DC’s New 52 started off with a bang by instantly removing one of the companies most iconic villains, The Joker. Yes, almost a full year ago we saw the Joker’s face carved right off of him and nailed to a wall way back in Detective Comics #1. It was a startling scene that had us all looking forward to the initial arc of Tony Daniels newly relaunched Detective Comics series. However, many fans were sadly disappointed when the Joker never returned to Detective Comics this past year. It would seem that will soon be remedied however, thanks to Scott Snyder and Grag Capullo.

Following their summer crossover event, The Night of Owls, Scott Snyder is not pulling any punches in Batman and diving directly into a new big story featuring the Joker’s ominous return. Entitled ‘Death of the Family’, the name of this arc pays homage to the infamous Batman story ‘A Death in the Family’, which saw the second Robin, Jason Todd, brutally murdered by the Joker. Scott Snyder says, “[the] Joker is my favorite villain of all time. Not just in comics. In everything – film, books, TV. He’s the greatest, hands down. So this story is something extremely important and personal to me – something I’ve been building in my head ever since I started working in Gotham. Basically, this is my big exploration of the Joker, my Arkham Asylum or The Killing Joke, only bigger in scope. Bottom line: it’s the biggest, baddest, most shocking Joker story I could tell. This is Joker completely unleashed. He has been away for a full year planning this revenge, watching, plotting, setting things up. And now he’s back. He has his traps set, his knives sharpened… And wait ’til you see him. Greg’s sketches literally gave me chills. Point blank: This is Joker like you’ve never seen him before. He has a mission. He has a secret. And he has a serious axe to grind with Batman. It isn’t going to be pretty, but it’s going to be a wild ride. Thanks for taking it with us.”

With such bold claims and comparisons to classic Joker tales by legendary creators, Snyder is building up a lot of hype to live up to. Thankfully, Capullo seems to support Snyder’s claims with enthusiasm of his own, adding “When Scott told me that he’d written a Joker story for our next arc, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Talk about a dream come true! For me, the Joker is the ultimate rogue and the villain I most wanted to draw. I gotta tell you, after hearing what the story is about, this isn’t a dream come true. It’s a nightmare! A macabre and bloody, flesh crawling nightmare. We hope you’ll have the nerve to face what’s coming. Warning: It ain’t for the faint of heart!”

So can Death of the Family live up to it’s hype? We’ll certainly know after October 10th, when issue #13 of Batman hits stands and gives us all the first chapter of Snyder and Capullo’s brave new Joker tale. One thing is for sure though, the promotional art for the storyline is haunting as all hell: