The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 – Matthew Rosenberg, Writer; Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla, Artists; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: This violent, multi-Joker series has always been an acquired taste, and the last issue’s backup certainly proved that. The main story continues to be fairly conventional, even as it twists things around with just who we’re supposed to believe is the real Joker. The scarred, deranged man we’ve been following over the series is stalked by a new, murderous Joker who seems to believe he’s the impostor—and the two wind up engaged in a brutal fight in a trap-filled mansion that ultimately leaves one of them dead and reveals yet another layer. But the Red Hood subplot is a bit more interesting, with Stephanie Brown hunting Jason down and trying to convince him to leave the city before Batman tracks him down. The LA Joker continues to be a wild card, but seems to be entering the story soon.
Then there’s the backup, which isn’t quite as strange as last issue’s pregnant Joker fiasco, but it keeps with the pattern. When Joker falls for Giganta, he seeks a spell from Etrigan to be the man she wants him to be—with disturbing body-horror consequences, of course. Either you vibe with the humor of these twisted Silver Age pastiches, and I can’t say I really do. Francavilla’s art is amazing as always, though.
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #4 – Marc Silvestri, Writer/Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 6/10
Ray: A dark, twisted tale of revenge, this Marc Silvestri throwback kicks off with a brutal flashback to the wedding gone horribly wrong that killed Simms’ daughter and cost him his eye. The way it plays out is pretty compelling, but its portrayal of Harley seems more extreme than the average. Then we’ve got the present day, where Joker and Batman’s teeth-clenched teamwork continues as the villain puts them through one twisted game after another. This issue, they’re faced with a real-life version of the Trolley Problem—a Gotham bullet train is about to crash into a crowded station unless they either destroy the train with everyone on board or throw enough people off it to get it under a certain point. The visuals are good, but there is little plot advancement and the overtly bleak tone makes it hard to get invested in what’s going on.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
