Gotham has survived the Fear State, and it feels … different. Batman has to reckon with the changed Gotham and with the fall from grace of some old allies in Batman #118, the first issue by the flagship title’s new creative team, written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Jorge Molina and Mikel Janin, colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Two stories take us to different periods in the relationship between Jim Gordon and the Joker. Despite the two never meeting face to face in either story, we see how the Joker has affected Gordon’s life in these issues that set the stage for the final arc of the epic Joker series. The Joker 2021 Annual #1 and The Joker #10 are both written by Matthew Rosenberg and James Tynion IV, drawn and colored by Francesco Francavilla and lettered by Tom Napolitano.
A pirate ship, a lost treasure, treasure hunters and … the Riddler? Mystery Inc. gets mixed up in a wild adventure where they have to team up not not with Batman but with one of his most famous rogues in The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #9, written by Sholly Fisch, drawn by Scott Jeralds, colored by Carrie Strachan and lettered by Saida Temofonte.
Matt Lazorwitz: And we’re back. Sorry for the couple-week break, loyal readers. I was doing the closest thing I’ll probably ever do to crime fighting: jury duty. But now I’m back, and we’re playing a bit of catch-up here.
Will Nevin: So how was the real-life justice system, Brother Matt? Anything like the one in Gotham?
Matt: It was something I believe everyone should do, because it is so different from what pop culture makes it out to be. Meaning this was not “Cold Days.” But it was a worthy experience. And now we can get back to what we do best: talking Batman.
Will: Fuck yeah. Let’s get after it.
Looking to an Uncertain Future
Matt: So, it’s the beginning of a new era. New writer, new artist, and Batman leaving Gotham. Joshua Williamson wrote a lot of DC books during the Rebirth era, not to mention a bunch of creator-owned books for Image. There’s not a lot to go on after one issue, but I am back to cautious optimism after this one issue. Or am I just pleased that we had an issue of Batman that was entirely about, well, Batman?
Will: Yeah, not a whole lot of meat to this one, but it had some beats that really worked, including Batman spooking some hoods for shits and giggles and a great series of panels that laid out just how much he’s lost over the last [undeterminable number unless you want to waste a bunch of your life thinking about] years. I’m not sold on whether this Batman Inc. mystery can sustain an arc, but I’m at least willing to humor Williamson in whatever he’s doing — which is more than I’d ever give Ghost-Maker. (And, by the way, “last adventure in Gotham” is ominous as fuck as he’s concerned.)
Anywho, Batman Inc. Give the good people a quick rundown and how you think it might play out here.
Matt: Well, there are a couple options here. We haven’t seen most members of Batman Inc. since the end of the eponymous series, except for Knight and Squire. So these guys suddenly going into murder mode, well, I think this Abyss guy might be a body hopper. That goo that was left over makes me think he might be able to possess one or all of the Batman Inc. members.
The other option is, well, that last page reveal. It’s been two weeks, so I think we can spoil that, yes?
Will: We’ve got a villain crossover, folks. Lex-by-god-Luthor is here.
Matt: This could be a Lex thing. And with Lex being Lex, it could be mind control, it could be clones, it could be pretty much anything. There are a handful of Batman vs. Luthor stories, and I like that opposition. The modern corporate raider and mad scientist Luthor is a great foil for Batman: He doesn’t have two identities, he is the rich guy who wears everything out in public, and is also often the smartest guy in the room, but he is Batman without empathy.
Will: And it makes sense he’d be popping up here, given that Superman is otherwise occupied, correct?
Matt: Yup, Supes is off world, and I’m sure Lex has zero interest in dealing with Superman’s kid (This was dealt with in last week’s Superman: Son of Kal-El Annual, which I will be reading tonight before editing our next SuperChat tomorrow, so I’ll know for sure then).
I am curious how much Lex remembers about Batman’s identity. During the latter half of the New 52, Lex found out Bruce Wayne is Batman, but since continuity has been so shuffled since then, he might not know anymore? Or maybe he does? Damn DC and their reboots.
Will: He probably got a space concussion or something. Those are totally more serious than regular concussions — they make you forget everything you know about secret identities. Unless they don’t.
Space concussions aside, I thought the art here was really sharp. Molina and Janin are old hands, but it seems like they really leveled up — I hope the run is this consistently good visually.
Matt: I give a lot of credit to colorist Tomeu Morey on the look of this book. Finding the right balance of shadow and light in a Batman comic is a big thing: One way it looks too campy, the other it’s so dark you don’t know what’s going on. He plays to both artists’ strengths, and it comes out looking great.
Gazing at a Frightful Past
Will: In trying to get caught up on everything important from the last couple of weeks (Sorry, Detective Comics Comics’ Batman: The Detective — we’ll get there … maybe?), we took a gamble that the Joker Annual and this week’s #10 could be read together, and damn did that ever come in. Hell of a late entry in the Best of 2021 game, but I’ll allow it.
