No Batman, no problem: Detective Comics' February 2022 issues highlight Gotham's other heroes

Detective Comics #1054 cover
Detective Comics #1054 cover (Image credit: Irvin Rodriguez (DC))

Batman may be leaving Gotham City, but his (former) main title Detective Comics isn't slowing down from the looks of its February 2022 issues. Detective Comics, which will begin shipping weekly in late December, is diving into a three-month long 'Shadows of the Bat' event that follows the remaining Bat-Family with their first real challenge post-Batman - the hole the destroyed Arkham Asylum leaves in Gotham, and the attempt to replace it ( the Arkham Tower) that ends up going horribly wrong.

Detective Comics #1052 cover (Image credit: Irvin Rodriguez (DC))

Detective Comics series writer Mariko Tamaki continues on the title in February 2022, writing the main story in Detective Comics #1051 through #1054, joined by artist Max Raynor on all four weekly issues. They will delve deeper into the mystery surrounding Arkham Tower, and the cruel and conniving experimenter Dr. Wear who is using it as means for his own ends.

And while Batman isn't in Detective Comics' main story, his shadow looms onto the backup serial story 'House of Gotham' by writer Matthew Rosenberg and Fernando Blanco, which continues in all four of the series' February 2022 issues. 

The serial, which is set to begin in January 4, 2022's Detective Comics #1047, follows the impact Batman and Arkham Asylum have had on the city - particularly on one young boy who was saved from the Joker by Batman early in his life - but carries trauma with him that leads him to be institutionalized at Arkham Asylum.

As far as covers go, February 2022's Detective Comics will all feature a main cover by Irvin Rodriguez, a variant cover by Lee Bermejo, and a hard-to-find variant cover by Jorge Fornes only available in a 1:25 ratio (for every 25 copies of the issue a retailer buys, they can buy one copy of Fornes' variant cover).

Here's a look at all of Irvin Rodriguez's covers for Detective Comics #1051 - #1054:

Here's the February 2022 schedule for each 40-page issue of Detective Comics featuring the two serialized stories:

  • February 1, 2022: Detective Comics #1051
  • February 8, 2022: Detective Comics #1052
  • February 15, 2022: Detective Comics #1053
  • February 22, 2022: Detective Comics #1054

DC has been quietly showing how even without Batman, the remaining Bat-Family are ready to be Gotham's protectors. 

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)

Read more
Batman is the Dark Knight.
All the new Batman comics, graphic novels, and collections from DC in 2025
Batman (2025) #1
DC’s new Batman relaunch finally has me excited to follow the Caped Crusader again
Young Bruce and Selina run.
Absolute Batman #3 teases a new origin for the Riddler and delves into Bruce and Selina's childhoods
Cover art for DC Power: Rise of the Power Company.
DC's Black History Month 2025 plans will revive a long dormant super-team with Batman, Vixen, and more on board
Absolute Batman in action.
Absolute Batman innovates by presenting us with a Caped Crusader who is still a work in progress
Absolute Batman in the snow.
Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder teases the arrival of Robin, crossovers with Superman and Wonder Woman, and building up to the Joker
Latest in Comics
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains #1
Meet the Venomouse, an all new Eddie Brock, and more in Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains #1
Superman surrounded by the exploding Krypton.
Absolute Superman #5 puts a devastating new spin on the Man of Steel's origin story
Ms. Marvel alongside the mutants of Age of Apocalypse
30 years after the original Age of Apocalypse, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel to the alt-reality to save X-Men history
Superman and the rest of the Super family at Pride.
DC Pride 2025: A revamped special issue starring Green Lantern Alan Scott, new books, and a host of variant covers
The Punisher holding two machine guns in the rain
Daredevil: Born Again - Learn the bullet-riddled comic book history of the Punisher before he officially joins the MCU
Latest in News
Ori director says Microsoft thought the beloved Metroidvania was too hard, but he's "on the Miyazaki side" and believes "you have to overcome challenge"
Overwatch 2
Xbox's new gaming AI aims to "help you get good" at everything from Overwatch 2 to Minecraft by watching you play and giving you advice
Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice 2 star Jenna Ortega would love to star in another classic horror comedy franchise: Gremlins
Baldur's Gate 3 mind flayer with pale purple skin and facial tentacles stares ahead with glowing yellow eyes
Console players, good news – you might be able to play custom Baldur's Gate 3 campaigns soon, thanks to the D&D RPG's official mod manager
Horizon Forbidden West
As Sony trots out an AI-powered Aloy, Horizon Zero Dawn fans revel in the irony: "The entire game is a warning against this kind of nonsense"
Terminid creature miniature for the Helldivers 2 Board game
Helldivers 2 board game inbound from the same studio as the Monster Hunter World adaptation