Peacemaker Tries Hard #2 – Kyle Starks, Writer; Steve Pugh, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Kyle Starks’ bizarre take on the Suicide Squad’s most ridiculous antihero continues to deliver the kind of absurdity I’m hoping for, as the over-the-top vigilante teams up with Monsieur Mallah to get Deathstroke’s DNA and get his dog back from The Brain. As they head to the lair of an infamous mad scientist, the two villains start to bond over music tastes, have a series of increasingly ridiculous conversations (such as the nature of honey), and fight a collection of unionized supervillain construction workers who take their lunch breaks very seriously. The issue has some of the funniest bits in a book I’ve seen in a long time, such as the bizarre collection of helmets that Peacemaker keeps in storage. However, while the issue was a lot of fun, the predictable downer ending knocks it down a little and sort of means the events of this issue were just spinning its wheels.
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #9 – Matthew Rosenberg, Writer; Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla, Artists; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: We’re getting close to the end of the first act of this series, as the two Jokers—the bedraggled, half-dead Gotham Joker, and the slick and sadistic Hollywood Joker—form their armies and get ready to battle for the name in Gotham. After dispatching an enraged Killer Croc, the Gotham Joker has to confront the hard reality that no one really respects him, only providing him with a makeshift army of henchmen. Meanwhile the Hollywood Joker—likely the impostor, but we can never be sure with these two—gets an escort into town courtesy of Killer Moth and puts together a far more powerful army. I don’t really care who wins out of these two, but it was fun watching Jason Todd and Ravager make their escape in a subplot.
Then there’s the backup, once again drawn brilliantly by Francesco Francavila. This issue finds Joker seemingly dying after Batgirl is unable to keep him from falling into the river. Everyone believes Joker is dead, especially after a body is found—except Jim Gordon, who becomes increasingly unstable as he tries to figure out how Joker escaped death this time. The twist ending is intriguing, but sort of rushed given the short length.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
