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Science Fiction & Fantasy |
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Batman: Joker's Last Laugh
written by Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty
Studio : DC Comics
by DC Comics
Release Date : 2008-05-20
Publisher : DC Comics
Released : 2008-05-20
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781401217846
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 4 reviews)
List Price : $17.99
Our Price : $8.95
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Book Description |
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The Joker concocts a scheme to carry on his legacy by transforming his fellow villains into "jokerized" versions of themselves in this exciting tale! Deep in the heart of the Slab, the maximum security prison for super-powered criminals, the Joker learns that he is dying. Using the venom that transformed him into a pasty-faced sociopath, the Joker decides to share it with countless other super-villains, ensuring that his legacy of evil will live on! A prison break ensues -- and the Joker's army of super-powered followers escape to spread their insanity across the globe! Before Batman and his allies can put a stop to the madness, they'll have to contend with "Jokerized" versions of their most deadly foes! |
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The Last Laugh : Somewhat Laughable |
Just a quick word of caution. This review may contain minor spoilers for future readers.
The basic plot of Batman : The Joker's Last Laugh is this. The Joker is told he has a brain tumor that will kill him, so he masterminds a breakout of Slabside Penitentiary with a horde of jokerized villains. With this force, he goes on to devastate the world to go out in style, if you will.
Firstly, this comic feels nothing like anything taking place in the Batman universe, and unluckily, not in a good way. Having the Joker, for some unexplained reason, outside of Arkham Asylum and instead in a prison for super-powered villains, does not make much sense besides the obviously necessary plot point of being able to taint his fellow inmates. It feels a bit like Batman is barely in it at all, as well as the Joker himself at some parts, and instead it is filled with quick appearances of other superheroes (Superman and Flash) and others that some readers may be unaware of (The Spoiler?). The dozens upon dozens of various, un-Batman-related villains shown are almost difficult to keep track of and barely carry the story further either.
For the Joker himself, the author appears to be trying to keep Joker in his comedic side, which is fine. The Joker is a funny guy, but he is not a fool. Here is where that fails in this comic because this Joker is not even somewhat humorous, no outright laughs or dark ones. He is both lacking his intelligence and unique sense of comedy.
As for the story, it sounds like it should work. With disappointment, I have to admit it doesn't, at least not for me. It's one of those great ideas that just fail in execution. The plot is thick, hard to get through, and I personally had to set down the comic for long periods of time in order to actually finish it. Some characters, such as Harley Quinn in a brief appearance, just pop into the story a little one-dimensional and with their parts a bit boring and a little ridiculous. The ending itself is somewhat predictable, and also, in a way cheap. Without giving it away, I'll just say that it is one of the cases of guilt and victory that are often seen in Batman's philosophy, only transferred to Nightwing. It doesn't suit him, and feels forced, hurried, and under-developed.
This tale does not leave the reader satisfied.
However, there are small things that keep the story from slipping down to a one star. There is a little of Barbara dealing with what the Joker has done to her, and how it is in affecting her life. The Joker himself has a few good lines concerning the plans for his demise towards the end, even if they are overrun with poorer responses only a few pages later. Besides that though, there aren't many lights in the darkness.
The art itself feels amateur at best. It's barely detailed and a little sloppy. I have to say, it feels very poorly done and cartoonish. Unfortunately, its quality pulls the reader out of the story instead of carrying it along.
Chuck Dixon is a true author with great works, but I have to warn you that this is not one of them. It would be best to pick up something else, and leave this one on the shelf. |
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Uncharacteristically Bad |
Absolutely awful! I have never in my life put down a comic book before this one. When one thinks of the Joker going on a last hurrah before his supposed death it conjures up The Bat in a lion cage, Gotham City ablaze, Tim Drake being drawn & quartered by a ferris wheel and Arkham pouring into the streets. No such thing here.
In Slabside penitentiary for meta-humans(?!) the clown prince of crime is told he has an inoperable brain tumor and quickly whips up a riot before "jokerizing" all the villains. After breaking loose with his posse he then defaces famous parts of the earth with the trademark grin before trying to kidnap Harley to knock her up(?!).
