Writer: James Tynion IV
Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, Lorenzo Ruggiero, Adriano Di Benedetto, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Tom Napolitano, and Arif Prianto
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99
Release Date: March 8th, 2022
Vengeance has wasted her brief life waiting for the moment to kill THE JOKER. However, she understands that if she attains her goal, she’ll be hauled back into captivity within Santa Prisca. So, it seems she has a decision on her hands. Let’s dive into THE JOKER #13 by James Tynion IV to see if Jim Gordon may be her only way to escape this twisted dilemma she’s in. Nevertheless, a surprise near to Jim’s heart has the prospect to send him down a path he may never come back from.
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THE DISPATCH
The Penultimate installment of THE JOKER doesn’t completely disappoint as Tynion finally puts the focus less on Jim Gordon and more on THE JOKER. Thrust alongside the reintroduction of Mr. J, come Vengeance and a cannibalistic smorgasbord involving the Sampson Family. Now, Tynion’s intent behind this murderous buffet was to hammer home the sadistic monsters that the Sampson Clan are. However, I feel like the scenes were a bit too much. Not graphically… just unnecessary. Sometimes, what’s not seen makes the story more dark and creepy. In this circumstance, I feel the creative team deflated the horror aura surrounding the family by giving fans a bit too much. Plus, the focus could have been more on the JOKER and his impact to the story.
Moreover, the penultimate issue of THE JOKER #13 moves extremely quickly and is fully charged with action, explosions, and melee. However, there are a few panels that came across as a bit silly, such as someone’s head literally popping off their shoulders and Vengeance punching cars about as hard as SUPERMAN.
Yet as the story itself goes, readers learn very little until the last few pages while Tynion makes the Sampson Family build up into… nothing. Ultimately, the potential that the Sampson Family had was ripped away in seconds. My expectations were much higher considering the build-up we’ve had to date along with their capabilities. Alas, Tynion rips that foundation down rather quickly leaving this fan wondering what’s next for Jim Gordon and JOKER.
ART
Again, the art is far from terrible. I just felt like we saw too much which took the sails out of the issue. Now, from what we did get, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Cam Smith delivers some heated exchanges and some rather intense action that showed their range well. The movement within each panel provided a thorough ensemble of motion and conflict making THE JOKER #13 quick and intense. Camuncoli and Smith do a rather commendable job this week, however, I just wish some of the intricate nuances of the issue were left more to the imagination.
FINAL THOUGHTS
THE JOKER #13 rapidly hits its climax only to putter out when everything was getting good. I thought the Sampson Family would have been a much better adversary than they appeared to be. Moreover, I was also under the impression that the JOKER would have a much bigger role than simply wanting to be killed for “supposedly” burning down Arkham. Again, the story weaves together masterfully until this point and felt like it just landed flat with one issue to go to iron out the details. Plus, Jimbo cashed in all his money, charged up credit cards, and flew to the JOKER’S safety to… not really do much of anything. Again, if you’ve been really digging the story to this point, it just doesn’t seem to hit the mark this week. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!