Earlier this year, we told you that BATMAN #8 will feature the first of a series of back-up stories exploring the dark history of the Court of Owls, the mysterious and malevolent secret society wreaking havoc upon Gotham City.

Today, take an exclusive first look at the issue’s variant cover by fan-favorite artist Jason Fabok.

“The description for this cover was that Batman was being tackled, or smothered by the Court of Owls,” Fabok told THE SOURCE. “The idea of the court reaching down to Batman in a zombie like manner immediately sprang to mind.  Artistically I really wanted to play with the shadows on both Batman and the owl-masked men so I added a strong source light on one side to light the shot. I used my camera on my Macbook to get some rough shadow reference and went from there. I penciled the piece traditionally but inked it digitally on my cintiq. Peter did a great job as usual on colors. I'm very humbled to have had the opportunity to do a BATMAN cover, especially in connection with such an excellent BATMAN run.”

BATMAN #8 is written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Greg Capullo. The back-up story is co-written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV and illustrated by AMERICAN VAMPIRE artist Rafael Albuquerque. Look for the issue in stores on April 18th.