Writer: Marc Silvestri
Art: Marc Silvestri, Arif Prianto, and Greg Capullo
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 6th, 2022
Batman has joined forces with his archnemesis, and things are already off to a rocky start as Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2 by Marc Silvestri continues . But time is of the essence as another piece of Commissioner Gordon is delivered to the Gotham City PD. Will Batman be able to work fast enough to save his dear friend, or whatever is left of him?
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THE DISPATCH
Over the first half of the issue was a large fight scene showcasing Batman and the Joker teaming up. This sounds more impressive than it actually was. The phrase “team up” was more like Batman doing most of the fighting while the Joker cracked jokes, put himself in harm’s way, and inadvertently caused Batman to get injured while focusing on him instead of the assassins. Truthfully, I was expecting more, especially with how long the fight took place compared to the length of the issue. Don’t get me wrong, everyone loves a good comic book team-up, however, not at the expense of the story.
Readers learn very little about who is behind the Jokerized assassins, how they were created, and why. You see, Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 did a fantastic job of introducing most of the characters, establishing the current “world”, providing a status quo for Batman and the Joker, and introducing the new threats. However, it’s the job of Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2 to ask more big questions, analyze the threat, and possibly identify and/or modify a new status quo in order to attack it head-on. None of the follow-ups happens in Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2 placing Silverstri’s second issue in comic book purgatory.
Nevertheless, readers do get a few answers quickly wrapped up in the last few pages of the issue… or should I say more questions. And as a matter of fact, we’d assume the very same questions from the data already presented to us from Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 and #2. Nonetheless, the actually thrilling elements of the issue come in the final few pages where Silverstri turns this action-packed issue back into a mystery thriller.
Now don’t get me wrong, every comic book fan loves action just like the next one, however, substance is required to get the reader to feel invested in the story. It’s the same in education. Would you rather go to school and learn using the concept of “an inch deep and a mile wide” or dig down deeper with a more even approach with width and depth? And on a side note, we don’t want the reverse either. “A mile deep and an inch wide” would simply be a story that was too focused on one small detail and thus probably too confusing and convoluted.
My point is: the action overshadowed the entire plot this week just to promote a team-up for fan surface involving Batman and the Joker. The real questions were laid out as the story came to a close. What does this meeting have to do with the story? Who are these people tied up at the end of the issue? What does it have to do with “Thomas” and even Bruce’s Great-Grandfather? And how is this person able to recreate these Joker clones by the dozens so fast? Readers, we get great questions but are provided with little guidance in this week’s Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2.
ART
Silvestri’s style is certainly detailed which anyone could tell by merely looking at his portfolio of work. However, I think it’s his rough, line work that sometimes adds to the messy appearance and coloring of his characters and background. Sometimes, there are so many lines that it’s hard to tell what’s a shadow, a wrinkle, facial hair, mask glare, or none of the above. Now, I know this sounds like I’m destroying his work, however, that’s not the intent. As someone who enjoys a more sharp, bright, crisp image, I find his style a bit perplexing. Nevertheless, Silvestri’s action sequences and panel progressions are spot on and make the comic super easy to follow. It’s almost as if his style just needs to be a bit updated in order to give it that pop that some of the more recent Batman writers have provided in the past decade.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2 seems to do what many of the Batman issues have done this week, and that’s a focus on action over story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, in a comic trying to get off the ground it may not be the best thing to do at the beginning of the second issue. Additionally, I just need to point out that Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2 is not a good place to start in this series. There is almost no catch-up or recap and thus as this issue opens, fans would be royally surprised as to what’s going on and why. Granted, we kind of are too…
Nevertheless, just like Batman #130 this week, Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #2 has some rather stellar plot threads for readers to pull that make this tale intriguing while garnering a strong sense of mystery and detective storytelling. Who’s behind all of this and why are they basically cloning Jokers? And what connection does this all have to do with the Waynes? There is so much meat on the bone making this reviewer excited for the future of this series. Yet, I’m reviewing THIS issue which was again overcompensating with action instead of pulling these enigmatic plot threads that could hold the story together on their own. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!