Writer: Matthew Rosenberg
Art: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Nick Filardi, and Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: February 7th, 2023
Knock, knock! Who’s there? That’s what The Joker is trying to find out. But as he closes in on the man he thinks is pretending to be him, Jason Todd is right on his heels. And Jason has got a great joke about a little kid and a crowbar. Maybe you’ve heard it before. It kills. Let’s dive into The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 by Matthew Rosenberg and see just exactly how it kills!
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THE DISPATCH
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 kicks off with immediate action placing Joker vs. Joker mixing the Red Hood right smack dab in the middle. However, even throughout all the excitement, this issue won’t end quite how you think it will. Again, readers will love the fast-paced method of delivering this week. Additionally, the graphic nature of the story lends itself beautifully to some extremely dynamic art that sets the stage well. Nevertheless, The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 is more of a filler issue that doesn’t exactly move the story forward or backward much at all.
Sure, it’s a fun read but fans gain very little movement in the story and the art met with a pretty predictable finishing touch that somewhat makes sense. The biggest takeaway from The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 is what might happen to the Red Hood. Truthfully, Red Hood has become the biggest, most unexpected wrinkle in this series so far. Furthermore, I found it way too easy to distinguish who the real Joker was instead of the imposter. However, when the story ends you’ll see just how bad and it will make a ton of sense. Readers will notice the sheer craziness of the one Joker as opposed to the other which will hammer home the imposter… or will it? Something is certainly afoot. And just when you think all the pieces make sense, Rosenberg rips that all away and brings you right back to square one as The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 comes to a close.
ART
In my opinion, Carmine shines when his work stays clear and less busy. Truthfully, that was kind of my turn-off of his style when he was on the Flash. At times, The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 did get a bit too busy. However, not as much as in past issues. The dark colors and larger panels made the issue much more clear than it has been in the past. Additionally, another knock people have on Carmine is the way he draws faces. However, the Joker is perfect for his elongated, sketchy line style. If the character’s face is portrayed with a sense of over-exaggeration, it’s totally ok if it’s the Jokers. Nevertheless, it does look a bit off on some of the kids in the issue as well Jason. Nevertheless, you’ll notice more opportunities for more individuals to have their faces covered in the issues that “mask” that premise with the illustrations. Again, as far as the entire The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing series goes, this was certainly one of the better-drawn issues.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 doesn’t reveal much nor does it really move the story along. However, it does provide a fun, entertaining read that abruptly places Joker vs. Joker early on in the series. Readers will still leave stumped as to the overall why and how behind Rosenberg’s story but will simply get a good old fashion comic that unhinges a more wilder Red Hood than we’ve seen in recent years.
For this reviewer, my biggest takeaway was that Rosenberg still hasn’t provided much in the avenue of explanation. We still find ourselves floundering for reasons as The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 wraps. Yet, by the end of the issue, he does seem to take one chip off the board eliminating who and what it can’t be. Moreover, the ending with Red Hood was also pretty shocking that should also bring up some wild implications for this series as well as the character overall in the future. Now, even with the lack of big plot reveals, I’m still all in on The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing. It continues to be exciting each month as it presses so many of the facets that make a comic fun to read. Nevertheless, if we don’t get any clues soon as to what exactly is going on and why I think readers may start to fold on this series. If you have any questions on the review or are ever interested in tackling a comic review of your own, feel free to email me directly at dispatchdcu@gmail.com. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!