Batman comes mask to mask with Red Mask, the man behind this alternate Gotham, and learns the full extent of his plan in Batman #134, written by Chip Zdarsky, penciled by Mike Hawthorne, inked by Adriano Di Benedetto, colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles. In the backup, Tim Drake makes a quick stopover to talk to a lost loved one before heading on to save Batman in a story written by Zdarsky, drawn by Miguel Mendonça, colored by Roman Stevens and lettered by Cowles.
Joker has to get to LAX to get his flight home to Gotham, but traffic in LA can be murder, especially when the vigilante Manhunter is on your tail. The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #7 is written by Matthew Rosenberg, drawn by Carmine Di Giandomenico, colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr. and lettered by Tom Napolitano. In the backup, it’s Joker for president (it could be worse…) in a story written by Ryan Cady & Rosenberg, drawn by Will Robson, colored by Hi-Fi and lettered by Napolitano.
Batman and Joker confront the mastermind behind the Joker zombies menacing Gotham in Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #6, written and drawn by Marc Silvestri, colored by Arif Prianto and lettered by Troy Peteri.
Will Nevin: *looks around* Feels good to be back on the ComicsXF mothership, Matt. I promise to stop putting USB drives I find on the sidewalk into our server.
Matt Lazorwitz: I think Zack would appreciate that. I mean, for every one you find full of bitcoin, there are 10 full of that Joker virus from Batman: Digital Justice.
Will: I STILL LIKE THOSE ODDS.
Batman
Matt: As we’re nearing the end of the second arc of Chip Zdarsky’s run on Batman, I’m getting more and more sure of what he’s doing. This is really a run about Batman’s grounding in family and in how he feels about himself. And if that’s what is happening, putting him in a world where he’s surrounded by slightly off versions of the people he loves, likes and hates helps make it all the more clear.
Will: There’s nothing that says he couldn’t tell that story in a Gotham that’s familiar to us — again, I think the plumbing is overtaken here, much like the last arc’s overreliance on over-the-top action and setpieces — but this story is growing on me. In shipping Bruce off to a world in which there never was a Batman, it forces him (and us) to go back to the question of why there is a Batman. And the answer to that is as simple as what we see here: to help people.
Matt: And we see how the lack of Bruce Wayne, the LOSS of Bruce Wayne, affects people, specifically Alfred. This cringing, terrified Alfred feels like a reaction. Alfred lost Bruce, so he is hiding from the world and trying to protect himself and the only other person he loves, Leslie Thompkins, by just hiding. It’s not the Alfred we know, but it’s one who exists as a logical extrapolation of the man who dedicated his life to protecting one person and failed.
Will: And it’s that connection to Alfred that makes the last issue’s graveyard scene so powerful. Pennyworth has seen his “boy” rise from the dead, and he finds some stranger defiling his grave? One who looks just like him? Both of these characters are still deeply grieving the loss of the other in their respective universes, and that makes for a really interesting dynamic — maybe one of the only reasons I’ll allow for delving into the multiverse.
Matt: And while we get another version of Joker, and we have two already, there is something to be said for seeing that the Joker as an idea is almost poisonous; you get exposed and you suddenly start to fracture. It hasn’t been hard to figure Joker was Red Mask; I know you expected a Bruce Wayne swerve there, but this is more about the why than the who.
Will: I’m happy at least that it wasn’t another Jack Napier. The Joker must seem like an unlimited power source, a chaotic energy without limits or restrictions. I can see how getting a vision of that might make a fella go a little squirrelly. Tying Red Mask into The Man Who Would Be Red Hood was fairly clever.
Matt: Also, props for showing that, with a little bit of thinking, Batman can beat up Ghost-Maker, even if Ghost-Maker is hopped up on Venom.
Will: Knowledge is power, Matt. And if Ghost-Maker (Ghost-Breaker, here, I think, but both names are equally dumb) doesn’t know that you know who he is and how he operates, that’s an advantage to you. Gotta say, though, from what I know of Ghost-Maker, it seems like his ego would keep him from taking Venom.
Matt: That’s a good point. My only guesses as to why would be wild conjecture; something along the lines of a world without his opposite number and the only person he would view as a challenge has meant he’s pushing himself to fight more metahumans where the Venom levels the playing field as opposed to giving him an unfair advantage?
Will: Capital, plausible idea. Something enabling him to “step up in weight class,” as it were, seems analogous to Bruce’s original decision in “Venom,” which was driven by his inability to save a child in a situation requiring superhuman strength. I like how Batman was given the chance to show off his big ass brain here, especially when he took on poor, broken Superman and sent him flying.
Matt: Batman is always at his best when he can use said big ass brain before his fists. Not that I mind a Batman who pummels a bad guy, but it’s more efficient to not have to do it.
And as we’ve discussed before, we both prefer a backup that ties into the main story either plotwise or thematically, and so this issue, with Tim Drake thinking about family and getting drawn to the alternate universe version of his mother, who he never got a chance to say goodbye to? It’s an interesting parallel to that scene you talked about from the last issue.
Will: That was an incredibly strong scene, you’re right. Gotta say, though, not a fan of the new-look suit.
Matt: Me neither, but I’m chalking that up to being story specific and we won’t see it again.
Joker
Will: Our hypothesis continues to hold strong with this book: This is better with as little Joker — especially Faux Joker — as possible.
