As BATMAN careens toward its landmark 700th issue, Dick Grayson’s life as the Dark Knight inches dangerously close to the edge. With the Falcone crime family and the Riddler making a mess of Gotham, Batman finds himself completely occupied and unable to see the shocking surprise that’s sure to blindside him.

Writer Tony Daniel and guest artist Guillem March present the latest issue, which you can take a sneak peek at below.

BATMAN #699 hits 5/12.

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With BATMAN writer/artist Tony Daniel taking a brief break to gear up for the major fireworks hitting the Dark Knight in the pages of BATMAN #700, it was a no-brainer to call up GOTHAM CITY SIRENS artist Guillem March for a two-issue Gotham romp, focusing on the fallout of the big Black Mask reveal. Batman Group Editor Mike Marts was kind enough to email me a few pages of Guillem’s lovely work after I whined a bit, and it was well worth it. Check ‘em out below.

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Why stop with BRIGHTEST DAY, right? Click below for a look at all the Batman-related titles shipping in April, including BATMAN AND ROBIN, STREETS OF GOTHAM, BATGIRL and OUTSIDERS.

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM — MADNESS HC

Advance-solicited • On sale June 23 • 112 pg, FC, $19.99 US

Written by SAM KIETH • Art and cover by SAM KIETH

An original Batman graphic novel set in Arkham Asylum from Sam Kieth, creator of THE MAXX!

It is the most feared house in all of Gotham City. It contains the worst that the city has to offer. It is the place The Dark Knight’s most dangerous and psychotic foes call home. Writer/artist Sam Kieth, creator of THE MAXX and artist of the acclaimed miniseries LOBO: HIGHWAY TO HELL, invites you to spend 24 hours in Arkham Asylum – the most unsettling house in the DC Universe.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #11

On sale APRIL 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by GRANT MORRISON

Art by ANDY CLARKE & SCOTT HANNA

Cover by FRANK QUITELY

1:25 Variant cover by ANDY CLARKE

“Batman vs. Robin” part 2 of 3! The Dynamic Duo fight it out in the ultimate duel to the finish. Meanwhile, Robin’s mother, Talia al Ghul, sends an old adversary of Dick Grayson’s to complete the job that her son may not be able to stomach!

Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

BATMAN: THE WIDENING GYRE #6

On sale APRIL 28 • 6 of 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by KEVIN SMITH

Art by WALTER FLANAGAN

Cover by BILL SIENKIEWICZ

1:25 Variant cover by GENE HA

Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan’s Batman tale comes to its startling end! Thanks to Silver St. Cloud, Bruce is trying to learn how to trust people. But Batman is an integral part of who he is, so how can he really trust anyone? Batman even has a run-in with Catwoman because of his relationship with Silver. And when he decides to put all of his trust into someone, will he be rewarded...or punished?

Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

BATMAN #698

On sale APRIL 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by TONY DANIEL

Art by GUILLEM MARCH

Cover by TONY DANIEL

Only two months until BATMAN #700! As the landmark issue nears, Dick Grayson’s life as The Dark Knight heats up in a big way. With Black Mask out of the way for good, the Falcone crime family attempts to fill that void – with no regard for the safety of Gotham City’s citizens! And what’s going on with the Riddler?

DETECTIVE COMICS #864

On sale APRIL 28 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Written by DAVID HINE

Co-feature written by GREG RUCKA

Art by JEREMY HAUN

Co-feature art by CULLY HAMNER

Cover by CLIFF CHIANG

The inmates of Arkham Asylum have taken over DETECTIVE COMICS in “Beneath the Mask” Part 1 of 2! It’s Black Mask verses Jeremiah Arkham for control of the asylum. But what of the enigmatic Three Beauties, and how does Batman fit into the mad plan? Everything that was set up and teased in BATTLE FOR THE COWL: ARKHAM ASYLUM and ARKHAM REBORN is at last revealed, but the answers to the mysteries just might drive everyone – including Batman – mad!

Then, in the co-feature, the spotlight is shone on Renee’s personal life. But just who knows about her secret identity, and what will they do with that information? That is the question...

