And welcome to the first blog of the new year! So, what do I have in store to mark the occasion? Oh, something special, something I've been planning for a while, something so out-of-the-box with its thinking and-
Actually, no, nothing like, it's just another comic review. I HAVE been planning this one for a while, though. And it is a little different, for not only is this perhaps the first alternate universe tale I'm reviewing, but also the first DC title I've done. Today, we dive into the work simply titled Joker, written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Lee Bermejo.
Before I go into the review, perhaps I should go over the “alternate universe tale” angle a little.
In comics, people will come up with a great story idea but can't utilise it in the main universe because it's often in the future or involving altered versions of previous events. Thus, they write it as an “out-of-canon” (canon meaning the history of the universe) story, or set in the canon of another universe. So, if you want to spin a yarn about Superman fighting the Terminator, you can! (And they did, it's called Superman Vs. The Terminator).
Marvel has its own series that it does every now and then called What If? While DC has the banner Elseworlds. Now, usually what makes the two different is that Marvel goes the “path unexplored” direction, usually taking an event and altering it slightly to produce a different outcome, but otherwise things are the same. DC usually creates whole new worlds with bold new premises, like The Nail, which offers a scenario in which Superman wasn't adopted by the Kents because their vehicle had a tire punctured on the way to the orphanage. Because of that, there is no Superman in the modern day.
Or the classic The Dark Knight Returns, set in an alternate future, where Bruce Wayne steps out of retirement and comes back as the Caped Crusader, ready to deliver fresh Hell upon the scum of Gotham City.
Actually, Batman gets a lot of these. He's been a vampire (Batman And Dracula: Red Rain and its two sequels, Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist), a Victorian era crimefighter (Gotham By Gaslight, the very first Elseworlds title, though not baring the Elseworlds logo), a pirate (Leatherwing) and the Green Lantern of sector 2814 (In Blackest Knight). However, today's focus is on his arch nemesis.
Joker is narrated by Jonny Frost, a henchman dispatched to retrieve the Clown Prince Of Crime from Arkham Asylum, with the implication of money changing hands leading to Joker's early release. What follows is Jonny's observations of the Ace Of Knaves and how he goes about his days, with a little insight into the underbelly of Gotham.
Simple premise, executed masterfully. Joker may be well known for being unpredictable and scary as all Hell, but what makes this one terrifying is that he lacks the tricks of the mainstream Joker. No electrocuting joy buzzers, no flowers that can squirt acid if he so wishes, no Joker venom. Much like the Joker portrayed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, this Joker relies on the simple pleasures in life and has no grand plan, just falls into whatever he wants to do and does it until he gets bored.
Speaking of The Dark Knight, I should address something now. While Joker is drawn to heavily resemble Heath and his mannerisms are nearly spot-on, from what I understand, it's a huge coincidence. Though it was originally going to be called Joker: The Dark Knight, due to the creative team having previously done Lex Luthor: Man Of Steel (another damn fine book), but with the movie on the way and all, obviously they had to trim it to the one word.
About the art, it's really good. The detail in the faces is exquisite, the violent imagery is striking and Gotham inspires a noir-setting. In this universe, Killer Croc's just a regular looking guy and Lee makes him look as menacing as he can and I don't think it would have worked if he had been drawn to look like a large crocodile like in the main universe.
Speaking of the differences, the biggest difference is perhaps the aspect that leads me to declare why I love this story. Besides Batman, there are no other heroes in this story. All other supervillains are portrayed as looking regular and if they have garish clothes, it's nothing to do with a supervillain motif and everything to do with a gangster lifestyle. Even the Riddler's clothes look like they belong on a flashy drug dealer (though in this universe, who's to say he's not a flashy drug dealer?) Slightly off-topic, Riddler gets only one big scene in this book but I love it, makes the Riddler seem more badass and he still gets to be a man of mystery. Kind of reminds me of Ozzy Osbourne, the way he's drawn...
But anyway, my point is, even though I love the exploits of costumed crimefighters fighting it out with madmen, murderers and marauders, this is almost like if the Batman mythos was getting the British gangster film treatment. Seriously, I could see Guy Ritchie directing this. Jonny Frost reminds me a little of Paul Bettany's performance (and Malcolm McDowell's narrating) in Gangster No. 1, a British gangster film that while not being directed by Guy, it could pass for it. The character's descent into madness even resembles the Joker's, so it works for both characters. Despite me imagining Joker with Heath's voice and Two-Face with Richard Moll's (the voice actor for the character in Batman: The Animated Series), almost everyone else I can imagine as being characters from a Guy film, whether it be Snatch or Rock'N'Rolla.
Speaking of characters, you know who's barely in it? Batman. Hell, he gets all of four words in this story (three in one sentence) but that might also be why he's so effective: he says little but what he does say is among the most memorable parts of the book. I will not spoil it for those yet to read it but if you enjoy the book like I do, you'll probably regard that as a well-written part. And I should add, he does get more dialogue than Harley Quinn,who gets not a word but she is there to essentially be the sanity for Joker. Ironic that despite this Joker being a bigger bastard than arguably most of the other incarnations, he has more regard for Harley in this continuity and she seems much less of a goofball and more a consort that knows how to keep Joker calm.
So, if you want a fantastic DC story that you don't need years and years of backstory to understand, pick this up. Realistic to a point and filled with great dialogue, it's one of my favourite Elseworlds titles. And once again, I also recommend Lex Luthor: Man Of Steel. Brian's run on the Wonder Woman title in the New 52? So far... approach with caution.
(P.S, for anyone who wants to read it, here's a little tidbit for you: after the full page image of Joker leaving Arkham, look at the second panel of the following page. Then the fourth on the same page. See what you difference, besides the lightning, you can notice)
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