Batman #15

So Scott Snyder is jumping quickly into another crossover, this time updating the Joker for the new 52. There’s no denying that a faceless Joker is pretty damn spooky. Should his face be infected? I’d think so, but maybe he’s so crazy that doesn’t matter. In any case, Snyder is working hard to amp up the Joker’s damage so that he’s a bigger threat for Bats. 

Here’s my problem (and this actually pre-dates this storyline) with the Joker: Someone should just kill him. Like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, someone this crazy, this deadly, and with so high a body count? I don’t care how crazy they are, or if their insanity means they don’t get the death penalty. With this much evil perpetrated by one fiend, Batman is practically evil by allowing him to live. And hell, surely one cop or another would be taking him out after Joker killed a dozen of them with his bare hands last issue! Seriously! At a certain point, the escalation has to stop or the whole suspension of disbelief fails. The only reason for Joker to still be alive is so that the intellectual property is available for later stories from DC comics. 

That’s not to say there isn’t drama here. I like seeing the Bat family arguing with Bruce, especially when drawn so beautifully by Greg Capullo. His Bruce Wayne is way too young, but he does a nice job on the others. Nightwing in particular looks square-jawed and heroic. He looks like the family friendly Batman that Dick Grayson was always meant to be. No one else gets much to do, but this is Batman’s solo book after all. 

Again, we’re dealing with very little established continuity. We know Killing Joke still happened, and clearly the reservoir battle, and now we find out about some balloon battle. Maybe new 52 Joker hasn’t done so much bad stuff? I know it makes me a nerd, but I like understanding the greater history when these two meet. 

Fair

Batman #13

Wow. I’ll tell you one job I would not want: police officer in Gotham City. I mean, the opportunities for bribery seem to be really high, but the Joker kills a lot of cops every time he starts a new storyline. Heck, most of the villains get to do that!

I’m a little puzzled by the murder spree that opens this comic. The Joker has always been threatening, but I never figured he was the multiple neck-snapping type. Scott Snyder writes Joker as an extremely capable physical opponent. I suppose that will make him a bigger challenge for Bats, but seems like a pretty dramatic power upgrade for the character.

Snyder does a nice job establishing the “family” that is in danger for this arc. Nightwing, Red Robin, Damian, and Batgirl are all targets for Mr. J, so it makes sense that they are given some panel time. The focus remains squarely on Batman, since this is his solo title, but the stage is set. There is one more family member in a bit more danger at the close of the issue; we’ll see how that works out.

I didn’t find the back-up story to be necessary at all. That’s been the continuing trend since DC upped the price and added the feature. The main story has been good all along, but those second stories are the definition of page-fillers.

Greg Capullo is clearly having fun with the Clown Prince of Crime. That last page cliff-hanger is awful. I also like that on pages with the power cutting out, Capullo still draws a lot of the action for Gordon. It would be mighty easy to just layer some dialogue over black panels!

This is the big coming-out party for the Joker in the new 52, and this is the second line-wide crossover inspired by Scott Snyder’s Batman title. This is clearly the biggest mover and shaker in the DCnU line, and DC is wisely putting the focus on this title. I’ve got a lot of problems with the DC line as a whole these days, but I can’t find much fault with this book.

Good

Back Issue Review: Detective Comics #569 & 570

I’ve got to get quicker on my reading so I can still make digital recommendations while Comixology is selling comics for cheap! They had a nice Catwoman sale last weekend, and I grabbed these two old issues, but now the price has hopped back up to $1.99 each. They are probably worth it, though.

Mike W. Barr writes the Batman of a different era. He says “Chum” all the time, he makes witty comments, and he calls Jason Todd/Robin “Jay” in the heat of battle. I kind of like this Batman, although he’s actually a bit scary. With modern Batman, he’s angry all the time, right? You know that angry fellow could haul off and beat the crap out of somebody at any moment. With this Batman of the past, Bats might be laughing and making puns then lose it and almost beat a villain to death! It’s crazy!

