New Batfamily preview covers released by DC

[icon_uk]

As the various members deal with recent events in Batman Inc #8



The "event" will be called "Requiem". ComicBookResources has these covers up, at a larger size and including a coupl more

Batman #18 (I think, given it's Capullo on art)



There's a military tradition for a fallen comrade called the Empty Boots ceremony, which is what this might be referencing

Batman #18 (Variant cover)



Nice cover, though I'm hoping that that's the costume on a Damian sized mannequin rather than him keeping the kid on ice...

Batgirl #18


I like the emotion of this one.

Teen Titans #18



Perhaps the creepiest of them all, I'm seriously hoping this ties into the Joker's lasting effect on Robin because, dislike Damian though he might, Tim SMILING over a dead Robin is just... wrong


Word's Finest 10



Red Hood and the Outlaws #18



And finally Nightwing #18... which should be heartbreaking...

Comments

[kd_the_movie]

Welll they appear to be serious about killing damian

[auggie18]

Tim's going through what appears to a be a little possession problem in Titans, which probably explains the grin.

Really like most of these, but the first is definitely my favorite.

[darkknightjrk]

The first two covers are for Batman #18--Andy Kubert is doing the interior art and the variant cover. Good catch with the empty boots ceremony thing, though. I never heard of that.

"I'm seriously hoping this ties into the Joker's lasting effect on Robin because"

I'm pretty sure that's tying in to what happened in the latest issue of Teen Titans. Let's just say that Tim doesn't appear to be himself right now...

[lucky_gamble]

The Batgirl and Batman are perfect in how comics should depict an issue dealing with a difficult topic or storyLine, IMO. Way too many covers rely on blood, lightning, shadows or the melodramatic "knees to the floor and holding a corpse" pose to say SHIT HITS THE FAN THIS ISSUE.

[onceaskrull]

I agree, the understated message of the Batman and Batgirl covers are what are affecting me the most.

[darkknightjrk]

I also liked the Worlds' Finest cover for that reason.

[onceaskrull]

I don't know if I can read these, especially the Nightwing one.

It does seem like Tim is "possessed" or what have you, the timing of which is unfortunate. I know Tim and Damian don't get along, but I would have been interested to see how Tim struggles to come to terms with Damian's death. I think back on those scenes where Damian and Dick guest-starred in Red Robin and get a little watery-eyed.

[star_of_airdrie]

Tim seems to also be influenced by the coming events in the War of Light and Dark with Trigon and Raven in the Teen Titans story arc... still doesn't mean it doesn't add to the awful

[sun_man]

wow I know Tim didn't like Damian but no need to be a douche about it.

Didn't really know Barbara had much interaction or cared much about Damian in the new 52.

Still not going to be reading Worl'd finest.

And the Outlaws book would be better if distanced from the Batfamily

[wake_the_dragon]

The Batman #18 cover (the first one, not the variant) and the Nightwing cover are so sad. Poor Dick.

[superfangirl1]

I really like the covers with the little birds. Poor nightwing. :(

Also can't help but think in the cover with Tim. He not that really that sad about it like the rest of the bat-family. I hope the story shown here shows differently.

[stolisomancer]

And then there's one in an alternate universe of Stephanie Brown sitting at her kitchen counter with a cup of coffee, looking conflicted.

[wake_the_dragon]

That would've been an awesome cover. That alternate universe is so lucky.

[filthysize]

Tim: I can finally graduate from being Red Robin to REAL Robin!

[espanolbot]

I think that they might be making that move... I have to find my source again to confirm it though...

[elf]

These have the potential to be incredible issues. It's the fallout in another six months that's a disaster; the immediate reactions to Damian's death may be intense and realistic but the long-term effects are likely to be incoherent enough to require another reboot to fix.

I can see this as setting up Tim-Angst to rival Batman's. I have plenty of thoughts about that, but more immediately, I want to know how Alfred's going to react, and of course, that's going to be folded into single pages or even single panels in several titles. (When do we get an Alfred miniseries? Isn't it time?)

[darkknightjrk]

This is going to hit especially hard for Alfred, since while Damian rightfully says in the previous issue that Alfred would not be able to stop Damian from leaving the Batcave, Alfred would feel guilt for not trying something to stop him.

[omgwtflolbbqbye]

I feel the worst for Alfred who now has to go back to sweeping broken memorial glass off the Batcave floor every other week.

[chrisdv]

So Jason takes it well, then.

[darkknightjrk]

Between the trauma in Death of the Family, his face being burnt, and now this, these past few months have REALLY sucked for poor Jason.

[zechs80]

A pity Stephanie is gone. That be some nice emotional impact given the history with the two.

[lencannon]

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, I was already bummed out, why'd you have to go and make me think about this?

WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS MESSING WITH MY ROBINS, DC?

[mrstatham]

The Batgirl cover is a joke, frankly; Barbara's had nothing in the way of interaction with the kid and hardly had even that much back in the old DCU. I'm more impressed that there's a Steph-based edit of the cover floating around on Tumblr already, because as it is? It's meaningless. This is another one of those things where if Barbara has had any history with Damian beyond DOTF, we've not seen it, so why should we care?