BATGIRL #9

On sale APRIL 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by BRYAN Q. MILLER

Art by LEE GARBETT & TREVOR SCOTT

Cover by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau

The conclusion to “Batgirl Rising” begins here with part one of the four-part “Flood” storyline! A string of bizarre, technology-based “suicides” gets the attention of both Batgirl and Oracle, but for very different reasons. And the two heroes will soon realize that they’re the real targets of a nefarious madman Hell-bent on revenge…

BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #11

On sale APRIL 21 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Written by PAUL DINI

Co-feature written by MARC ANDREYKO

Art by DUSTIN NGUYEN & DEREK FRIDOLFS

Co-feature art by JEREMY HAUN

Cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN

Batman, Robin and Abuse join forces to combat the frightening strength of Victor Zsasz’s army! Can Batman and his allies save Gotham City’s kidnapped children? And what happens when Abuse spirals out of control?

Meanwhile, in the Manhunter co-feature, the odds are stacked against Kate as she goes up against a new adversary in the courtroom. Her increased frustration with the proceedings gets taken out on every thug in Gotham – but is Manhunter making too many enemies for her own good?

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #11

On sale APRIL 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by PAUL DINI

Art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH

As Gotham City swirls in a maelstrom of evil and villainy, three of the most unlikely candidates – Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn – step forward to bring some light to the situation. But will their efforts enough to stem the tide of madness and mayhem?

OUTSIDERS #29

On sale APRIL 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by DAN DIDIO

Art by DON KRAMER & MICHAEL BABINSKI

Cover by PHILIP TAN & JONATHAN GLAPION

When Looker returns, her bloodlust is strong – and so is the vampire-hunter hoping to drive a stake in her heart. Her only hope for survival is The Outsiders, who are still stranded in Markovia and struggling to determine whose side they’re really on…

RED ROBIN #11

On sale APRIL 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST

Art and cover by MARCUS TO & RAY MCCARTHY

“Collision” races to its conclusion as Ra’s al Ghul’s endgame for Red Robin begins. The Men of Death are on the move in Gotham City, and Red Robin, Batgirl and Prudence set out to stop them from killing everyone Bruce Wayne ever cared about. But before he can take on Ra’s, Red Robin has to get past Gotham City’s own protectors...

AZRAEL #7

On sale APRIL 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by FABIAN NICIEZA • Art by RAMON BACHS & JOHN STANISCI

Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA

His sanity starting to crack, Azrael tracks down Hide ‘n’ Seek, a pair of kidnappers whose actions bring back some very painful, fractured memories for Michael Lane. Can a psychiatrist assigned by the GCPD help Lane keep it together before Azrael goes berserk?

BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #43

On sale APRIL 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Written by SAM KIETH • Art and cover by SAM KIETH

The “Ghosts” storyline comes to a thrilling close! Batman and Callie continue battling their internal ghosts and the external foe who is preying on them. But when they realize they can’t even trust the police, what can they do? Can Batman survive another loss?

It's not a stretch to say Guillem March is one of the most talented artists in the Batman group. Doubly talented when it comes to creating compelling and great-looking covers. So, it was a no-brainer to suggest having him chat on the blog about just what his process is. Especially when the very talented Bat-editors Mike Marts and Janelle Siegel send me some pretty art to post. So, here's his take on the creation of GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #8. Take it away, Guillem:

When I was thinking about a concept for this cover, I focused on Poison Ivy since the issue is about her. I had the idea of a frontal closeup of the face. I like face close-ups and I´ve drawn others, like the covers to Oracle #2 or Gotham City Sirens #2. In this case I went further and the face is so big that it´s only shown partially. It´s a very simple idea, but I don´t remember many covers like this, and that´s the point--making something new and eye catching! I made some layouts of this idea, some of them with additional elements to make the other Sirens appear in the final image.

Once editor Mike Marts and Artistic Director Mark Chiarello had selected one of the layouts, I decided the technique I´d use for it. Sometimes I do painted covers, and sometimes I follow the typical process of penciling, inking and coloring by computer. For this cover I did the same as for the Gotham City Sirens #3 cover, a painted illustration in gray wash, with a plain color applied on it by computer. I drew the face on the back of the DC regular paper so I don´t have any blue guides on it. It was a little bit of a challenge for me, as I´m not used to painting such an oversized view of something that is usually only a few millimeters in the interior art, and it´s easy to lose the sense of proportion. The leaves falling were drawn separately so I could then compose the whole image better by computer.

The last step of coloring had no complications, but has a vital importance for the final result. While coloring I noticed the huge iconic content that the colors of Poison Ivy have. The gray wash shows a woman´s face, but green skin and red hair means Poison Ivy with no doubt, without needing to put the leaves on it.