By Josh Crooks
In late July 2011, with DC's New 52 (a storyline reboot of all major titles) finally hitting shores after much anticipation, came the current writer and artist duo; Scott Synder and Greg Capullo respectively, to the ever popular title: Batman. Not content with creating not only a formidable and memorable addition to the extended rouges gallery in the form of The Court of Owls, the pair have now completed a storyline based around Batman's most infamous enemy: The Joker.
In late July 2011, with DC's New 52 (a storyline reboot of all major titles) finally hitting shores after much anticipation, came the current writer and artist duo; Scott Synder and Greg Capullo respectively, to the ever popular title: Batman. Not content with creating not only a formidable and memorable addition to the extended rouges gallery in the form of The Court of Owls, the pair have now completed a storyline based around Batman's most infamous enemy: The Joker.
The collective perception of the now completed storyline (shown through issues #13 - #17) is mixed, with many negative opinions being largely based on the principle that the storyline is too subtle and not the game changer that might have been gleaned from the advertising or bayed for by the fans. Arguably, this misses the entire point of a storyline built on nuance and subtlety and not paradigm switching plot lines such as the Death in the Family story arc where the contemporary Robin of the time was brutally murdered at the hands of The Joker.
The new creative pair have gone to great lengths to give their books a sense of danger that has been missing even from many of the recent, critically acclaimed, stories involving the character: such as Hush, The Long Halloween and Under the Red Hood. They have achieved this not just in the obvious ways such as Alfred being captured in the first issue (#13), but moreover the change in the character of the Joker: as their incarnation is more mysterious, effeminate and graphic than before. The Joker's campaign is psychological as well as physical, the Death of the Family title is literal, as the Joker's plan is much more about placing a wedge between Batman and his extended family as opposed to simply killing them. This is no more apparent than in the closing pages of Issue #14, as The Joker reveals that he knows the secret Identities of not just Batman, but his extended family. Listing vague descriptions of individual characters attributes and patterns unlikely to be gleaned from anywhere other than their private abodes was a smart move from Synder; the line: “You always smell so good Nightwing” being a clear example of his new found (and aforementioned) effeminacy whilst also being a personal threat. That latter phrase being apt as The Joker's psychological onslaught is most certainly a personal threat.
The new creative pair have gone to great lengths to give their books a sense of danger that has been missing even from many of the recent, critically acclaimed, stories involving the character: such as Hush, The Long Halloween and Under the Red Hood. They have achieved this not just in the obvious ways such as Alfred being captured in the first issue (#13), but moreover the change in the character of the Joker: as their incarnation is more mysterious, effeminate and graphic than before. The Joker's campaign is psychological as well as physical, the Death of the Family title is literal, as the Joker's plan is much more about placing a wedge between Batman and his extended family as opposed to simply killing them. This is no more apparent than in the closing pages of Issue #14, as The Joker reveals that he knows the secret Identities of not just Batman, but his extended family. Listing vague descriptions of individual characters attributes and patterns unlikely to be gleaned from anywhere other than their private abodes was a smart move from Synder; the line: “You always smell so good Nightwing” being a clear example of his new found (and aforementioned) effeminacy whilst also being a personal threat. That latter phrase being apt as The Joker's psychological onslaught is most certainly a personal threat.
As is revealed through a flashback in Issue #15, there was a remote possibility that The Joker had entered the Bat cave soon after an early encounter with the Batman way back when. This was hidden from the Bat clan by Batman himself, a secret he decided to shield them from due to the improbability of it being true. The stories strengths and subtleties can be seen clearly when Bruce confesses as much, as Synder has been able to create a subtle change in the Batman mythology that has alarming ramifications without breaking continuity, this feat is amplified when you consider just how far back Synder has placed this narrative twist.
Speaking of the early days, the Joker's personal attack is amplified by the nature and location of his attacks: as he relives (in)famous encounters with Batman as far back as their first meeting where it is believed that the Joker became the man he is today in Issue #13 (a storyline adapted from the seminal work from Alan Moore in The Killing Joke). This also leads to references to other great Batman titles, such as Capullo's final panels of Issue #15 being a clear nod to A Serious House on Serious Earth, more commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum. Referencing earlier work and building upon the mythology makes an already personal attack much more invasive and tangible a threat.
Speaking of the early days, the Joker's personal attack is amplified by the nature and location of his attacks: as he relives (in)famous encounters with Batman as far back as their first meeting where it is believed that the Joker became the man he is today in Issue #13 (a storyline adapted from the seminal work from Alan Moore in The Killing Joke). This also leads to references to other great Batman titles, such as Capullo's final panels of Issue #15 being a clear nod to A Serious House on Serious Earth, more commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum. Referencing earlier work and building upon the mythology makes an already personal attack much more invasive and tangible a threat.
Issue #16 opens with a clear example of the graphic element introduced with the Joker's latest incarnation: if that wasn't made clear by the fact that his face is now bucked and pinned onto raw flesh after a run in with the Dollmaker in Issue #1 of Detective Comics (another launch title in DC's New 52). We are led to believe that the guards of Arkham Asylum have unwillingly been forced to dance for days in grotesque and elaborate costumes mirroring the Joker and Batman, faced with the penalty of death if they stop for as much as a second. One of the many 'pros' about the pair's current run is that they aren't afraid to go as dark as is necessary, and it is scenes like this that lead me to believe that they aren't under pressure from editors (or anyone else for that matter) to tone down their artistic vision, something that also links in with the danger element (the story has the potential to go even further than the dark recesses you can imagine, and probably will).
This brings us swiftly to Death of the Family's magnum opus: Issue #17, as the full ramifications of the Joker's plans are revealed. Ultimately I fear that the negative comments are in some way correct, and the finale may not have the lasting ramifications that were advertised in the same way that other titles have had, but that does not mean that it isn't a near perfect piece of story telling in its own right.
This brings us swiftly to Death of the Family's magnum opus: Issue #17, as the full ramifications of the Joker's plans are revealed. Ultimately I fear that the negative comments are in some way correct, and the finale may not have the lasting ramifications that were advertised in the same way that other titles have had, but that does not mean that it isn't a near perfect piece of story telling in its own right.
Whilst I won't talk about everything (that's already been covered by Christian Kern in his review, the most interesting thing for me is the way the relationship between the Batman and Joker is in many ways... romanticised. The Joker's plan hinges mostly on the idea that the man with the cowl doesn't need all of these people around him to do his job, all he needs is his 'loveable court jester', all THEY need is each other, which is sweet and creepy in many different ways. This is punctuated by Capullo's art as the Joker is often seen posed like a grotesque teenage school girl and punctuated further when Batman leans into his face, whispers and refers to him as “Darling”, albeit in a smart/ironic sort of way.
All in all I couldn't be happier with the new Joker and welcome the new changes Synder and Capullo have brought with them; often described as the rockstars of the comic world right now, I'd argue that whilst probably true, here they have delivered a subtle, yet spine tingling conclusion to a very interesting character study, showing a sides of a character you didn't know existed.
All in all I couldn't be happier with the new Joker and welcome the new changes Synder and Capullo have brought with them; often described as the rockstars of the comic world right now, I'd argue that whilst probably true, here they have delivered a subtle, yet spine tingling conclusion to a very interesting character study, showing a sides of a character you didn't know existed.
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