Cosmo Digital

The Good: A nuanced, subtle portrayal of the Joker's character; nice fast pace to the storyline.

The Bad: Lackluster ending; No real insight into the Joker's character; How does the Joker survive getting hit by a eighteen-wheeler?


The Joker is generally my favorite comic villain. However, there is a problem with how his character is written. Most of the authors who take on this villain decide to throw away any possible subtlety and go straight to the "psycho killer clown" persona that has become so popular in Batman comics during the last few years. This was seen most recently in Batman #655, where author Grant Morrison had the Joker going the full-fledged psycho route before being shot in the head and thrown into a dumpster by Batman. Definately not his most auspicious moment.

It was with some excitement that I picked up the most recent issue of Detective Comics, which features a Christmas Themed Joker. This is primarily because the series is now being written by Paul Dini, who had previously written for Batman: The Animated Series television cartoon. Most fans agree that this cartoon features some of the best portrayals of the Joker ever made, in comic or television medium. Thus, I was eager to discover if Dini's views of the Joker would fit with my own views on his character. The article I wrote is still extemely rough, but I nevertheless contend that the "psycho clown" view is wrong and is destroying the Joker's character. Luckily, this issue presents a far more nuanced character that is worth reading about.

The story progresses at an extremely fast pace, which actually is a good thing. An entire comic that is essentially nothing more than a car ride could make for very boring reading, but Dini manages to keep it quick and entertaining. In this issue, Robin learns the lesson about not getting in cars with strangers, which he apparently missed during Kindergarten. The Joker immediately gasses him, ties him up, and takes the hapless hero for a joyride around town. A newcomer to the comics might not believe it, but this is the Joker being rather subtle. There are only nine apparent murders by the end of the tale, and the Joker breaks into manic laugher only twice. (I say apparent murders, because some of those hit-and-run victims could have quite plausibly survived.) Throughout it, the Joker has a nice conversation with Robin, even though nothing actually gets said.

This lack of character progression ultimately hurts the book. While it is a very nuanced, subtle portrayal of the Joker, there is no real insight into his character or his psyche. I am very happy that Dini is able to have the Joker carry on something resembling a normal conversation without having him break into psychotic laughter every other panel. This is certainly one of the best characterizations of his character during the last few years. However, the setup in this issue (the Joker having a conversation with Robin) provided the opportunity to have some true insights into the Joker, and the best we get is that he likes eggnog milkshakes and the Marx Brothers (as if the readers hadn't figured that one out during the last sixty years). There was no discussion of the relationship between Batman and the Joker, only a vague sentence or two about the relationship between the Joker and Robin, and nothing said at all about Harley Quinn, Jason Todd, or any of the other people the Joker has effected. Now, I realize that not every single Joker story can provide a life-affirming view into his personality and history, but this seemed to be the perfect opportunity. But even with this gripe, this characterization is light-years ahead of Morrison's "psycho clown" scripting.

With such a fast pace, the issue is over in what seems like seconds. It is also during the end that this issue ventures into what I would consider implausible territory. Breaking free of his Christmas-light restraints, Robin hits the Joker with his own nerve-gas and boots him out of the car. The Joker is then slammed into by a truck. A fucking eighteen-wheeler. Head on. The impact sends him flying (instead of splattering, as should probably happen) over a bridge and into the cargo container of another truck, where he promptly disappears. Even Batman later acknowledges that this impact should keep him out of action for awhile. But this does not happen, for a little footnote on the first page proclaims that all this occurs before Batman #655, which features the Joker in picture perfect physical condition. So, my question is, how is this possible? I do realize that the Joker has the super-power of being able to survive horrible injuries again and again, but this is taking it a bit far. Looking at the scene to the above-right, you can even hear the impact. Who knows? Maybe he actually jumped out of the way and just got clipped by the truck. Yeah, that is the explanation I will go with.

Those gripes aside, this is one of the best Joker stories in some time. Now, if only Paul Dini would feature Harley Quinn in some upcoming issues, that would truely make my day.

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