Over at EW.com, news has broken that filmmaker and noted comic fan Kevin Smith is not only returning to the world of comics, but to Gotham City, re-teaming with his BATMAN: CACOPHONY collaborator Walt Flanagan for BATMAN: THE WIDENING GYRE, a six-issue mini-series starring the Dark Knight, slated to be followed by another Batman mini six months after the conclusion of "volume one." Here's a snippet of what Smith had to say:

"The Widening Gyre is a 12-issue Batman mini-series split into two volumes, with a half year break between each. Issues one through six (Book I) will ship monthly. Then, the story goes on hold for six months. Then, issues seven through 12 (Book II) will once again ship monthly. Yes, I built in the break to insure we don't run into my usual problems with lateness. But I'm trying to improve, folks: first six scripts and first issue's art -- by Cacophony artist Walt Flanagan -- were already done before we took this public."

EW.com has a first look at an interior, inked page by Flanagan and Art Thibert. If that's not enough for you, check out the pencils for the same page above. BATMAN: THE WIDENING GYRE #1 hits in August.