Written by Dan Jurgens
Illustrated by Cully Hamner
and Marco Santucci
Published by DC Comics
This is part one of a new storyline called “The Final Joke.” It’s quite a good issue too.
It starts off with a conversation on a train in the future and then it just blasts off from there. Dan Jurgens does a nice job writing this title and it’s really been great.
After that opening sequence, we are thrown back to modern day Gotham City.
Batman and Robin are trying to stop the Joker on a train. The fight is very good and the sequence is excellent. It lays the groundwork for the entire storyline that’s ahead of us.
From there, we cut to the future!
We see the future Batman and Robin swinging over the city. That leads into something special happening.There is a dedication of a new building commemorating a special Wayne anniversary: 100 years from the birth of Thomas Wayne.
There is also a villain we all know lurking in the audience.
We then have a flashback to Batman and the Red Hood fighting Mr. Freeze. It’s a brutal battle. We learn about how the Robin’s kept Bruce Wayne in check. It also sets up another clue towards the bigger overall story.
We cut back to the future!
We see that the Joker is stealing a train(much like the earlier scene). This all leads to a surprise cliffhanger where we see a splash page of the Joker alive in the future! What’s going to happen next?
Jurgens keeps the story moving and the characters strong. It may be a double sized issue but it really does move. The art is pretty spiffy too.
This is a great anniversary issue and a great package overall! Very enjoyable!
RATING: B+
