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mysteriousmre 's review for:
Batman Vol. 2: The Joker War
by James Tynion IV
Tynion tackles A LOT of stuff in this book. I just don't think he needed to make it a Joker story in order to do it all.
Joker War deals with the fallout of Tynion's previous Batman story, Their Dark Designs, where Batman loses all of his wealth and belongings to The Joker, who goes on a huge shopping spree using every penny to kill Batman. Cool premise. That's *REALLY* not what this book is about though.
The previous writer for Batman, Tom King, unceremoniously killed Batman's surrogate father/butler, Alfred. And the bulk of this story is Bruce t̶r̶i̶p̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶d̶r̶u̶g̶s̶ processing the trauma of losing his closest confidant, grieving, and moving forward. Tynion puts Alfred's wit, loyalty, and faith in his surrogate son on display in all its glory and its one hell of a send-off.
The other thing going on is the introduction of Joker's new groupie, Punchline. I didn't click with character (in this story anyway), but the existence of Punchline finally makes good on the promise DC made when they bleached Harley Quinn all those years ago in a tank full of skeletons:
Joker is an abuser and a manipulator. Harley was not his first victim, and she would not be his last.
By pitting Harley against Punchline we get to see just how far Harley has come as a character since she removed herself from The Joker's influence. I don't think we've ever actually seen that in the main Batman book (at least not front and center like it is here). It's a welcome addition, and fun to see her talk back and forth with Batman instead of throwing punches at him. We also get to see Harley's perspective on what should be done with The Joker once he's caught, as she knows better than anyone that just because Joker is locked up, doesn't mean he can't hurt people. It's a sobering bit of dialogue that ramps up the tension in the last act and makes me hope Harley stays as part of Batman's extended cast. When Tynion wrote her with a lot of maturity in this story and I hope its something he continues.
So yeah, the story focuses more on everything else except the villain who has top billing. A bit disappointing. But I'd be lying if I said that this story wasn't good. There's a lot of good character work here with Harley and Alfred got the send off he deserved (all while cleaning up the mess Tom King left behind). Not a bad read, just know what you're buying.
Joker War deals with the fallout of Tynion's previous Batman story, Their Dark Designs, where Batman loses all of his wealth and belongings to The Joker, who goes on a huge shopping spree using every penny to kill Batman. Cool premise. That's *REALLY* not what this book is about though.
The previous writer for Batman, Tom King, unceremoniously killed Batman's surrogate father/butler, Alfred. And the bulk of this story is Bruce t̶r̶i̶p̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶d̶r̶u̶g̶s̶ processing the trauma of losing his closest confidant, grieving, and moving forward. Tynion puts Alfred's wit, loyalty, and faith in his surrogate son on display in all its glory and its one hell of a send-off.
The other thing going on is the introduction of Joker's new groupie, Punchline. I didn't click with character (in this story anyway), but the existence of Punchline finally makes good on the promise DC made when they bleached Harley Quinn all those years ago in a tank full of skeletons:
Joker is an abuser and a manipulator. Harley was not his first victim, and she would not be his last.
By pitting Harley against Punchline we get to see just how far Harley has come as a character since she removed herself from The Joker's influence. I don't think we've ever actually seen that in the main Batman book (at least not front and center like it is here). It's a welcome addition, and fun to see her talk back and forth with Batman instead of throwing punches at him. We also get to see Harley's perspective on what should be done with The Joker once he's caught, as she knows better than anyone that just because Joker is locked up, doesn't mean he can't hurt people. It's a sobering bit of dialogue that ramps up the tension in the last act and makes me hope Harley stays as part of Batman's extended cast. When Tynion wrote her with a lot of maturity in this story and I hope its something he continues.
So yeah, the story focuses more on everything else except the villain who has top billing. A bit disappointing. But I'd be lying if I said that this story wasn't good. There's a lot of good character work here with Harley and Alfred got the send off he deserved (all while cleaning up the mess Tom King left behind). Not a bad read, just know what you're buying.