DC Comics have announced ‘Fear State,’ a Batman event storyline for the fall. The arc will revolve around the Scarecrow’s attempts to plunge Gotham City into chaos, and Mayor Christopher Nakano’s alliance with the mercenary army the Magistrate. It will kick off in August with “I Am Batman” #0, “Catwoman” #34, “Harley Quinn” #6, and “Batman: Fear State Alpha” #1, before running in issues #112 to #117 of the main “Batman” title.
– “I Am Batman” #0 (out August 10), written by John Ridley, with art by Travel Foreman, will pick up where “The Next Batman: Second Son” left off, with Tim “Jace” Fox discovering Bruce Wayne’s old base of operations, the Hibernaculum, and using the discarded Batman armor and tech to fight the Magistrate.
– “Catwoman” #34 (August 17), penned by Ram V with art by Fernando Blanco, will see Selina Kyle contending with corrupt law enforcement, a potential supervillain invasion, and the return of Batman, breaking their vow to give each other another year-long break.
– “Harley Quinn” #6 (August 24), by writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Laura Braga, will have Quinzel team-up with Catwoman to drive the Magistrate out of Alleytown.
– “Batman: Fear State Alpha” #1 (August 31), by James Tynion IV and artist Riccardo Federici, will feature “the arrival of a mysterious anti-Oracle and the return of Poison Ivy,” which, on top of the ongoing machinations of the Scarecrow and the Magistrate’s leader Peacekeeper-01, may prove to be too much for Batman and his allies.
“I Am Batman” #0 and “Fear State Alpha” will both be 40 pages, and retail for $4.99 each. ‘Fear State’ begins in “Batman” #112 the following month, and DC promises the event will also be “the launching point for several new series and plotlines across all Batman-family titles, setting a new status quo for 2022.” Those will be announced at a later date; in the meantime, visit the link to check out all the covers for August’s releases.
