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Review: Batman: Three Jokers #1 (of 3)

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

It’s here, at long last.  The one Joker story from myriad of Joker stories we have endured(?) over the last year, that I am actually looking forward to!  Funnelled from the pages of Rebirth #1, we have known that there were three Jokers; we have just been waiting for the other shoes to drop.

One night in Gotham and we have not one, not two, but three Joker killings.  Each has at least one eye witness and each seems to pick at old scars for Batman, Batgirl and Red Hood.  These Jokers are thought of as the criminal, the comedian and the clown.  Each one represents an aspect of the Joker over his 80 years of tormenting Gotham.  Theorising that there is one Joker and two copycats, the Bat-fam call a truce of sorts as they pool their considerable strengths and possible weaknesses in order to get to the bottom of the cases.  But does the family, after all this time and all their individual losses and pain, still have the same agenda?

Geoff Johns is the architect of this story, the seeds of which could quite possibly be traced all the way back to Justice League #42 during the Darkseid War that saw out the New 52 era of DC comics.  Back then, Batman, whilst sitting in the Mobius Chair, asked it for the Joker’s true identity.  We never heard the answer.  Fast forward a few months and the button makes its way into the cave and we see three distinct Jokers on the bat-computer.  To say this has been a long time planning is an understatement, to say the least.  This first part has a number of Joker motifs dotted throughout the book, thankfully there is no Harley.  For a first issue, there is quite a to go through and Johns paces proceedings well.  Johns is the DC writer par excellence, having written, Justice Society, Justice League, Green Lantern and The Flash.  It could be said that until he hit Justice League in New 52, Batman was probably the one chink in his writing armour.  Here though, Johns hits some surprising notes; Alfred and Bruce was great to see, Commissioner Gordon looking disapprovingly at Batman when Batgirl is involved and manages to make Jason Todd at least a tad more interesting than normal.  Believe me, that is no mean feat!

One of the things I have missed over the last couple of years from DC is the always gorgeous art of Jason Fabok,  His run on Detective Comics was a thing of beauty, as was his Justice League books.  This is no exception.  Batman looks suitably gruff, scarred and muscular.  Fabok’s Batgirl is also clearly defined, accentuating her curves without apology.  I am sure that there will be people who will hate the Babs scar scenes, giving how Clay Mann’s version in Heroes in Crisis was received,  Fabok works hard to differentiate the Jokers from each other,  The only thing that annoys me is the dreaded 9 panel page design that rears its grid like precision,  Have we really not moved on from The Watchmen yet?  This is a minor quibble from someone who has read way too many comics for his own good,  Learning from the credit mistakes of the Doomsday Clock, colorist Brad Anderson gets a full credit which is richly deserved.  Somehow, he manages to walk the line between superhero colors with a mature nuance that just makes the book have depth.  Finally, letterer Rob Leigh adds the garnish to s deliciously well written and gloriously drawn book.

I do have a worry regarding this series that has nothing to do with the sheer amount of Joker we have seen this year.  After Doomsday Clock, my worry is that Three Jokers may promise too much and deliver too little.  I sincerely hope that I am wrong as DC could do with a win.  Fingers crossed.

Writing – 5 Stars

Art – 5 Stars

Colors 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Written by; Geoff Johns
Art by; Jason Fabok
Colors by; Brad Anderson
Letters by; Rob Leigh
Publsihed by; DC Comics / Black Label

 

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes
I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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