Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Bad Seeds, Batman Part II, gotham, poison ivy, sebastian stan, Victor Zsasz

Official: Victor Zsasz Is Coming To Batman

Official: Victor Zsasz Is Coming To Batman... even though it seems that it's meant to be a secret. What does this all mean?

These are the bookend covers by Dan Mora for the Batman: Bad Seeds event coming to the Batman comic books in October and November. The first is for the Bad Seeds: Sunrise one-shot, and the latter for Bad Seeds: Sunset. Note Victor Zsasz in the far right of the final issue of the event. He hasn't been mentioned in any DC Comics solicitations, but he're right there on a variant cover of the final issue of the comic book, for October.

We haven't seen Victor Zsasz  appear in a Batman comic book from DC Comics for some time, just an appearance in the Two-Face mini-series in 2025, a group shot in Doomsday Clock, and before that, All-Star Batman.

Victor Zsasz first appeared in the DC Comics launch title Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 in 1992 (hey, aren't we getting a new one of them from DC Next Level, possibly by Deniz Camp and Javier Rordiguez?) and was created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. A sadomasochistic, psychopathic serial killer, he carves a fresh mark into his own flesh for every person he kills. He views life as inherently meaningless and full of suffering, and that murdering people frees or saves them from existence. He was played on the TV series Gotham by Anthony Carrigan, on Birds Of Prey by Chris Messina, and there are rumours that he will be played by Sebastian Stan in the upcoming movie The Batman Part II.  So this would make quite a timely appearance… migth DC want to build him up from October 2026 until October 2027? Might there even be a San Diego Comic-Con announcement on the same week that the solicitations for Batman: Bad Seeds: Sunrise will be released?

Oh, also, while we are here, the dirigible appears to be Vandal Savage's new headquarters, his eye in the sky, from the cover of Detective Comics #1113. It looks like Vandal Savage and his GCPD team will take to the skies to avoid the prehistoric plants of Poison Ivy taking over Gotham… but by the looks of those tendrils, it may not have worked.

Here's how it's all looking so far…

BATMAN BAD SEEDS SUNSET #1 (ONE SHOT)
(W) Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson (A/CA) Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn
THE BATMAN: BAD SEEDS EVENT STARTS HERE! MATT FRACTION, G. WILLOW WILSON, GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, AND CLIFF RATHBURN KICK OFF AN ALL-NEW BATMAN EVENT! Gotham City's new 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 daylight. 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. Storylines converge in Batman: Bad Seeds, a Gotham City event spanning one long, dark night in Gotham that threatens to turn the entire city into a hostile world of prehistoric plant life unlike anything on Earth for millennia, at a time when its greatest heroes are hunted and in hiding. As the sun goes down and Gotham loses power, Matt Fraction (Batman), G. Willow Wilson (Poison Ivy), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Absolute Evil), and Cliff Rathburn (The Walking Dead) deliver an unforgettable opening chapter that shows the only thing scarier than the night just might be the morning sun…
$5.99 8/26/2026

GOTHAM GENERAL #1

STORY: GREG RUCKA
ART: ROSA EKEDAL
COVER A: ROSA EKEDAL
Welcome to General, Gotham City's tier one trauma center.
Power is out, fires are burning, transpo is shot, and the calls just keep coming. There are more patients than beds, half presenting with respiratory complications, the other half suffering hallucinogenic psychotic episodes. In every other emergency department in the DCU, this would be a catastrophe.
For Dr. Ava Dastur and the men and women working at General, it's a Tuesday.
DC Comics is pleased to introduce you to the staff of Gotham General. No capes, no costumes, and don't call them heroes, this is their job.
$4.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 2 | Variant $5.99 US (card stock) | Variant $7.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/9/26

GOTHAM CENTRAL #1

STORY: CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL
ART: JACOB PHILLIPS
COVER A: JACOB PHILLIPS
A killer is on the loose, someone is stalking Arkham Towers' Dr. Zeller, the subways are out of control, and Anarky's just pulled a big-time heist! With Vandal Savage diverting the GCPD's resources to his single-minded war against the Bats and the Bat-Family trying to stop Poison Ivy while evading the GCPD, there's almost no one left to do actual police work! Looks like officers Gordon and Espinoza have their work cut out for them.
$4.99 US | 32 pages | 1 of 2 | Variant $5.99 US (card stock) | Variant $7.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/9/26

BATMAN #13

STORY: MATT FRACTION
ART: MATTEO SCALERA
COVER A: MATTEO SCALERA
Somewhere in the headquarters of the Gotham City Police Department, Vandal Savage hides a chemical weapon designed to kill Poison Ivy … but if Ivy dies, there will be no ending the bad night of Bad Seeds, for Gotham City or anywhere else.
No power. No comms. A heavily-armed private militia tasked with bringing him down on orders of the worst person in Gotham. All holed up together within an impenetrable fortress.
This sounds like a job for Batman.
Eisner winner Matt Fraction and superstar artist Matteo Scalera deliver a crucial chapter of the Batman: Bad Seeds event!
$4.99 US | 40 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock) | Variant $7.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/2/26

