Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Art: Guiseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Sorrentino, Stefano Nesi, Alejandro Sanchez, Dave Stewart, and Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: February 6th, 2024
The tragic “death” of the leader of the Red Hood Gang in a vat of chemicals has become the subject of myth…but what is the heartbreaking and gruesome tale of the monster who walked away from that violent birth? And how does it affect Batman’s distant future? “The Joker Year One” begins here as Batman #142 by Chip Zdarsky kicks off!
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Batman #142 Review.
THE DISPATCH
So, I was pretty pumped for Batman #142. It appeared before this issue that we’d be getting this “Year One” version of the Joker, how he truly came to be, and even some gaps filled in. And other than the cliffhangers themselves, we really don’t get much of that. Readers actually get a choppy mess jumping back and forth through the past and what appears to be the future. Heck, it wasn’t even clear that it was the future until there was a reference to Barbara as the Commissioner.
Moreover, the narration was way too confusing. Sometimes, it was difficult to see who was talking which just made the entire premise of Batman #142 even more disorganized. Now, I’m sure Zdarsky’s intent was to make the Joker seem incredibly broken, which shines through perfectly with this imbalanced story. However, that style also made it extremely difficult to understand for the reader as well. In parts, we have three Jokers yet we don’t know if they’re in his mind, in the future, or in the past. To top that, the Joker pops back in on his significant other who doesn’t seem to recognize him, and goes to bars to start fights for the purpose of getting beat up. The premise just seemed to be a jumbled mess lacking direction in order to get to the cliffhangers.
ART
Now, I get the difference in art styles. The purpose was to differentiate between time eras and make it more clear. Now, the time periods themselves were definitely different due to the art style but the where and the why was always not so clear. However, the future art scenes were outstanding. So much so in fact that I wish all of Batman #142 was drawn that way. The crisp, dark, realism was remarkable and made that aspect of the comic appear almost frightening. Whereas, the past was drawn with the same style the recent Joker comic was portrayed in. That style wasn’t terrible but it came across as more comedic and cartoony than what a devilish psychopath should be.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batman #142 was certainly different. So far, Zdarsky’s run was nothing like this issue. The creativity and cleverness that has been in each issue to date just wasn’t there. Now, that doesn’t mean it won’t be later, however, it looks like he’s doing a slow setup that involves his past Batman: The Knight storyline as well. Again, who would have thought that comic would have been so crucial in the Batman ongoing when it first came out? Nevertheless, the confusing nature and choppy development of Batman #142 made this opener a bit of a struggle. Readers were looking for more about the Joker but instead received this lost, broken puppy.
It does appear as though we learned a few things about the character that were never definitely defined over the years but appear to be now. Moreover, we learn of a mastermind who helped mold the Joker into who he has become. All together with the cliffhanger, as well as the fact that this comic comes out weekly this entire month, Zdarsky should be able to quickly write the ship and get us all to our destination before we hit an iceberg. Nevertheless, since I’m reviewing THIS issue, I’d have to say this was by far the worst issue of Zdarsky’s entire run to date. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!