A Batman epic at worst can bog down by the slew of Gotham heroes & villains who don't contribute much to the narrative; here they go the way of Emperor Joker by attributing every other DC character EXCEPT the ones who inhabit Gotham City. Joker himself is only featured in half the book! For the most part it follows Oracle's narrative before settling back to an illogical and unmotivated normalacy. How is this the same Chuck Dixon that wrote Knightfall?! This is not the Joker I know. A great idea but a plane crash follow through: avoid! |
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Lots of laughs and mayhem, this is a story where Joker is the star and Batman comes second. |
The Joker might be the only supervillain who helps society understand why Charles Manson receives so much fan mail in prison. Well.... not really, but my point is that for being a psychotic cold-blooded murderer, he's a fun character to read, and Batman: Joker's Last Laugh proves that he might be one of the few supervillains who could carry his own series.
Hidden behind the insanity, there's a genius intellect inside of Joker. So what would he do given the announcement that he has an inoperable brain tumor that will soon put him to rest forever? Cure cancer? Seek redemption? Apologize to all his victims? Hell no! He's finally going to get really serious, and expand his murder spree to a level never before seen. It's not just Batman, it's not just Gotham, Joker has now become the international public enemy number one.
In this book, the above scenario does occur and Joker leads a supervillain prison break-out that rivals New Avengers and any other hoodlum frenzies seen in recent comic books. Joker discovers that the chemicals used to sedate him and other villains can be combined into a form of the Joker laughing gas and uses this to his advantage while turning the entire prison populace into an army of super-powered murderous clowns. Not willing to stop there, he establishes his base of operations on Easter Island and plots to release his toxins on the entire world.
There are several subplots in this book. One of the more interesting dramas is Barbara Gordon dealing with the traumatic memories of her injury to the Joker in The Killing Joke. She also leads Nightwing, Robin and Huntress on a series of missions to stop Joker's new gang. Batman and the JLA play small parts in this series, although it's disappointing how little Batman appears, but in some ways that makes for a better story as characters like Nightwing who are usually thrown aside have large contributions. Lex Luthor comes into play in this tale as the President, and maybe the first person to realize how truly dangerous Joker is when he has nothing left to lose. Speaking of famous villains, Harley Quinn also has her own segment in this book. There's also a story involving the guards stuck inside the prison that Joker has trapped in a temporary black hole with the assistance of his fellow inmates. Sadly, DC chose not to include some of the side-stories that stretched off into other books so you'll only read the mini-series which is still easy to understand, but you'll miss the details of a few JLA fights and other escapades.
Batman: Joker's Last Laugh is definitely one of the funniest versions of Joker. Not only Joker, but all of his supervillain cronies turned into their own Joker versions make for some great laughs. One of the coolest creative jobs I've ever seen in a Joker story is a full-page spread that details Joker's confusing yet amusing hand-written notes on a piece of notebook paper as he scribbles out his Last Will & Testament. If you still want a serious approach in your TPB, never fear, because the ending has a frightening moment that reveals what Nightwing is truly capable of.
Perhaps my only complaint is the artwork. Maybe the best way to describe it is "very average." Joker is neutered down and not give many details. None of the artwork on any character is astounding, but the story is what keeps you going. Batman: Joker's Last Laugh is what I would call a fun read. It won't receive the same critical acclaim that The Killing Joke has, it won't take itself too serious like a new origin tale in Batman: Lovers and Madmen, but it will pander to all the hilarious aspects of Joker. If you enjoyed the final punchline in Infinite Crisis involving Joker and Luthor (I won't ruin it for you if you haven't read it yet), that's the spirit this book employs.
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trash |
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this is terrable. the joker gets out of the slab or whatever and turns all the other ppl into joker versions of themelves. sounds good right? well batman isn't really in it all that much. the only good part about it was the last ten pages or so when knightwing looses all controle becuase he things robin is dead and kills the joker (kind of) |
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