Who Needs Batman? Joker Gets His Own Comic Series in 2021

Joker is widely regarded as Batman's greatest nemesis, but few have attempted to make the Clown Prince of Crime the main protagonist in a DC comic. That will change in March 2021 when DC launches a new ongoing series simply titled The Joker.

The new series is an offshoot of the current Batman series from writer James Tynion IV, one that builds on Joker's uncertain status quo following the events of Joker War. Joker may have survived his latest run-in with Batman and gone into hiding overseas, but things aren't exactly looking up for him. He's missing an eye (courtesy of Harley Quinn) and dealing with the sting of being left to die by the Dark Knight. Making matters worse, Commissioner Gordon is about to retire, and he's made it his mission to bring Joker to justice before he does. Worse, it seems Bane also has a bone to pick with Mister J. In short, the deck is really stacked against Joker in 2021.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to see all the covers revealed for Joker #1 so far:

Joker Breaks Free From Batman in These Creepy DC Covers

Tynion will write this spinoff, with Batman artist Guillem March also making the jump. Each issue will also feature a backup story co-written by Tynion and Sam Johns and drawn by Mirka Andolfo. This same team previously collaborated on November's Punchline #1 special, and their new story will again focus on Joker's new sidekick. In this ongoing story, Alexis Kaye deals with her newfound celebrity and becoming an inmate at Blackgate Penitentiary. Meanwhile, Harper Row will take up the mantle of Bluebird once again after finding Punchline's influence is warping her brother's mind.

“When I was approached by DC about the concept of an ongoing series spotlighting The Joker, I thought, ‘What would that book even look like?,’” said Tynion in DC's press release. “I’m excited to share this story in a way that honors everything that a series about The Joker can be, while coming at if from an exciting, unexpected angle. I’m also thrilled to continue working with Sam and Mirka to expand the Punchline story we began in November as a back-up feature in this new ongoing Joker series. The Joker War was only the beginning of the terror and mayhem we’re creating!”

While DC has published a handful of stories with Joker as the main protagonist (most notably 1994's Joker: Going Sane and 2008's Joker graphic novel), this is actually only the second time the company has published an ongoing Joker comic. The Joker Vol. 1 ran for nine issues in 1975 before being abruptly canceled. DC belatedly reprinted the unpublished issue #10 in 2019 as part of the hardcover collection The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus.

The Joker #1 is priced at $4.99 and is scheduled for release on March 9, 2021.

A new Joker series is just one of many projects DC has planned for early 2021. January and February will see DC switch gears to Future State, a massive crossover that reveals the fate of the DCU ten years into the future. Following that, DC will launch a number of new ongoing series in March, all aimed at welcoming new readers in the aftermath of Dark Nights: Death Metal. But unlike DC's past Crisis events, Death Metal isn't intended to reboot DC's complex history.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.