Comic artist Joe Quesada has created another new variant cover for DC Comics' ongoing Batman series following his exit as Marvel's Chief Creative Officer.
DC has unveiled its solicitations for March 2023, including details and cover artwork for Batman #133 by writer Chip Zdarsky and artists Mike Hawthorne and Adriano Bi Benedetto. Of the covers revealed for the issue, Quesada's shows a strong Dark Knight running along the rafters of a warehouse with a sunset skyscape behind him. As of writing, this is the third variant cover that Quesada has drawn for the main Batman title.
BATMAN #133
- Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
- Art by MIKE HAWTHORNE and ADRIANO DI BENEDETTO
- Cover by JORGE JIMENEZ
- Backup art by MIGUEL MENDONCA
- Variant cover by JOE QUESADA
- Variant cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU
- 1:25 variant cover by DERRICK CHEW
- 1:50 foil variant cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU
- $4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
- ON SALE 3/7/23
- Everyone goes insane eventually. And then they belong to the terrifying Red Mask! But Gotham City has a new savior. He strikes from the shadows, exhumes the dead, and is known only as…the Batman. And in our backup story, Tim Drake’s search for Batman continues as he and Superman, Jon Kent, team up to stop the terror of the Toyman!
Quesada announced that he was leaving Marvel at the end of May 2022, saying that he will be starting some independent projects afterward. He shared the news with fans through a heartfelt letter posted on social media, in which he said that he will never be "too far away" from Marvel and will still cheer for the company, despite moving on to other projects. Quesada noted in his letter, "I also have several insanely cool projects of my own that you'll be hearing about in the coming months, including a short indie film I'm writing and directing. Stay tuned!"
Joe Quesada's DC Arrival Is Announced at NYCC 2022
Months later in October 2022, Jim Lee -- DC's Chief Creative Officer -- announced during a New York Comic Con panel that Quesada had drawn variant covers for both Batman #131 and Batman #132, two issues also releasing in 2023. The former showed the hero covering himself with his cape against a black background, while the latter posed Batman within a swirl of light in which his cape forms his yellow-and-black logo behind him. Quesada's variants arrive just in time for the start of Zdarsky's second arc working on Batman.
Just as Joe Quesada Arrives, Jorge Jiménez Takes a Break
Zdarsky and artist Jorge Jiménez took over as Batman's main creative team with the release of Issue #125 in July 2022, but Jiménez will be taking a break for Zdarsky's second arc writing. Though Hawthorne will fill in for Jiménez's interiors during that time, Jiménez will still be illustrating the series' main cover artwork. Where Batman's story will go when readers can pick up issues with Jiménez and/or Quesda's cover artwork remains to be seen, especially since Bruce Wayne was seemingly killed at the end of Zdarsky and Jiménez's first arc working together, "Failsafe."
Along with Zdarsky, Hawthorne and Di Benedettio, as well as the cover artwork by Jiménez and Quesada, Batman #133 also features variant cover artwork by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau and Derrick Chew. The issue will also feature a backup story illustrated by Miguel Mendonca, and is set to go on sale March 7, 2023 from DC Comics.
Source: DC Comics