This story has the Joker trying to reprogram Catwoman to return to her life of crime. At this point, she was trying to get Bats to settle down with her (I like Robin’s reaction to their “alone time.”) Joker doesn’t like this, so he has a strange dude, Dr. Moon, use a CAT scan machine to reprogram Selina’s brain. Dr. Moon is creepy and cool, was the guy ever used again? I love the idea of a “normal” person being able to hang in the Joker’s world. He’s a creeper for sure.

Catwoman doesn’t get a whole lot to do, she spends much of the two issues either being captured or brainwashed. Now, she looks fantastic thanks to Alan Davis’ art, but she doesn’t get to do much in the story. Joker is really just a project manager too; he’s got a gang that does most of the fighting and Dr. Moon handles the brain work. Joker’s an idea man and punching bag.

How many Detective issues did Davis do? I’ve read a couple now, and his Batman is fantastic. I love the yellow, gray, and blue suit best, so seeing it rendered by Davis is a real treat. And boy, few artists can get as much expression and emotion out of a masked face as Davis does here. The 80’s feel of the issue is a strong point, with Joker’s hair and Selina’s costume both looking great.

I’ll leave you with some wisdom of Batman, courtesy of Barr. When Robin has spent a few minutes hanging with a woman of… doubtful character, he says

“Boy, she really knows how to make a guy feel good!”
Batman: “That’s what she’s best at, chum.”
Robin (surprised): “Huh? You mean she’s a… a…”
Batman: “She’s a Lady, chum… just like Selina.”

Wise words, Batman.

Good

Joker HC

I'm trying to remember, but didn't Brian Azzarello re-design all the Gotham criminals during his run on Batman a few years ago? And the re-imaginings were fairly close, but not exactly what we get in this hardcover. Basically, the whole point of this is hardcore-up the Gotham scene. Killer Croc is a big banger with a skin condition. Harley Quinn is a mute killer-stripper. (Come to think of it, I'm not sure that there is a single line of dialogue from a woman in this whole thing.) The Riddler is an almost fast & the furious-style burglar. It's all just so... "adult." This is more like Kevin Smith's Widening Gyre than it is the monthly Batman comics. And as I've said before, I just don't care to see that in my comics. Brian Azzarello has a great entry character in Jonny Frost, and I did like seeing the balancing act that the Joker's henchmen have to deal with, but man. Just too dark and too "real." Call me a simpleton, but I prefer Batman by Jim Aparo or Norm Breyfogle.

This is clearly out-of-continuity too, lessening some of the impact. This could probably fit in as and Earth-One title eventually though.

Lee Bermejo's art is stunning. The reason this book works as well as it does is because we can see the street-grit and glimpse every reflection on the hood of Jonny's car. Batman looks like a leather-clad weightlifter and the Joker is sporting Ledger-ish scars. I wish this guy could keep up a monthly pace.

Average

Batman: Cacophony #3

Kevin Smith wraps up his Batman story getting to lay down some fairly important stuff. Batman is once again faced with the choice to let the Joker die, but of course Bats can't do it. What I liked was that Commssioner Gordon wanted the clown dead, as any rational person would. But leaving Joker alive does lead to an interesting sequence where Bats and Joker face off, and Joker is so doped up he's almost rational. Joker explains that he doesn't hate Batman because he's crazy, but that he's crazy because he hates Batman. He tells Batman that if Bats were dead, he'd happily go to an asylum for the rest of his days. Joker feels like he MUST kill Batman, it drives everything about him. I'm kind of surprised this kind of confrontation was handled in a fringe celebrity based mini, but what do I know?

A weird element to this exchange is the black-haired beard Joker is sporting after months in a coma. I always thought all his hair would be green? Also, since this is Smith, Joker mentions that he took a peek at Bats' "equipment" while he was changing. Ugh. I did enjoy the closing scenes with Onomonopeia. Too bad Kirkman beat Smith by a few weeks with Powerplex in Invincible!

Walt Flanagan makes some odd choices like that black beard, but his art is servicable. He's not someone I would seek out, but he's fine.

Fair