Six corrupt versions of DC’s Super Heroes are coming to terrorize Earth this November and December, as DC revealed a series of six comics running parallel to the story unfolding in Batman/Superman by writer Joshua Williamson and artist David Marquez. Each one-shot or tie-in special spotlights a corrupt version of Shazam!, Supergirl, Hawkman and more, known within the DC Universe as The Infected. These six issues star DC’s beloved heroes, revealed to be secretly infected by The Batman Who Laughs with a toxin that violently transforms them into the worst versions of themselves. Their buried frustrations and pent-up anger will boil to the surface, unleashing dangerous results.
Kicking off these spotlight, one-shot issues is The Infected: King Shazam! #1 on November 6th by writer Sina Grace (Iceman, Go Go Power Rangers) and artist Joe Bennett (The Terrifics, The Immortal Hulk), to be followed by The Infected: Scarab #1 on November 20th, written by Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum (Sea of Stars, The Astonishing Spider-Man) with art by Freddie E. Williams II (Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man/Thundercats). Both issues will feature covers by David Marquez and Dean White. One is a story of a hero whose soul has been turned black and who has something to prove to the old guard, the other a tale of a hero fighting the evil inside him, with his friends and family about to pay the price…and then some.
While fans got hints of The Infected in The Batman Who Laughs by Scott Snyder and Jock and have seen the brutality of a jacked-up, Dark Multiverse-infected Shazam! in previews of Batman/Superman, the scope of the deadly pathogen unleashed by The Batman Who Laughs, himself a twisted Dark Multiverse version of Bruce Wayne, has yet to be realized.
Rounding out November are The Infected tie-in issues Hawkman #18 on November 13th, written by Robert Venditti with art by Pat Olliffe and Tom Palmer, and Supergirl #36 on November 13th, written by Marc Andreyko with art by Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira. Hawkman #18 cover art is by Tyler Kirkham while Supergirl #36 cover art is by Dan Mora.
Through all this, neither Superman nor Batman know who's been infected, they don't know who has turned, and they don't know who's a sleeper agent for The Batman Who Laughs. Can they even trust each other? All six of The Infected will be revealed when Batman/Superman #4 by Joshua Williamson and David Marquez, with an acetate cover by Emanuela Lupacchino, hits shelves on November 27th!
The final two victims of The Batman Who Laughs’ toxins, no spoilers here, will hit shelves with spotlight one-shot issues of their own in December 2019. Pick up The Batman Who Laughs HC (JUN190568) by Scott Snyder and Jock along with Batman/Superman #1 (JUN190450) by Joshua Williamson and David Marquez on August 28th at your local comic shop for clues to who the other two heroes turned by The Batman Who Laughs’ influence might be!
DC COMICS
(W) Sina Grace (A) Joe Bennett, Belardino Brabo, Matt Santorelli (CA) David Marquez
Billy Batson is a good kid. He helps his friends, loves his family, and tries to do the right thing. But Billy is about to have a run-in with the most dangerous serial killer in existence, and the Batman Who Laughs wants Billy to be bad. Spinning out of the events of Batman/Superman and "Year of the Villain," it's the tale of a hero whose soul has been turned black, and who has something to prove to the old guard. Buckle in for Shazam's journey to punch a bunch of so-called "gods" in the face and show the establishment exactly what the future looks like...
In Shops: Nov 06, 2019
SRP: $3.99
DC PREVIEWS Page #12
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DC COMICS
(W) Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum (A) Freddie Williams Ii (CA) David Marquez
When Jaime Reyes is in trouble, a powerful scarab transforms him into a super hero. Jaime never asked to be the Blue Beetle, but he's been doing his best to live up to the power within. Now the most sinister evil this or any other world has ever seen has his sights set on turning Jaime toward the darkness...and the Batman Who Laughs always gets what he wants. Spinning out of the events of Batman/ Superman and "Year of the Villain" comes the tale of a hero fighting the evil inside, and whose friends and family are about to pay the price...
In Shops: Nov 20, 2019
SRP: $3.99
DC PREVIEWS Page #13
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DC COMICS
(W) Robert Venditti (A) Pat Oliffe, Tom Palmer (CA) Tyler Kirkham
Corrupted with an infection concocted by the Batman Who Laughs, Carter Hall's psyche is overpowered by the darkest of all his past lives: the Sky Tyrant, the villainous Hawkman of Earth-3! A merciless winged warrior with no remorse and no rival, Sky Tyrant is unleashed on our Earth. The only chance of stopping him lies with the fading consciousness of Carter Hall. The series that reinvented Hawkman's mythology to encompass all of time and space takes its next adventurous leap into the Multiverse!
In Shops: Nov 13, 2019
SRP: $3.99
DC PREVIEWS Page #106
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DC COMICS
(W) Marc Andreyko (A) Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira (CA) Dan Mora
Supergirl-the infected! Brainiac-1 attempts to contact Supergirl at the Fortress of Solitude, but for what nefarious purpose? No matter what he has planned, things are about to go from bad to worse as Supergirl heads on a collision course with the Batman Who Laughs! He's targeted Superman as part of his plan to infect heroes and transform them into their twisted Dark Multiverse counterparts-but Supergirl gets caught in the crossfire, and the Year of the Villain stakes get even higher!
In Shops: Nov 20, 2019
SRP: $3.99
DC PREVIEWS Page #112
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DC COMICS
(W) Joshua Williamson (A) David Marquez (CA) Emanuela Lupacchino
Even from prison, the Batman Who Laughs is staying two steps ahead of the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel. His plan to infect heroes and turn them into the Dark Multiverse versions of themselves is starting to build steam, with Shazam and others already succumbing to his evil toxin. Batman and Superman are racing the clock to prevent the other three members of the Secret Six from being poisoned, but they realize they are too late when those three come looking for them instead-one of whom is a lot closer to Superman than expected and itching for a fight!
In Shops: Nov 20, 2019
SRP: $3.99
DC PREVIEWS Page #100
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