During ComicsPro last February, DC announced Batman: Bad Seeds, a Gotham City-centric event arriving this year. Today the publisher unveiled details for the upcoming Batman event which kicks off in August and runs through October. The storyline sees perrenial Batman foe and current Gotham City mayor Poison Ivy unleash eco-terror that transforms Gotham into a hostile landscape of prehistoric plant life. Bad Seeds takes place during one long, dark night, as Gotham’s heroes, villains, and civilians fight to survive.
Official details from the publisher:
Led by showrunners Matt Fraction and G. Willow Wilson, Batman: Bad Seeds is a Gotham-wide comic book crossover that pulls every corner of the city into the crisis. While Fraction (Batman) and Wilson (Poison Ivy) steer the event’s core narrative, the writers and artists behind Detective Comics, Batgirl, Batwoman, Catwoman, Nightwing, and Harley Quinn each deliver pivotal chapters that track Gotham’s transformation as the night deepens. Across ten weeks, readers will follow the crisis as it spreads from block to block, title to title.
As Ivy’s plants spread, Gotham begins to mutate—buildings swallowed by vines, streets overtaken by carnivorous flora, and entire neighborhoods reverting to a primordial state. With the Bat-Family hunted, the GCPD fractured under Commissioner Vandal Savage’s militarized rule, and civilians trapped in a city turning against them, Gotham City becomes a living battleground where every chapter brings a new evolution.
It all begins on August 26 with the release of Poison Ivy #47 which will serve as a Batman: Bad Seeds prelude. Written by G. Willow Wilson with art by Leandro Fernandez, a main cover by Jessica Fong, and variant covers by Noobovich, Kyuyong Eom, and Manny Vincent Carbonilla. According to the publisher “this prelude issue reveals that Gotham City is done with Mayor Pamela Isley—there’s just one problem for everyone there: she’s not done with them.”
Poison Ivy #47 main cover by Jessica Fong
Poison Ivy #47 variant cover by Manny Vincent Carbonilla
Poison Ivy #47 variant cover by Noobovich
Poison Ivy #47 variant cover by Kyuyong Eom
August 26 will also see the release of Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1 which marks the official beginning of the event.
Written by Matt Fraction and G. Willow Wilson with art and cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn, and Tomeu Morey, plus variant covers by Dan Mora, Marcio Takara, Jorge Jiménez, and Jeff Spokes (Glow-in-the-Dark), this unforgettable first chapter opens as the sun goes down and Gotham loses power, showing that the only thing scarier than the night…might just be the morning sun. Gotham City’s mayor, Pamela Isley—deserted by her allies both political and arcane—is about to make a last-ditch power play that will leave Gotham decimated by daybreak. Having already declared war on the Bat-Family and flooded the streets with his private, paramilitarized police army, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage sees an opportunity to solve two problems at once!
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1 main cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn and Tomeu Morey
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1 variant cover by Dan Mora
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1 variant cover by Marcio Takara
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset #1 variant cover by Jorge Jiménez
The storyline continues in September and October not only in the pages of Batman and Poison Ivy but other Bat-Family titles including Detective Comics, Batgirl, Batwoman, Catwoman, Nightwing, and Harley Quinn, alongside several new event titles. Stay tuned for more details on these chapters in the coming months.
