The Joker is prepared to deliver his fatal punchline as everythingÑand the kitchen sink, tooÑhits the fan for Batman and Robin. Even with Dick GraysonÕs help, the Dynamic Duo of tomorrow and Bruce Wayne may not stand a chance. Will The Joker turn TerryÕs brother into the new Jason Todd? Is now a good time for Terry and Bruce to clash? And why are Neo-Gothamites cheering on the Clown Prince? Will anyone survive ÒThe Final JokeÓ?

ÒLost DazeÓ continues as BatmanÕs battle with the Splitt reaches a fever pitch, but the Dark Knight isnÕt getting any support from the Batcave. The normally reclusive Bruce Wayne is too busy lavishing cash all over Neo-Gotham to care that his protŽgŽ is in trouble. Does this out-of-character behavior have something to do with the strange goings-on at Arkham Asylum?

"Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger."

Direct Currents is the new, FREE quarterly magazine that brings you into the world of DC with exclusive sneak peeks of every titleÑstarting with the top-secret Justice League/Suicide Squad crossover event coming in December! Plus: Get a first look at the all-new SUPER SONS series starring the offspring of Superman and Batman, and new info on the second wave of Rebirth titles!

The definitive guide to the characters of the DC Multiverse and a vital addition to every comic book fan's bookshelf. Iconic Super Heroes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and The Flash have been transformed in recent years, along with many other DC characters. This new edition of the most comprehensive A-Z guide to DC's pantheon of Super Heroes and Super-Villains includes the latest earth-shaking developments in the DC Multiverse, with profiles of more than 1,200 characters. Created in full collaboration with DC, the encyclopedia features characters and art from every key crossover event, including Dark Nights: Metal and its sequel Dark Nights: Death Metal. With a foreword by DC legend Jim Lee, a brand-new cover design, and thrilling comic artwork, the fun and excitement of more than 80 years of comics history explode off every page. Experience the DC Multiverse like never before with The DC Comics Encyclopedia New Edition. Copyright ©2021 DC Comics. All DC characters and elements © & TM DC Comics. WB SHIELD: TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s21)

Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane is a staple of the Batman universe, evolving into a franchise comprised of comic books, graphic novels, video games, films, television series and more. The Arkham franchise, supposedly light-weight entertainment, has tackled weighty issues in contemporary psychiatry. Its plotlines reference clinical and ethical controversies that perplex even the most up-to-date professionals. The 25 essays in this collection explore the significance of Arkham's sinister psychiatrists, murderous mental patients, and unethical geneticists. It invites debates about the criminalization of the mentally ill, mental patients who move from defunct state hospitals into expanding prisons, madness versus badness, sociopathy versus psychosis, the "insanity defense" and more. Invoking literary figures from Lovecraft to Poe to Caligari, the 25 essays in this collection are a broad-ranging and thorough assessment of the franchise and its relationship to contemporary psychiatry.

The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood traces the evolving relationship between the American comic book industry and Hollywood from the launch of X-Men, Spider-Man, and Smallville in the early 2000s through the ascent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Arrowverse, and the Walking Dead Universe in the 2010s. Perren and Steirer illustrate how the American comic book industry simultaneously has functioned throughout the first two decades of the twenty-first century as a relatively self-contained business characterized by its own organizational structures, business models, managerial discourses, production cultures, and professional identities even as it has remained dependent on Hollywood for revenue from IP licensing. The authors' expansive view of the industry includes not only a discussion of the “Big Two,” Marvel/Disney and DC Comics/Time Warner, but also a survey of the larger comics ecosystem. Other key industry players, including independent publishers BOOM! Studios, IDW, and Image, digital distributor ComiXology, and management-production company Circle of Confusion, all receive attention. Drawing from interviews, fieldwork, archival research, and trade analysis, The American Comic Book Industry and Hollywood provides a road map to understanding the operations of the comic book industry while also offering new models for undertaking trans- and inter-industrial analysis.