Robb Ghag reviews Batman #23.1: The Joker…
“The Joker has FOREVER been the face of EVIL in the DC Universe…but what led him on this devious path of treachery? Andy Kubert pens this early adventure showcasing the maniacal exploits of the Crown Prince of Gotham—The JOKER!”
While the 3D covers of Villains Month has become a great marketing campaign for DC, in some of these one off, standalone stories something is missing. Is it story, or continuity? It’s actually both. Rarely have I seen a rush for comic books (outside of Free Comic Book Day) where there’s a lineup out the store for people waiting to buy these 3D cover issues.
Having said that I was extremely excited to get my hands on Joker, as he is by far my absolute favorite villain in the DC Universe, possibly in comics altogether. The cover doesn’t disappoint, having seen how the 3D covers are made at the back of every issue, Jason Fabok and Nathan Fairbairn do an incredible job making the clown prince of crime seem to leap off the pages.
The interior artwork as well is great, composed well, and definitely fills every panel from foreground to background. The big gaping hole in this book unfortunately for Andy Kubert is the story. Maybe I’m biased or my expectations were too high for this particular issue, but for me it just falls flat. It’s a one off story that didn’t really need to be told, and even though it was told, it wasn’t told very well.
I don’t want to give too much away, as again, maybe it was just a personal preference but I thought this story was structurally weak, and quite frankly didn’t make much sense.
Robb Ghag works for an Arts & Entertainment Brokerage in Toronto Canada. An Animation and Film school graduate, he specializes in Risk Management of Animation and VFX studios throughout North America.