Joker's origin? Nah man, I ain't buying that THIS is his origin.
Ever wonder what made the Joker, Joker? Well writer Andy Kubert, accompanied by artist Andy Clarke, have the answer to that simple question! But, you might not like the end result.
The Good
Before I get into the "Bad" of this issue, I will say something that will kinda conflict what I'm gonna say later. I DO like the idea of Joker's origin story being told. We live in a world where there are few mysteries, so living in one where the Joker's story isn't told seems to be doing readers [or mainly me] an injustice. I do like mystery in my life, but if a reveal is done right, I'll take the proper reveal over a good mystery any day. So the thought of Joker's origin being revealed, intrigues me. So it's an "A" for effort on Andy Kubert's part for the writing.
The artwork by Andy Clarke is excellent. I've always enjoyed Clarke's artwork; so seeing it on this .1 issue was enjoyable.
The Bad
I HATE the idea of Joker's origin story being told IN this fashion. Yes, it does sound like I'm indecisive, but hear me out. Playing like you are GOING to tell Joker's origin is NEVER the way to go. This is a .1 issue in a BATMAN comic book, if you are going to do a one time thing that revolves around a "special" issue, it should be fun and exciting; not adding or taking from the mystery. Joker has been around almost as long as Batman. His origin to this very day is still a mystery. Like I said before, "We live in a world where there are few mysteries", we had Wolverine's origin told to us for crying out loud. So you think eventually DC would get around to giving us the 100% legit version of Joker's story that will stay during any, and all, DC Comics Universe continuity change (a.k.a. reboot). However, that's not the case. We still have a character that's still an extreme mystery and we are craving to get that story told to us. However, it should be done properly, without ANY teasing.
What Andy Kubert did wrong in this story, is that he played with the idea of Joker's origin. We all assume that Joker had a screwed up childhood and that lead to him becoming a criminal, a concept that [for some reason] has stuck with the character for X amount of years. However, what if he wasn't screwed up as a kid? What if being insane was all created from encountering Batman from the Ace Chemical plant? And this is Joker's way of saying, "this is your fault Batman!" Now wouldn't that be something? Sure it could go deeper than that, but that would be a nice idea to toy with. Whenever a writer is a special guest on the series for one issue, they should have fun with it, not adding or taking away from the Batman/Joker Mythos nor the DC Comics Universe. It should just be them having fun with a character and going all out. I shouldn't be cringing because the Joker's story was "kinda" played around with again. Food for thought, just saying.
The Verdict
Let's face it, this issue wasn't good. Sure I was able to find some joy in this issue, but this [to me] is not the grounds of Joker's origin. Of course, DC Comics isn't implying this is how Joker became who he is today, but even remotely playing in Joker's origin story makes me cringe on the inside. I always tread carefully when it comes to origins like a character like Joker. However, for those that love this kind of stuff, I'm glad you can find some excitement in this issue. There are a bunch of .1 issues out there currently. I've taken the liberty to save you time and have an image of all the .1's that are published. Overall 1 out of 5.
Next review:
Batman 23-26 & issues 28-29 (cause I already reviewed 27, duh) ;)
Arrow review:
Last Batman Reviews:
Upcoming reviews:
1.Snyder & Capullo's BATMAN! -- Comic catch up! (issues 22-29)
2.Millar & McNiven's NEMESIS! -- Comic special! (issues 1-4) COMPLETED!
3.Tomasi & Gleason's BATMAN AND ROBIN! -- Comic catch up! (issues 22-28)
4.Posehn & Duggan's DEADPOOL! -- Comic catch up! (issues 12-24)
5.Snyder and Lee's SUPERMAN UNCHAINED! -- Comic catch up! (issues 2-5)
6.DeConnick's CAPTAIN MARVEL! -- Comic catch up! (issues 13-17)
7.Slott's SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN! -- Comic catch up! (issues 13-28)
8.Wood's STAR WARS! -- Comic catch up! (issues 3-14)
9.Kirkman's INVINCIBLE! -- Comic catch up! (issues 104-109)