Batman #142 – Chip Zdarsky, Writer; Giuseppe Camuncoli/Stefano Nesi, Andrea Sorrentino, Artists; Alejandro Sanchez, Dave Stewart, Colorists
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Origin stories are a tricky breed, because even the best creative team can wind up putting out what’s essentially an excellently-done recap. That’s not the case for Joker, who has not had a definitive origin story—largely by definition. So Zdarsky choosing to do a Year One story for Joker is exactly the kind of insane decision he would be likely to make, given how wildly ambitious his run on the title has been so far. But this is far, far from a simple origin recap. It has three artists on board, with each one taking on a distinct timeline and separate events. Giuseppe Camuncoli draws the past segments, taking place only a few months after Joker fell in the chemical vats. Gotham is under a corrupt police commissioner, a new “Black Hood” gang is terrorizing the city, and both Batman and Gordon are on the run. And of course, Joker, his mind scattered, is desperately trying to hold on to what’s left of his sanity.
This is a very different take on Joker’s madness, portraying it almost as a virus, and it’s actually pretty disturbing to watch what was left of the man slip away. Zdarsky also manages to bring in one of his original characters from Batman: The Knight, in a way that makes total sense and makes Joker another player in a decades-long war. But as good as this segment is, it’s nowhere near as chilling as the ones drawn by Stefano Nesi and the brilliant Andrea Sorrentino. Taking place deep in the future, they show us two sides of what happens when the Joker’s madness gets a little more widespread than is safe—with a final page that is easily one of the creepiest pages of art seen in a DC Comic. This is going to be a weekly release, as Zdarsky takes his shot at a definitive Joker story like so many other top creators have done. So far, it absolutely looks like it’s going to be one of the greats.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
