A year in the making.
That’s how long it’s been that the fanboys and fangirls of DC’s “New 52” have been waiting for the return of Batman’s arch villain, the Joker.
Oh, yeah, you remember: the final scene in the pages of last September’s Detective Comics #1 – the scene where Joker really goes off the deep end and, as part of some sick, twisted scheme, has his outer epidermis savagely sheared from his face and left behind, pinned to a wall as a trophy – no – as a warning, for Gotham’s finest?
A “rebirth”, Joker called it.
We haven’t seen him since that issue. And now it’s October. 2012. And Joker’s back. You don’t get a better Halloween treat than that, do you? Yes you do!
There’s a trick to go with that treat!
Written by: Scott Snyder
Illustrated by: Greg Capullo
Published by: DC Comics
So, what’s the first thing Joker does on his return to the prevailing mindset of Gotham City’s Dark Knight Detective? Rob a bank? Kill a man? Poison a reservoir? Nope. None of these horrid things.
Just in time for the horrifying side of Halloween, the Joker does what is arguably the sickest, most decrepit, most despicable thing he has ever done: he shockingly steals back his own loose and leathery face (left behind in the previously mentioned Detective Comics #1), and affixing it to what could only be his scarred and rotted, muscled visage!
I say “could only be” because we, as readers, haven’t actually seen that face yet. It’s only been alluded to in promo images and posters. But, you know, it’s gotta be a mess! And we, like a car crash at the side of a road, just gotta look at it.
It’s been a year of waiting, after all!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is, I believe, acclaimed writer Scott Snyder’s first turn at the Clown Prince of Crime. And things are different in this post “New 52” world. Anything goes, here, now. The writers, artists and editors at DC Comics are, for the most part, unencumbered by history in the writing of these characters. Some of them, like Snyder, have quite a lot of latitude when it comes to storylines and character development.
Snyder’s Batman run, coupled with the absolutely amazing kinetic artwork of Greg Capullo, has been one of the best “New 52” publications from DC Comics. It’s a title that’s made this particular column on more than one occasion over the last twelve months. And now, Snyder and Capullo have got their Joker up to something diabolically no good: a Halloween trick of devilishly evil intent! And, after waiting a full year, you must make the run to your local shop to pick up the first part of this fiendish story!
With the homicidal clown at his most insane and with the Dark Knight at his most desperate, Batman #13 promises to be the beginning of a Batman/Joker tale for the ages.
Every Wednesday, JP makes the after-work run to his local downtown comic book shop. Comics arrive on Wednesdays you see and JP, fearful that the latest issue will sell out, rushes out to purchase his copy. This regular, weekly column will highlight a particularly interesting release, written in short order, of course, because JP has to get his – before someone else does!