Matt: I was an easy mark for this issue, because I love the Kate Spencer incarnation of Manhunter. While I’m not sure why she needed the never-in-her-entire-history alcoholism plot, I still was glad to see a character who has appeared barely at all since the advent of the New 52. And giving us that focus, a character to hunt Joker, always improves this book. If we could get Manhunter and Red Hood teaming up to hunt Joker for the back half or third or however much of this title is left as the focus, I would be a happy camper.
Will: I liked the last couple of issues as well, primarily because they seemed like an extended version of the ol’ SNL bit “The Californians” but with more blood and murdering. Joker navigating SoCal traffic has resulted in some genuine el-ol-el moments. Speaking of, you ever had In-N-Out?
Matt: I have indeed, when I was visiting one of my wife Amber’s oldest friends who was living in Vegas with his family at the time. It’s … fine as fast food goes.
Will: In-N-Out can’t beat the Five Guys fries, whatever dressing you put on them. With Five Guys, they’re good, and there are so many of them!
Matt: And I agree about the humor here. Rosenberg is hitting some really good notes with the comedy; having just a little bit of time with Joker and his clown henchmen playing straight man to him as they barrel through the city is good. It’s not that we don’t want any Joker in our Joker comic. He just can’t be the center of the whole thing, because that makes what should be exceptional and shocking mundane.
Will: I still can’t be bothered to care about Faux Joker, though. Putting him together with Grundy is … novel? Interesting-ish? Still don’t *really* care.
Matt: Nope. And I still wish Jason Todd, who Rosenberg wrote so well in Task Force Z, wasn’t so regularly back burnered. We’ve gotten so many stories of Jason coming to terms with his history with Joker, I was hoping we would finally get the definitive one here, and we still might, but it feels further off the less Jason we get.
Will: That’s such a bizarre choice to make, but I guess it’s reflective of the tone of this second volume. Tynion, in centering Jim Gordon at the core of the story, played it deadly straight, even though it did feature inbred cannibals from Hooper County, Texas. This is a lighter, goofier (albeit filled with plenty of murder) story. Maybe Jason Todd’s catharsis doesn’t fit into that neatly.
Matt: A distinct possibility. And speaking of goofy, the backups remain completely wild. And although I miss Francesco Francavilla, they’re still a weird little treat at the end of each issue.
Will: Ah, jeeze, Francavilla really made these backups with his ability to really lean into the retro-inspired style. They still look great, but it ain’t quite the same. But, yeah, they’re still a delight. Deathstroke killing an (almost) endless stream of Joker body doubles as he runs for president? Yeah, that’s a good time right there.
Matt: And a cameo from Jarvis Poker the British Joker, a knock-off Joker who fought Knight & Squire, the British knock-off Batman and Robin. There’s a deep cut I never expected to see again.
Batman & Joker
Matt: This series, as it enters the home stretch, remains an artist showcase. Silvestri isn’t a bad writer, although this issue has more than a few pages that are a bit wordier than needed, but he’s an artist first and foremost, and that shows in the character designs and the page layouts. This comic just looks cool.
Will: And it’s got gore for days, if that’s your thing. Undead folks, undead Jokers, various other undead creature things, a mess o’ decapitations and dismemberments. Really one of the bloodier, messier things you’ll see from DC, Black Label or otherwise.
Matt: Oh, for sure. There is a flat-out, head-ripping-off decapitation this issue! You don’t see those very often. Maybe shadowed or off panel, but this is on panel!
Will: Aye, ye canna look away! The story here does feel a bit … inconsequential. I skipped all the way from issue #3 to this week’s, and it seems like all I missed was the big reveal that our would-be antagonist’s thought-to-be-dead daughter is the real reason for all the troubles in Gotham.
Matt: I really dig her design. This Goth Miss Havisham thing she has going is a solid Batman villain look. I know this is Black Label, so it’s not canon, but a character with that look and her unique power set would not be something I’d be against popping up in other stories.
Will: You’re right in that Silvestri is a bit wordy, but she had some fine monologuing in describing the unholy process that resulted in her reanimation. If Frankenstein’s monster could have talked, Matt!
Matt: Ah, you haven’t read the book, have you? That mother-effer doesn’t shut his mouth in the book.
Still not in love with the Harley bits here. Never liked that particular version of the costume that Silvestri is riffing on, and I just feel like it’s a version of the character we have mostly moved beyond.
Will: Emotionally stunted horndog men, on the other hand, still haven’t.
Matt: On the other hand, dogged, loyal, ass-kicking Jim Gordon is a thing I am always here for. And Batman not trusting Joker enough to booby trap the suit he gave him? Also something I enjoy.
Will: But seven issues? Seems like about two too many. But maybe the conclusion will blow me away.
Bat-miscellany
- You mite say that this week’s BatChat podcast is a weird one, as it features three stories about Batman’s biggest 5th Dimensional fan, Bat-Mite.
- Will: I see what you did there.
- [Grote’s note: I also see it.]
- I’d not be willing to put money on it, but I think there is a chance that this Alfred comes back to Earth-0 with Bruce, thus giving us an Alfred without a resurrection that cheapens his stiff-upper-lip ending.
- Will: I’d say those odds increase greatly if Leslie Thompkins dies.
- Superman impersonating Batman is an old Silver Age tradition, and I am all for it.
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.
