DC Comics announced today (August 15th) a new comic book series which sees the return of a much-beloved character. Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns, written by Jeff Parker with art by Lukas Ketner, will be coming to comic book shops everywhere and digitally beginning in November. It will release every Wednesday in the five weeks leading up to Christmas.
In the upcoming series, horrors haunt the Christmas season as life-drained bodies litter the countryside, each marked with a strange symbol. The Justice League responds—but it’s a trap! The heroes are pulled from our world, but not before Batman helps Robin escape. Now Damian Wayne must seek out Zatanna and the one and only Santa Claus if there’s any hope of saving their friends and family.
“I was blown away at how well last year’s SILENT KNIGHT series was received, readers really responded to us going full tilt with Norse-mythos Santa in the DCU,” said Parker in the press release. “We followed the old tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas. Then to be asked if I wanted to do another one AND have an extra issue? That was the Happy New Year.”
“It’s still unclear to me whether Batman will be speed-skating in the story. I may have been heavy-handed with the Xmas flavor in my audition sketches; it was meant to show how interested I was in doing THIS story specifically. I loved the first series, and Jeff was dangling an Etrigan-shaped carrot.”
Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1 will have a main cover by Bernard Chang and variant covers by Dan Mora, Kevin Wada, and Erica Henderson. Collectors can also kickstart the holidays with a special gift-wrapped (polybagged), evergreen-scented variant cover by Dan Hipp! Check them out below.
DC Comics provided a preview of the first issue from artist Lukas Ketner. Take a look below.
Batman — Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1 releases Wednesday, November 27 in comic books shops everywhere and digitally.