The Joker and the Riddler go to war.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Tom King
Art: Mikel Janin
Color: June Chung
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
“The War of Jokes and Riddles” part one! Don’t miss this extra-sized anniversary issue! In his own words, Bruce Wayne narrates a harrowing, never-before-told story of the Dark Knight’s greatest failure…and the horrors it unleashed! In the spirit of YEAR ONE and THE LONG HALLOWEEN, prepare to see a side of Batman you’ve never seen before—get in on the ground floor of a classic Batman epic in the making!
Content: (warning, content sections may contain spoilers)
This story is set during an earlier time in Batman’s life, and thus puts the question of whether Catwoman accepted his marriage proposal on hold. We start in a comedy club, with a narrator telling us how he’s done all he could to stop the war. a nervous man tries to get some jokes off but is shot by a man in the shadows. Another man takes the stage, and we cut to the GCPD, where the cops have turned to an incarcerated Riddler to help them solve the string of recent murders. Riddler says the murders are a joke, and when the lieutenant questioning him looks to leave, he says he can solve the puzzle, and then murders the cop. At the building labeled “Joke Factory” Gordon and the GCPD send in a squad, but things go rather explosively badly, The Joker appears and kills a cop, trying and failing to find a funny joke. Meanwhile, Riddler is on his way to the GCPD building’s exit, and armored cops arrive to stop him, but unbeknownst to them, he has a few high-level friends. one of them is a guard that provided him some personal info on guards, and the men are forced to let Riddler escape.
Joker makes his way to a skyscraper, and our narrator tells us that though they tried to get there as fast as they could, Riddler made it there first. Riddler stands face to face with Joker and suggests he knows why Joker can’t laugh. Batman has made things too predictable, and a punchline needs to be the opposite. Riddler suggests that killing Batman would make Joker able to laugh again but goes further in the analysis. Joker needs to kill Batman, but so does Riddler. Riddler suggests they work together to kill Batman, Joker’s response is a gun, but he still doesn’t find it funny and leaves. Batman arrives shortly after, now revealed as our narrator. After speaking with what appears to be a dying Nigma, Batman heads off after Joker to see who he can save. but his narration tells us things are only just starting to heat up. Riddler gets up and walks off, with Batman telling us that things will rapidly get worse. Our last scene involves Bruce in the present speaking to Catwoman. He says before things go forward (he proposed last issue) she needs to know “What I did…What I had to do. During the War of Jokes and Riddles”.
In Summary:
The War of Jokes and Riddles has begun, and it can only heat up from here. A frustrated Joker and a desperate Riddler are about to drag Gotham into their war for the fight to kill the bat, and we can only guess what role Batman can play now. It’s quite a change of pace to see Batman not in the spotlight, but Riddler and Joker are handled very well. Their impasse and struggle are clearly laid out and defined now, and the war is set to begin. The art is done well, with Janin giving both a classic vibe and a sense of realism in the characters shown. It’s rather well done. King’s writing is great, as always, and manages to start the story in a way that does hook you into the war, while tying this to the present. Whether Catwoman accepted his proposal is unknown, but it is possible she said yes. The book flows well and is a great read for fans of Batman and his rogues gallery. This is a bigger issue than no Batman fan should miss out on. Stand out moments include Riddler’s confrontation with the guards and Riddler’s meeting with the Joker. The tone is one of rising tension, and it works really well. Pick this book up if you see it.
Grade: A
Released By: DC Comics
Release Date: June 21, 2017
