DC Comics Announces Batman & Santa Claus Sequel Crossover BATMAN – SANTA CLAUS: SILENT KNIGHT RETURNS

DC Comics has announced Batman – Santa Claus: The Return of the Silent Knight #1, which is a five-issue sequel series to last year’s Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight miniseries.

The comic will be written by Jeff’s Parkwith the art created by Luke Ketner. It will also feature a main cover by the artist Bernard Chang and cover variations of Dan Mora, Kevin WadaAND Erica Hendersn, with an evergreen-scented polybag cover variant by Dan Hipp.

In Batman – Santa Claus: The Return of the Silent Knight“Horrors haunt the Christmas season as lifeless bodies litter the countryside, each marked with a strange symbol. The Justice League responds, but it’s a trap!

“The heroes are pulled from our world, but not before Batman helps Robin escape. Now Damian Wayne must search for Zatanna and the one and only Santa Claus if there is any hope of saving their friends and family.

“Santa Claus comes to the aid of the heroes of the DCU in the crossover-event sequel you’ve been longing for! And you must have been especially good because a wintry mix of DC’s wildest characters arrives this time to face a powerful foe… the Silent Knight!”

Parker shared his thoughts on the project, saying, “I was blown away by the positive reception to last year’s SILENT KNIGHT series; readers responded positively to us diving headfirst into the Norse mythology of Santa Claus in the DCU.

“We followed the old tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas (remember the line in ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’?). Then being asked if I wanted to do another one AND have an extra number? That was Happy New Year.”

Ketner added, “The first SILENT KNIGHT series wasn’t exactly what I expected, and I loved it for that. Jeff has an uncanny ability to take an idea like a Batman/Santa Claus team-up and play it straight with a great story, new DC lore, and a real threat. There’s humor, of course, but it’s much more effective when the stakes are real.”

Parker continued: “Since Lukas began working on SILENT KNIGHT RETURNS, our inboxes have been inundated with images better than anyone could have ever imagined.

“The Bat Office got us off to a good start early, so we had that rare moment of planning to really build the story and create a menacing, creepy villain. Cool monsters, exotic locations—you’ll love the clever details Lukas works in, it’ll reward multiple reads.”

Ketner continued, “I come from a background in horror comics and cartoons, but when Jeff first brought up the possibility of a next SILENT KNIGHT chapter, I had a real ‘put me in there, Coach!’ moment.

“The story has a great fantasy-horror vibe and I love that it could easily have been a DC Halloween series.”

Parker said: “We also have to welcome back maestro Michele Bandini who is designing the scenes of the lost Justice League in The Hollow Kingdom of the Knight. You’ll see a lot of the creatures he designed return, so there’s another direct connection to the first series.

“Maybe you should reread it before SILENT KNIGHT RETURNS comes out in November (picture me winking at Superman).”

Ketner said: “The team is fantastic and I’m thrilled to be alternating scenes with Michele Bandini. I loved his work on the first series and couldn’t wait to draw some of the monsters he introduced there. Sharing the page with Marcelo Maiolo’s colors and Patrick Brosseau’s lettering is nothing short of humbling.”

The series will be released weekly on Wednesdays between November 27 and December 25.