The BATMAN creative team are ready to "BLOW. SH*T. UP."

So it's an exciting time to be a Batfan! A lot of awesome things are in the pipeline for the Dark Knight Detective! The creators in charge of Batman are some of the most talented people working in the business and I am beyond greatful that they get to put their talent towards my all-time favourite character. So let's discuss!

The current story arc, I Am Bane has just wrapped up and now that it is done, Bane will be getting his own solo series, by his original creators too! Writer Chuck Dixon and artist Graham Nolan return for the new series, beginning May 3rd.

So after after a few months of Batman and Bane beating the crap out of each other, we move on to the four part crossover with The Flash. Two issues occurring in Batman (#21 and #22) and two in The Flash (#21 and #22). "The Button" is a storyline which follows on from DC's Rebirth event. It's all about how the Comedian's button (from The Watchmen) ended up in the DC universe, specifically, in the Batcave. The event will feature the Reverse Flash too, who remembers everything about Flashpoint, which is the event that kicked off the New 52! If you're a fan of the DC universe or the Watchmen then this is a story that's not to be missed!

Artist Mitch Gerad's returns for Batman #23, in which Swamp Thing will be making a guest appearance. The story may or may not be called "The Brave and the Mould", we can only hope so! If you've seen Gerad's previous work on Batman then you know that he is very talented! He is also a frequent collaborator with Tom King as they previously worked together on "Sheriff of Babylon".

After that, Tom King has confirmed that we will learn all about "The War of Jokes and Riddles", which was hinted at during a recent issue of Batman. The Riddler tells Bane to let Batman know that he still remembers what happened. This new story takes place one year after Batman first starts out on his crusade. The Joker and the Riddler are at war with one another, and Batman is obviously caught in the middle. They are clashing because neither one wants the other to kill Batman and rob them of the satisfaction. According to King, we will see some really cool fights as villains take sides, such as Deadshot vs Deathstroke and Solomon Grundy vs Killer Croc.

It has also been confirmed through Tom King's twitter that this story will then link in with something in modern day. Specifically, that it was revealed that there have been three different Jokers. We will hopefully find out exactly that means!

Over summer, the Batman dream team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are returning to the character to helm the big event: Dark Nights: Metal. These guys absolutely crushed it the whole way through The New 52 so the hype is pretty strong for this event! Scott Snyder has said that the event spans the whole DC universe, not just Gotham. He and Capullo have apparently been hinting at it and working towards it ever since they started on Batman way back at the beginning of the New 52, in 2011! On twitter, Capullo was asked what the plan is for his return to the character. His answer was simple: Blow. Shit. Up.

So as you can see, Batman has a fair amount of trials and tribulations to face. I haven't even mentioned them all here, he's also going to be teaming up with The Shadow and taking on Elmur Fudd! (Yes, the Looney Toon!) He may be having a difficult time but thankfully that means that we readers get to have a GREAT time! The only problem is that with all these comics my bank account will be taking almost as much of a beating as Batman will be...