From Bleeding Cool

DC Comics has reminded retailers that, rather than the JH Williams III/Hayden Blackman story for Batwoman #25, the book will now be a tie-in to Batman’s “Zero Year” storyline, written by Marc Andreyko, with art by Trevor McCarthy and Jim Fern and a cover by Stephane Roux. So not the cover solicited right…

Kate Kane is called home to attend a family funeral. But when an electrical storm creates havoc for the people of Gotham City, an inexperienced Kate can’t deny her duty to protect the innocent!

But it will also now be a 40-page issue and cost $3.99.

Batwoman #25 Solicit from DCs Site

The no-holds-barred battle between Batwoman and Batman threatens to kill them both!

Written by: Marc Andreyko

Art by: Jim Fern - Trevor McCarthy - Andrea Mutti - Patrick Olliffe - Jay Leisten - Tom Nguyen

Cover by: Stephane Roux

Variant Cover by: Stephane Roux

Color/B&W: Color

On Sale Date: Nov 20 2013

It's actually more like 32 pages with the ads and everything, but considering the majority of 22-page comics on the market are $3.99, 32 pages for that amount isn't too bad.

Have they released a Zero Year tie-in cover for this title yet?

@citizenbane: Non that I have found

Well I suppose it's O.K. to raise it for extra content, as long as they're not trying to raise the price for standard issues.

I wonder why there are 6 artists working on it though.

Wait, does this mean they're going to do something weird and have both the zero year story and the completion of issue 24's story?

I guess they could shoehorn bits of the original issue 25 into the end of the newly-expanded book, that might work. I'd buy the issue under those circumstances.

However, if I was being cynical I'd say the increased size is just there to justify the increased price, and together those factors are being implemented so that when the book sells badly due to fan backlash the editors can point to the price as an alternative explanation when the shareholders come calling. Usually I wouldn't accuse DC of being so cheap and petty but after the fiasco of pulling issue 25/26 just to spite the departing team, I no longer consider anything beneath their standards.

As far as I know, #25 was completed and handed to the editors, so Trevor McCarthys name being on it could indicate that they've pieced together a shortened ending from it.