, makes his DC writing debut with a tale that looks at a post apocalyptic future where a giant Batman-like robot rampages through what’s left of Gotham City.
  • Celebrated co-writer of Grayson and writer of Nightwing Tim Seeley returns to his horror roots with one of comics’ most legendary Batman and horror artists, Kelley Jones, to show us a Gotham cursed to be forever haunted by Batman!
  • Bengal, international comics luminary and co-creator of Death or Glory, returns to DC to tell a story expressing Batman’s admiration for his father and how he once protected Gotham City.

Batman: Black and White #3 goes on sale Feb. 23, 2021 from DC Comics.

KEEP READING: David Aja's First Ever DC Story Arrives in Batman: Black & White #2