"...What Would Joker Do?" - Batman
Batman Vs. the League of Smiles ends here as Batman begins to stop the chaos that Merrymaker has caused!
The Good
John Layman does a good job with this Death of the Family side story. While this series does not have the dark tone like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's BATMAN, Layman finds a way to create a good story then follow through with lots of action. The artwork by Jason Fabok is really amazing. Fabok's art never misses a beat and is not tiresome to look at. As he fully captures the tone of the comic through his artwork.
Though this issue does follow Batman Vs. a bunch of Joker wannabees, I like how John Layman continues to build suspense for the Emperor Penguin story line that is coming up. Detective Comics seems to shine more when it follows its own story arc instead of building on a different one [like this Death of the Family side story]. Also, the mini story by John Layman and artist Andy Clarke is really great. It sheds more light on the origin of Merrymaker and the League of Smiles, overall leading to an ending that could spark another Joker wannabee story arc.
The Bad
In the earlier issue, John Layman made Merrymaker sound like he was a serious threat. However when Batman defeated him in this issue it seemed that all the hopes of a big confrontation died when Layman revealed that Merrymaker was having social problems with his personal life. This issue would have been better if the villain was a more serious threat in this side story arc of Death of the Family.
The Verdict
Though let down by the villain, John Layman and Jason Fabok still did an outstanding job on this Death of the Family side story. This issue is a great place to jump on with the eventual Emperor Penguin story line!