[chrisdv]

Oh, goddammit, they've retconned Barbara into having Steph's relationship with Damien, haven't they?

[elf]

They probably have. Or some of it. At least in their heads.

[icon_uk]

The fact that she didn't know him well has to be balanced with this being the death of a good friends 10 year old son, who is also the little brother of a man you were involved with for some time, and I suspect she's always had a soft spot for the kids who were Robin... all of that would be reason enough to shed a tear, no?

[kenn_el]

If you're referring to Dick, Damian's hardly his 'little brother'; they've only known each other for a year or so....and I thought Dick and Babs' relationship was done away with. (Though I do agree that Babs SHOULD be upset about the death of Bruce's kid....and, in fact, any kid. She IS human.)

[icon_uk]

How long does it take to acknowledge someone as their little brother (Which is what he is, both legally and emotionally), especially someone like Dick, to whom Damian isn't even the first randomly introduced younger sibling, but the third? (I'd say fourth, but Cass's status is too vague to cite in the DCnU)

They only knew each other for a year, but during which they mourned the loss of their father and served as a highly effective Batman and Robin (traditionally the superhero team with the closest emotional bond), and Dick being about the only person (other than Alfred) who seemed able to see past the attitude (and lord knows there was enough of it) to the kid whose NEED for acceptance, and validation as a hero, was actually off the charts, as Dick noted more than once. So yes, I'd say that Damian was definitely Dick's little brother in any way that counts.

Dick and Babs still seem to have had a relationship of some sort at some point in their careers.

[darkknightjrk]

That's kind-of how I'm looking at it--if Batgirl's going to address this at all (which, concerning the last issue, I'm not entirely sure they will), it will be from her outside perspective looking in. Trying to comfort those she cares about, maybe her regretting not putting enough effort to get to know him. That could make for a very good story.

[rainspirit]

Damnit Peeg, I thought we burned that costume.

[darkknightjrk]

This is the cover for #10--the classic costume doesn't show up until #12.

[mrstatham]

The big, puffy shoulders really don't make that a good look for her at all.

[espanolbot]

Tim: THIS IS WHAT WINNING LOOKS LIKE!

[chrisdv]

I was thinking more "At last, I CAN BE ROBIN!"

[donnblake]

Understated tragic covers for the win.

[thandrak]

Tim appears to be having a Batman Beyond moment.

[big_daddy_d]

The one that gets me most is Nightwing and World's Finest...now on to something else...

WHY IS DC STILL DICKING AROUND ON STEPHANIE?!! Seriously of all Bat characters, Damian had some of the best interactions with her, second to Dick. I think her reaction would've been a good read, yet..again DC loves being dicks about Stephanie, Cass, and anyone else missing in the new 52.

[icon_uk]

I'm not sure it's dicking around by this point. They have, for better or worse, been consistent that there has been no Stephanie Brown as Batgirl or Robin in the New52.

Even if they did introduce her now it would most likely be as a new character. Introducing her now, just to have her mourn someone we've never seen her interact with since the reboot, would strike me as clumsy storytelling.

[droolfangrrl]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_Soldier_Battle_Cross

"The Fallen Soldier Battle Cross, Battlefield Cross or Battle Cross is a symbolic replacement of a cross on the battlefield or at the base camp for a soldier who has been killed. Made up of the soldier's rifle with bayonet attached stuck into the ground, helmet on top, dog tags sometimes hanging from the rifle and the boots of the fallen soldier next to it. Its purpose is to show honor and respect for the fallen at the battle site. The practice started during the American Civil War or maybe earlier as a means of identifying the bodies on the battleground before they were removed."

[lencannon]

AWwwwwww, jeeze.

Dick :(

Damien :( :( :( :( :( :( :(

[shadur]

Man, and just when I was finally getting to like him, too...

(... well, that's a lie -- he was getting likeable in a kind of prickly way in his appearances in Batgirl back when Steph had the suit, but the point stands)

[aeka]

Lovely covers, but unfortunately this is doing nothing to change my opinion that Damian was killed for no other reason than to serve as a plot point to drive the story in another direction. The fact that his death was used as a marketing stunt to boost sales doesn't help either.

[katzedecimal]

This. Fridging little kids - stay classy, DC :-\

[icon_uk]

It IS very hard for me to see this as anything other than an utterly cynical marketing stunt.

[aeka]

And pure shock value at that. As further evidenced by the fact that even the Channel 52 news anchor, Bethany Snow, couldn't keep delivering the news. It's also one of the reasons I imagine Dick is moving to Chicago in a few months, in addition to the events of Death of the Family.

[ladymercury_10]

Agreed. They seem to be taking it seriously, and maybe they'll have some good issues come out of this, but I don't want seriously handled "aftermath of Damian's death" issues. I want them to stop killing/retconning away/character assassinating everyone I care about.

[jcbaggee]

Love the Batman, Batgirl, and Nightwing covers. Also the additional one you didn't post of Batman standing over the open grave is really great.

Not a huge fan of the Damien costume in the trophy case. We saw that image so often with Jason that it just feels aped.