If you need a scary Joker, go to the master. DC has announced that John Carpenter, the writer/director/producer behind Halloween, Escape from New York and Vampires, among many others, will co-write a Joker one-shot this October.
“The Joker is the greatest villain in comics,” Carpenter said in a press release. “I’m proud to be reunited with Anthony on this project.”
Joining Carpenter is Anthony Burch, writer of the video games Borderlands 2 and League of Legends, and who worked with Carpenter on BOOM! Studios’ Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack series. They’ll be joined by artists Philip Tan and Marc Deering.
”I’m excited beyond words to be writing for Gotham’s greatest villain,” Burch said. “I hope the Joker’s exploits make you laugh, shudder, and grow nauseous all at once.”
The Joker: Year of the Villian ties into DC’s bigger “Year of the Villain” event that finds Lex Luthor asking humanity to embrace evil. “In exchange, he will grant them the tools to ascend to their ultimate selves. While some DC villains (and heroes) are willing to hear what ‘Apex Lex’ has to offer, the Clown Prince of Crime isn’t going to wait around until Lex gets to him. This puts The Joker on a mission to get his swagger back in a world gone bad by out-badding everyone else, proving that the greatest evil is always the one that leaves them laughing,” the press release reads.
The 40-page one-shot, priced at $4.99, comes out Oct. 9.