This winter, The Joker is on the loose and is seeking revenge against the Bat-family in the acclaimed comic book event, “Death of the Family.”

 

Fans have already seen the beginning of this crossover’s impact on series such as BATMAN, BATGIRL, CATWOMAN, SUICIDE SQUAD, DETECTIVE COMICS, BATMAN AND ROBIN, and NIGHTWING. This week, RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #15 will feel the consequences of the Clown Prince of Crime’s bloody return to Gotham City. And on January 2nd, TEEN TITANS #15 will become the first issue of the series to be an official tie-in to this horrifying crossover event.

 

“I think that the readers are going to be as surprised as the Joker is, to discover that his usual bag of psychological tricks that in the past that he has played on Jason no longer work they way he wants them to,” writer Lobdell teased to MTV GEEK about RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #15. “And I think most of that has to do with Jason's relationship between Roy and Kori over the last 15 issues. The Jason that the Joker faces off against here isn't the same angry young man who was lashing out over issues related to Bruce and Joker. And part of that is because he's actually developed these strong relationships with the two outlaws who have been close friends and confidants since they've started hanging out together. Unfortunately what that means is that the Joker has to dig even deeper into his bag of psychological tricks -- and what he comes up with will shake Jason to his core!”

 

“The Teen Titans show up in Gotham to try to rescue Tim when they discover he's been kidnapped,” Lobdell continued to COMIC VINE about TEEN TITANS. “The Joker, who is generally not a character that plays well with metahumans, rather than try to deal with them himself while he has all the Bat-Family encounters going on, has set up a situation that is going to keep both the Teen Titans and the Outlaws very busy. They won't have the time or resources to track Tim and Jason. Joker's set up a scenario that's pretty ingenious.”

 

For more inside scoop from Lobdell, check out the full interviews with him that ran this morning in MTV GEEK, COMIC BOOK RESOURCES, NEWSARAMA and COMIC VINE. And don’t forget to visit all four outlets for a special preview of RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #15 and for sneak peeks at the interior art from TEEN TITANS #15.

 

(A sneak peek at the interior art for TEEN TITANS #15 by Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse)