Joker is back and this time he wants Batman dead and buried hence the title “Endgame” slapped on the cover.
Is it good?
Batman #37 (DC Comics)
This story opened with Batman taking on the Justice League in a tanked up Bat-Suit only to discover they were being mind controlled by Joker Toxin. Since then Joker has released the virus on Gotham and there’s a full fledged epidemic sweeping the city. Write Scott Snyder has instilled a bit of intrigue and mystery into every issue and this issue continues that delivery.
Laugh virus of course!
Much like most of Scott Snyder’s Batman books this issue is wordy, with plenty of narration from Bats to go around. This issue spends plenty of time revealing what Joker has done since Batman was out of commission at the end of last issue, but also slowly reveals a much more sinister and complicated plot we could have ever imagined. There aren’t any answers in this issue, but there are some tantalizing morsels of detail that seem to suggest there’s a lot more to the Joker than we ever imagined. The fact that Snyder seems to be laying groundwork for a much more complicated, mythical even, Joker is exciting.
The backup written by James Tynion IV takes this concept a bit further revealing a troubled man who dresses as a clown and an encounter he’ll never forget. I can’t say for certain what is happening in this issue, there really are no answers, and some might feel it’s all a big tease, but for the most part it’s fun to witness the unravelling of a Joker onion.
I love how they just have walls handy in cases of outbreak. Like they can put them up fast enough to stop a virus. Silly.
The art by Greg Capullo continues to be exceptional especially in a sequence where Gordon must take a life. The panels are without dialogue but tell a very gripping and painful story in the expressions of the characters. The man simply owns at making Joker horrific either with the smile or his movement. He’s like a snake, or some kind of slinking creature you should not get near. His best work in this issue comes when he draws a sequence where Gordon reveals a major plot point. He’s looking over old pictures and newspaper clippings but it’s done in such a way that you’d think it was an action sequence. The fact he can take something so drab and boring, something boring even in movies, and make it exciting shows just how good his work can be.
He even got the babies!
Is It Good?
Joker gets more complex and Batman nearly loses it in this tense issue that tantalizes.
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