Matt:Yeah, this is some serious “release the movie you want to be nominated for an Oscar on Christmas day” stuff. These two issues fit in between the first of the Rosenberg/Tynion/Francavilla flashback issues from #6 and the present, with the annual taking place during Barbara’s early days as Batgirl, sometime after the events of The Long Halloween (sort of, since those dang continuity changes don’t make things line up just right), and #10 finally telling the story of the emotional toll The Killing Joke took on the Gordons as a family, and Jim in particular.
What really impressed me about #10 is that it would be so easy to lean into flashbacks to demonstrate all the stuff that makes TKJ so damn cringy and focus on that. But we never see any of that. We just see a domestic drama play out between Jim, Babs and the returned James Jr. And boy, if that kid wasn’t dead in present continuity (probably), I’d be locking my doors right now.
Will: I’ll co-sign your thoughts on #10 and add what I thought made the Annual work so well: It was a story of logical consequences. Gordon wants to clean up the force. To do that, you’ve got to fire the ones on the take. Well, what happens when Jimbo does that? You’re left with reduced staffing and a mess of sleazy ex-cops looking to maintain a certain lifestyle. Truly a perfect storm in the streets of Gotham. Another thing I loved about these issues is that it’s clear Gordon knows his daughter is Batgirl, and while that comes super duper close to being spelled out in text, it never gets there completely, so everyone can continue to play the game.
We rave about this every time we talk about it, but for anyone not reading this series, it’s time for you to fucking get on it. This is *the* definitive take on Jim Gordon, his victories, his failures, his pain — everything that makes the man and the character work so goddamned well.
Matt: And in line with your comments on Jim’s knowledge of Barbara’s dual identity, these stories are set in a specific time frame, and have hints of other things going on, but they never go to that extreme, winking at the camera thing that can feel so tiresome. Issue #10 has the first meeting of Gordon and a young patrol officer Montoya. This could easily become a moment where he says, “I see great things for your future” or something, but it doesn’t go there. Instead, you just see Montoya as a good cop who has faith in Jim. It’s a nice moment.
Will: The Tynion you see at work in Joker simply isn’t the Tynion in Batman. This is more subtle, more complex and altogether more enjoyable.
Matt: And while he doesn’t actually appear in #10, he’s just a looking presence, Joker has a couple of choice scenes in the Annual. This is the Joker who has been in one of his Clown Prince phases, pulling wacky capers. He hires Catman, not even Catwoman, to pull off a job for him. But then you get to the end of the issue. You see that Joker is perfectly aware of how everyone has perceived him, how everyone thinks he’s just, well, a joke now. And he leaves the GCPD a reminder of exactly what he can be. That I won’t spoil, because you should read this issue and turn those last pages not knowing.
Will: And, of course, you can still skip the Punchline backup. You have our permission.
And Then There’s Scooby-Doo
Matt: We review this book every month, and I want to find something new and different to say, but it’s still pretty much the same deal. After so much darkness in the main line, it’s nice to have these little bon-bons of fun.
Will: Hey, now, this one was totally different. It was a team-up with the Riddler!
Matt: True, this is the first time we’ve seen the gang work with one of the bad guys. And this is more of a Mystery Inc. story than a Batman one. The Dark Knight doesn’t pop up until the last couple pages to drag the Riddler off to jail.
Will: Batman & Scoob might as well be a Code comic — there’s no way the bad guys (be they Gotham villains or “ghosts”) are getting away. Yet this book still has fun with that; Riddler doesn’t go back to the pokey for his shenanigans here — it’s everything else he did last week that lands him in jail. That’s a good joke right there.
Matt: This is a comic that knows its characters and finds the humor in them. I’m never NOT going to laugh at Fred Jones insisting on pulling the mask off someone. That joke pops up at least every other issue, and I still love it.
Will: Riddler earned that elastic snapback, I’m sure.
Matt: The art here is Scott Jeralds, the alternate artist who drops in every third issue or so, and while he isn’t as good as Dario Brizuela, he still does a fine job. He’s better with the Scooby characters than the Bat ones, but he draws a great pirate ghost.
Will: Was that a real pirate ghost, Brother Matt?
Matt: It’s Scooby-Doo. It’s never a real pirate ghost. Except that one time they met Gentleman Ghost in a Scooby-Doo Team-Up, but he’s a highwayman, not a pirate, so my point stands.
Bat-miscellany
- Not a lot of costumed villain variety at your villainous villain costume party, billionaires of Gotham. Rich people are boring.
- Batsuit watch: We had another mid-stream switch from big bat/no shield to the Batman ‘89 look. Weird that keeps happening.
- On this week’s episode of super premium BatChat (audio), we’re looking at three Two-Face stories, which seems like either one too many or one too few. And be sure to tune in next week for our Very Special Christmas Episode featuring (surprise) Christmas-themed stories.
- Will’s Indiana Jones parody name: South Dakota Johnson.
- Creator landmark watch: (Paul) Dini skating rink in Joker #10.
- That Gotham traffic is no joke.
- This week’s Wayne Family Adventures features the introduction in this universe of Kate Kane, Batwoman, who has a great civilian design. And it reinforced something we’ve said before: Never let Batman and his sidekicks into a kitchen. It ends poorly.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. 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 podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
