Things are ratcheting up as we get closer to the finish of The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing. That includes the Red Hood thinking he got his revenge, the mysterious immortal Joker being saved by a supervillain, and the clean-cut Joker enjoying the sun in Los Angeles. In fact, nearly all of The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #6 is entirely set in Los Angeles, and we finally get to spend some quality time with this bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Joker.
The latest issue opens in a comedy club, fitting since Matthew Rosenberg has strewn jokes into multiple issues. Watching the man perform is Joker, of course, and he wants to get some crowd work done on him. That’s when a comedian makes fun of the audience. Obviously nervous, the comedian does his best, and Rosenberg offers a few good zingers. In fact, after reading this series, I’d bet Rosenberg has wanted to become a comedian at some point in his life. Things turn bad fast for the comedian, and as the rest of the issue shows, Los Angeles.
This issue’s main story shows us what happens when a chaotic villain like Joker gets bored and feels unnoticed. Taking place over about two hours, we check in on Joker’s last plan before he heads back to Gotham. Seemingly without a protector, we get to see how bad things can get so very quickly. We also see some henchmen of his eat it wearing clown masks and being as loyal as a puppy dog.
I love that he was holding that drink the whole time, yet it was always acid.
Credit: DC Comics
The narrative cuts away twice to check in on two key players, but mostly this is about Joker putting Los Angeles into chaos. That includes messing with the street actors dressed as heroes. It’s entertaining stuff, although I was wondering where this was going and how it applied to the larger story. Likely this is just a check on the west coast Joker and how he’s as dangerous as they come.
There seem to be some nods to Los Angeles, so if you’re from there, you’ll likely get a kick out of this issue. If you’re not, well, everyone knows traffic stinks in Los Angeles.
Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico is quite good at making the chaos of buildings on fire and folks fighting in the street come alive. The casual attitude of Joker is always on point, managing to show how he’s calm yet capable of killing at a moment’s notice.
The backup is by Rosenberg, Ryan Cady, and artist Will Robson with colors by Hi-Fi. If you thought Franchesco Francavilla exiting the series would change the vibe of the backups, think again. This backup is bizarre, telling a new story about Joker copies. This time it’s a Joker who had a breather and settled down, only to return to Gotham after his brother died. It packs a lot of punch with numerous inventive ideas on Joker’s brother’s last will and testament. The best scene might be when we find out what his family is, which helps cement the maniac violence of a murder Joker commits as pure insanity.
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing continues to be a laugh riot of action, intrigue, and excellent Joker writing. The main story does feel like a long-winded way of showing how dangerous west coast Joker is before he heads back to Gotham, but you can’t deny how entertaining it all can be.
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