DETECTIVE COMICS #1113

STORY: TOM TAYLOR
ART: JEFF SPOKES
COVER A: MIKEL JANÍN
Spores, vines, and lumbering floronic monsters have invaded the Dark Knight's city. Now, as chaos runs rampant in the streets Batman has sworn to protect, Batman finds that Vandal Savage and his TUCO squads may prove even more deadly than the prehistoric flora that has taken the city for its own. Can Batman save Gotham from this lethal convergence of human evil and verdant violence before it's too late? Find out in this can't-miss issue that continues directly where Batman #13 leaves off!
Also featuring a back-up story showcasing the winning villain design from the BUILDING BAD sweepstakes!
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock) | Variant $7.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/16/26

BATWOMAN #7

STORY: GREG RUCKA
ART: DaNi
COVER A: DaNi
It was supposed to be a quick return trip before heading back to Greece, but with Batwoman now seen as a cold-blooded killer in the public eye, Commissioner Savage declaring open season on anyone who wears the Bat, and Poison Ivy's "urban renewal initiative" sprouting chaos in the streets, it's going to be a long night … especially when Batman reaches out with a mission to get comms back up between the heroes. Maybe she should've watered her plants before she left …
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock) | Variant $6.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/16/26

BATGIRL #23

STORY: TATE BROMBAL
ART: TAKESHI MIYAZAWA
COVER A: DAVID TALASKI
Batgirl was supposed to finally have one night off at Bà Bao's noodle shop, but when Gotham erupts into a nightmare of prehistoric plant life, suddenly she is the sole protector of an entire restaurant of Gotham citizens. With a bounty on her head and a lethal jungle crawling with monsters outside, will Batgirl survive the night … or will this night off actually kill her?
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock) | Variant $6.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/2/26

CATWOMAN #91

STORY: TORUNN GRØNBEKK
ART: DANILO BEYRUTH
COVER A: SEBA FIUMARA
With the city in disarray, Catwoman sets out to make the best of the situation and do the one thing absolutely no one else would dare: break into Vandal Savage's home.
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock) | Variant $6.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/16/26

NIGHTWING #142

STORY: DAN WATTERS
ART: DAVID LAPHAM
COVER A: JORGE FORNÉS
When Gotham is struck by a terraforming disaster, the downwind city of Blüdhaven falls victim to unanticipated side effects. After a truck full of TNT is stolen from a Bludhaven construction yard, Nightwing learns it's headed toward Gotham as a form of righteous vengeance for everything the city has done to Blüdhaven … and only he might be fast enough to stop it before things get explosive.
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock) | Variant $7.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/16/26

HARLEY QUINN #66

STORY: ELLIOTT KALAN
ART: CARLOS OLIVARES
COVER A: BAILIE ROSENLUND
Ahh, finally time for a nice relaxing, what the heck?! I just got my life back to normal, and now the whole city is gettin' torn apart by prehistoric plants, poisonous pollen, and ahhh … dangit, I ran outta P words for alliteration, so uhhh … terrible treeoids? I got a bad feeling my one true love, Poison Ivy, is behind alla this. I guess I gotta get my butt down to City Hall stat!
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock) | Variant $6.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/23/26

POISON IVY #48

STORY: G. WILLOW WILSON
ART: MARCIO TAKARA
COVER A: JESSICA FONG
With Gotham City firmly in Poison Ivy's grasp, the verdant villainess's powers are at an all-time high. Now that Batman's forces and Ivy's traitorous former allies are all ground down to a pulp beneath her, is there anyone left to stand in Ivy's way? Absolutely not. It's time to get in line or die.
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock) | Variant $6.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 9/30/26

BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #1 by Matt Fraction and Mariko Tamaki.
No more details. October 2026.

• BATMAN #14 by Matt Fraction, Matteo Scalera and Tomeu Morey
• BATGIRL #23 by Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mike Spicer
• GOTHAM GENERAL #2 by Greg Rucka, Rosa Ekedal and Patricio Angel
• GOTHAM CENTRAL #2 by Christopher Cantwell and Jacob Phillips
• DETECTIVE COMICS #1114 by Tom Taylor and Jeff Spokes
• NIGHTWING #143 by Dan Watters. David Lapham and Francesco Segala
• CATWOMAN #92 by Torunn Gronbekk, Danilo Beyruth and Patricio Angel
• BATWOMAN #8 by Greg Rucka, Dani and Matt Hollingsworth
• HARLEY QUINN #67 by Elliott Kalan, Carlos Olivares and Marissa Louise
• POISON IVY #48 by G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara and Arif Prianto

BATMAN: BAT SEEDS: SUNSET #1 by Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cliff Rathburn, Tomeu Morey
The epic finale to Batman: Bad Seeds! Who will survive… and what will be left of them?! At sunset, Poison Ivy unleashed an attack that transformed Gotham City into a prehistoric nightmare. If she isn't stopped by the first light of dawn, the city will be lost forever… along with all who dwell there. With the clock ticking, Batman and his allies will put it all on the line to save the day before everything changes forever at sunrise. The earth-shattering conclusion to Batman: Bad Seeds in an oversize special that shows the only thing more impossible to survive than this night in Gotham… is the day.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!