Things will get even darker in Gotham City in August as DC launches Fear State, a horror-themed event that will bring together plot threads from its Future State and Infinite Frontier events and launch several new series and storylines. 

The status quo going into the event: With The Scarecrow still posing a threat, Mayor Christopher Nakano has cut a deal with The Magistrate to protect Gotham City, but his authoritarian tactics are not sitting well with the locals. Here’s how it will play out in August:

I Am Batman #0, by writer John Ridley and artist Travel Foreman, directly follows the events of The Next Batman: Second Son as Jace Fox pulls together the Batman armor and tech he found in the Hibernaculum and heads out to fight The Magistrate’s minions. The 40-page comic will go on sale August 10 with an MSRP of $4.99. There will be three card stock variants by Dave Williams and Derrick Chew and a 1:125 card stock variant Riccardo Federici, all priced at $5.99.

Catwoman #34, by write Ram V and artist Fernando Blanco, follows Selena Kyle’s mission to shield Alleytown from both the lawbreakers and the law enforcers. Plus Batman drops in, despite their agreement to stay apart for a year. The 32-page comic, with a main cover by Yanick Paquette, will go on sale on August 17 with an MSRP of $3.99. The card stock variant by Jenny Frison will be priced at $4.99.

Harley Quinn #6, by writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Laura Braga, with a main cover by Riley Rossmo, brings Harley and Catwoman together to rid Alleytown of The Magistrate once and for all. The 32-page comic will go on sale on August 24 with an MSRP of $3.99; the card stock variant by Derrick Chew will have an MSRP of $4.99.

Batman: Fear State Alpha #1, by writer James Tynion IV and artist Riccardo Federici, kicks off a whole new storyline as Fear State has the denizens of Gotham City looking over their shoulders and Batman faces not only The Scarecrow and Peacekeeper-01 but also the return of Poison Ivy and the appearance of a mysterious new foe, the anti-Oracle. The 40-page comic with a main cover by Ben Oliver will go on sale August 31 with an MSRP of $4.99. Variants include one by Dylan Teague, a 1:25 variant by Jorge Jimenez, and a 1:50 variant by Francesco Mattina; the card stock variants will be priced at $5.99.

Finally, the story continues in Batman #112-117, starting in September, and artist Jorge Molina is creating six variant covers that link together to create an image of all the heroes and villains in this event.

Click on Gallery to see main and variant covers!