Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, DC Comics | Tagged: Barkham Asylum, fcbd, Yehudi Mercado

Barkham Asylum by Yehudi Mercado Gets 40,000 Print Run From DC Comics

Yehudi Mercado, middle-grade graphic novel about the pets of Gotham’s Super-Villains, Barkham Asylum, has got a 40,000 print run.

Published Sat, 27 Jan 2024 05:58:08 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Barkham Asylum receives a 40,000 first edition print run from DC Comics.
Graphic novel for middle-graders focuses on Gotham’s villainous pets.
Yehudi Mercado, known for Shazam! Thundercrack, helms the project.
Set to release May 7, 2024, following Free Comic Book Day preview.

Last year it was announced that Yehudi Mercado, who wrote and drew the well-received Shazam! Thundercrack DCEU graphic novel for DC Comics (and a less-than-well received Miles Morales comic for Marvel) was working on something new for next year from DC Comics, an ages 8–12 middle-grade graphic novel about the pets of Gotham's Super-Villains, Barkham Asylum, to be published in February, 2024. However, all orders were cancelled, and the graphic novel was delayed until the 7th of May, when it is now coming out a few days after a Free Comic Book Day preview is published. We have now learned that DC Comics has afforded it a 40,000 print run for the first printing.

"Who's a good boy? Jester is. Well, he wants to be. Maybe he is? He's the Joker's dog so of course he's funny, but his sense of humor is about to be put to the test. Because when the super-villains of Gotham get thrown into Arkham, their henchpets go to the maximum-security pound known as Barkham Asylum. Being the Clown Prince of Crime's dog doesn't win him any friends behind bars, especially after he gets a tough-talking stray cat named Penny tossed into lockup with him. But they'll have to work together to figure out what the evil Warden Shar Pei's helper, Dr. Hugo Mange, is up to. And the only way to stop this terrifying team-up is to win the talent show and get visitation with their masters at Arkham on the hill. Because the Joker is sure to help! What could go wrong with that plan? And where does Gotham's premier playboy Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred fit in?"

"When crafting this graphic novel, I pulled some inspiration from my own experience growing up," said Yehudi Mercado. "I was a class clown in school and as a result of that, I spent a lot of time in detention. So I can kind of relate to the lead dog, Jester, in my own way. All Jester wants is to make people laugh, so in his mind, his master isn't such a bad guy. Locked up with him is an innocent stray cat named Penny, a loner who rejects Jester's request to join his pack. But if they're going to get out of this mess, they will have to team up. And if a stray cat and The Joker's dog can get along, then maybe there's hope for all of us!"