Free Unlettered B&W Copies of Marc Silvestri’s Batman/Joker #1 at NYCC

At next week’s New York Comic Con, DC Comics will be handing out free copies of a promotional Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 Ashcan Edition, featuring an unlettered version of the full issue, with Marc Silvestri‘s pencilled art in black-and-white. No lettering, so you can make up your own story, or see if you can get the whole thing with Marc Silvestri’s pencils alone. The finished comic will have its first issue published on the 1st of November, with full lettering.

We also have a big sneak peek at the fully coloured and lettered first issue Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1, below.

Bleeding Cool first scooped the news back in 2014 that Marc Silvestri was working on a Batman comic. But we understood even then that he had already been working on it for a couple of years. Then it was to be part of DC Rebirth in 2015. But it wasn’t. In 2017 we learned it was a Batman/Joker Team-Up six-issue mini-series. Written and drawn by Marc Silvestri and edited by Matt Hawkins. But then nothing again… then it was officially announced in 2018. And then… nothing. In 2020, we heard it was Marc Silvestri holding out for a better deal. Basically what Greg Capullo got for Death Metal and not a cent less.

Now it has been scheduled for November 2023. Batman/The Joker: The Deadly Duo, a Black Label limited series with #1 for the 1st of November and #2 for the 6th of December. Now seven issues long. And here is your first substantial look at the comic from Bleeding Cool, as well as a video teaser.

BATMAN & THE JOKER THE DEADLY DUO #1 (OF 7) CVR B GREG CAPULLO BATMAN VAR (MR)
(W) Marc Silvestri (A) Marc Silvestri (CA) Greg Capullo
The Joker will go to any lengths to get Harley Quinn back after she is abducted by a strange culprit. But who? Mysterious, Joker-like monsters are stalking the streets of Gotham, collecting severed heads. But why? Jim Gordon is missing, and after receiving a package containing a bloody piece of Gotham’s commissioner, Batman knows he must be willing to do anything to save him. But how? When The Joker proposes an uneasy alliance with Batman, the answers to those questions begin to become clear–and they will shake Gotham City and the Bat-Family to their core. This meticulously crafted tale of the Dark Knight’s deadliest team-up will introduce you to a grim and gritty Gotham that only Marc Silvestri could bring you. Retail: $4.99 In-Store Date: 11/1/2022

BATMAN & THE JOKER THE DEADLY DUO #2 (OF 7) CVR B KELLEY JONES BATMAN VAR (MR)
(W) Marc Silvestri (A) Marc Silvestri (CA) Kelley Jones
Batman has joined forces with his archnemesis, and things are already off to a rocky start. But time is of the essence as another piece of Commissioner Gordon is delivered to the Gotham City PD. Will Batman be able to work fast enough to save his dear friend, or whatever is left of him? Retail: $4.99 In-Store Date: 12/6/2022