Crystal Cove is proud of their tenacious teens and wants to be able to call upon Mystery Inc. at a moment’s notice — you never know when a real estate developer in a mask will cause trouble. Inspired by Gotham’s most famous method of communication, they invite Commissioner Gordon and Batman to the unveiling of the town’s new Scooby Signal in The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #9, written by Matthew Cody, drawn by Scott Jeralds, colored by Carrie Strachan and lettered by Saida Temofonte.
Joker has given Ghost-Maker an ultimatum: break your pledge to Batman and kill the members of Joker Inc., or many civilians will die. It doesn’t seem the choice is very hard. Batman Incorporated #9 is written by Ed Brisson, drawn by John Timms, colored by Rex Locus and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Matt Lazorwitz: *singing* Send in the clowns. They’re already here …
Will Nevin: It’s Pride, Matt. You bet it’s queer. But enough song lyrics for today. We’ve got clown comics to talk about!
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Courthouse
Matt: After this, we have only three issues left of this series, and the only thing that will be a relief about seeing it end is that I won’t have to keep trying to come up with new ways to say I loved an issue. Because, as ever, this was delightful.
Will: But this one was also a bit out of the ordinary, coming from a different writer. Tone seemed like a slight changeup, and I don’t think we’ve seen a similar reference to Scoob lore like we saw here. Absolutely delightful as always, yes. But at least it’s a bit different.
Matt: Very true! While we have a Gotham rogue pop up at the very end, this is really dealing with one of Mystery Inc.’s rogues coming back and seeking revenge. And after all their years of putting away real estate swindlers, it makes sense one of them is going to be back seeking revenge. Selecting the Ghost Clown is a great choice, since it makes the Joker such an apt misdirect.
Will: And it’s someone Batman might not automatically be able to counter. Gas attack and he’s ready. But hypnotism? Uh oh. But if I was in the same, I dunno, hemisphere as the Joker, I’d probably not have a clown gimmick. That could be just me, though.
Matt: Yeah, it’s not like he’s a known egotist who gets pissy when anyone steps on his schtick. Not at all.
This issue also has one of the most interesting blends of character designs of any issue of this book. The Pup Named Scooby-Doo opening (more on that in a second), the classic animated Mystery Inc. with the Batman and Batgirl who blended with their style, the Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated mayor and sheriff, and the Batman: The Animated Series style Jim Gordon. It feels like a reminder of all the incarnations of these characters, but the styles, while slightly different, blend well enough it’s not discordant.
Will: Nothing is as off-putting as a black-suited Robin popping up here, is there?
Matt: But I have to say, I have rarely laughed harder at a gag in a Bat/Scoob than that opening page. If you’ve read my writing on Batman or listened to the podcast, you know I have reached a point of supersaturation with Martha Wayne’s pearls. So to take Frank Miller’s original page of the falling pearls and turn it into Shaggy and Scooby as kids dropping popcorn? I loved it.
Will: Finally, someone has the guts to take the piss out of the pearls. Bully!
Laughing Assassins
Matt: I don’t think I called it exactly as it was done in this issue, but I figured Joker was going to test Ghost-Maker’s no-kill pledge to Batman, and he absolutely does it this issue.
Will: Joker’s plans — when he debases himself to come up with one — should be fucked up, and man, is this one ever fucked up. His Joker Inc. buddies are all living weapons of mass destruction that can only be safely disarmed by killing them. I gather they didn’t sign up for that.
Matt: Oh, I seriously doubt it. And like you said above, it’s really better not to have a clown theme if you’re not Joker. I have a feeling Joker had killing these guys as the bottom line of this whole plan, and he was just trying to figure out how to do it in the way that caused the most damage, both in victim count and emotionally.
Will: And it’s a great inverse of Batman, right? He brings on these people to make a team and to give them responsibilities across the globe. Joker controls and micromanages what these clowns do and has ultimate designs on their deaths. Seems like a real bad boss, Matt.
Matt: I think Joker definitely has an HR problem in his organization.
I am really torn on the art on this book. John Timms is an artist I’ve always been lukewarm on. His stuff tends to be solid superhero art, nothing flashy, but he knows how to pace a superhero story. I like the designs on Joker Inc. quite a bit; they aren’t just Joker derivatives, but suited to the culture or theme they’re based on.
But the penultimate page of this issue left me utterly befuddled. I went back and looked at it a few times, and I can’t figure out how Corvus Caul, the Joker of Australia, unconscious and in Wingman’s hand, even with Dark Ranger restraining him, was able to grab a six-foot broadsword and get enough range to drive it through Wingman’s chest. The last few panels of that page just don’t line up with the final page of the issue, and it left me really confused. Confused enough to specifically call it out here.
Will: If I had to guess, he’s prone, being held about a foot above the water on the last page. To get from there to the final splash, I think Corvus has to wriggle free, grab the broadsword and jump up and stab down in one motion. It’s sloppy and cumbersome at best.
Matt: If the penultimate panel had Dark Ranger pull Wingman away to a distance and he dropped Corvus, then it would have been a much smoother transition. I’m calling this out because that is the climactic moment, the big cliffhanger, and that page turn was spoiled for me by a really muddled bit of art.
But back to the story. I really like the way the team has been divided up here. Keeping them in pairs lets them play off each other and lets the reader get a better feeling for each of them. It’s something Brisson has been doing from the beginning, but it feels like it’s hitting its stride here.
Will: Pairing them off also puts them in more peril and gives the story a real sense of scope. This is a dadgum world crisis, Matt!
Matt: Which makes sense, as this seems to be the version of the Joker who went national over in Rosenberg’s Joker series, so why not take it to the next level here?
Will: But we have to remember: This is Joker. He doesn’t want control, he doesn’t want fealty, he doesn’t want power. He wants chaos. As much of it as possible.
Matt: Yes indeed. Joker has loyalty to one person: Joker. It’s all about getting a laugh out of one person: Joker. And only one person other than Joker matters to him: Batman. And that has to absolutely make Ghost-Maker boil. I really hope, before the arc is over, we see Ghost-Maker and Joker have another confrontation and see how Ghost-Maker reacts when, after his scheme has been foiled, Joker just sort of shrugs and tries to walk away because who cares about this Batman wannabe.
Will: God knows I don’t. Hope Joker breaks him.
Bat-miscellany
- We spent Mother’s Day with Leslie Thompkins, so it’s only fair the podcast spends Father’s Day with the man who is the closest thing Batman has to a father figure: Alfred Pennyworth.
- Only two books this week. Three next week. And then five books we’ve been covering the last week of the month. DC really needs to better schedule their releases.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of five. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the creator interview podcast WMQ&A with Dan Grote.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
