The Joker #1 Synopsis: Following the events of Infinite Frontier #0, The Joker is the most wanted man in the world! But the Clown Prince of Crime is several steps ahead of law enforcement—and he’s on the run overseas. James Gordon, facing retirement, realizes this is the manhunt of his life and the last piece of a storied career…but what mysterious and deadly forces are also in pursuit of The Joker?

And in the backup story, following the events of the smash-hit Punchline #1, DC’s most controversial new villain navigates the infrastructure of Blackgate Penitentiary—while on the outside, Harper Row takes up the mantle of Bluebird to stop her brother from falling under Punchline’s influence.

written by JAMES TYNION IV

backup story was written by JAMES TYNION IV and SAM JOHNS

art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH

backup story art by MIRKA ANDOLFO

variant cover by FRANK QUITELY

variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA

1:25 variant cover by RICCARDO FEDERICI

team variant cover by MARK BROOKS (Minimum order 250 copies)

blank variant cover

CARD STOCK VARIANT COVERS

ON SALE 3/9/21

$4.99 US | 40 PAGES | FC | DC

As James Tynion continues to expand his reach of Gotham City, we FINALLY get a Joker ongoing series! Hard to believe isn’t it? Let’s see if this is a good idea or if Joker over-saturation has already set in.

This is a Joker book, right? Well after issue one, not so much at all. Not that that’s a bad thing at all. After one issue it appears that in all actuality it’s a Jim Gordon book. But come on, let’s be honest. What would sell more, a Jim Gordon book or Joker?

While many fans suffer from Joker burnout, I think this is the perfect time for Tynion to launch a solo series. Tynion is making a concentrated effort to connect the Bat-books and make it a giant shared universe. Plus with us just having a soft reboot of sorts the time seems right. So far, he’s doing an outstanding job!! But being a number one and all, we need some setup. Set up in the form of a brief history lesson of Jim Gordon and his career and many unfortunate and tragic dealings with the Joker.

Perhaps it was in Chicago that Jim first was introduced to the Joker? At least that’s how I interpreted these opening and somewhat disturbing pages.

We get to our title page and then dive deeper into some more of the Gordon/Joker history.

Many classic Batman/Joker stories and a few familiar locations will be familiar to longtime fans. The Killing Joke and Death of the Family are a few that are referenced.

The events of Infinite Frontier #0 are integral to this story, so check that out if you haven’t already. An editor’s note would have been nice. We’re then introduced to some new characters and an offer is made which really get our story going after our brief history lesson.

Punchline Backup:

I’m not the biggest fan of backups or Punchline. With that being said, this one isn’t bad at all. It again is set up and takes place after the Punchline one shot, which we DO get an editor’s note about!

And, as will all number “1’s” we’re inundated with variant covers. Here’s a couple of my favorites.

Sure would have been awesome for a Greg Capullo variant, but no such luck.

Final Thoughts:

I don’t read solicits so I was completely taken aback by this story. I was pleasantly surprised and not what I was expecting at all. Tynion is penning what I’ve been waiting for for quite a long while. A big shared Bat-Family universe spanning multiple books and stories!