DC’s going to the dogs in ‘Barkham Asylum’

The all-ages graphic novel will feature the pets of some of Batman’s greatest villains.

DC Comics has announced a new young adult graphic novel about Batman’s villains’ pets — the cleverly titled Barkham Asylum. Yehudi Mercado, creator of the recent Shazam! Thundercrack, is writing and drawing this one as well.

“When crafting this graphic novel, I pulled some inspiration from my own experience growing up,” said Mercado. “I was a class clown in school and as a result of that, I spent a lot of time in detention. So I can kind of relate to the lead dog, Jester, in my own way.”

In addition to Jester, the book will also feature “a tough-talking stray cat named Penny.”

“All Jester wants is to make people laugh, so in his mind, his master isn’t such a bad guy. Locked up with him is an innocent stray cat named Penny, a loner who rejects Jester’s request to join his pack. But if they’re going to get out of this mess, they will have to team up. And if a stray cat and The Joker’s dog can get along, then maybe there’s hope for all of us,” Mercado said.

Here’s the description from DC:

When the Super-Villains of Gotham get thrown into Arkham Asylum, their henchpets go to the maximum-security pound known as Barkham Asylum. Fur flies when Jester, The Joker’s dog, gets a tough-talking stray cat named Penny tossed into lockup with him. But they’ll have to work together to figure out what the evil Dr. Hugo Mange is up to. And the only way to stop this terrifying team-up is to win the talent show and get visitation with their masters at Arkham on the hill. Because the Joker is sure to help! What could go wrong with that plan? 

Here’s a preview:

Look for it to arrive on shelves next February.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.