Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Jock
Published by DC Comics
This series has been downright excellent. Scott Snyder is writing a great story that is dipped in absolute horror.
He has taken this pretty new villain and has made him vital to the Batman mythos. It’s a very hard thing to do but he pulls it off with pizazz.
Let me start off with the two covers I saw. Man, they were fantastic. The one of Batman though, by series artist Jock, is my favorite. But I also have to say, the variant by Jenny Frison of the Batman Who Laughs himself is wonderful as well. It’s a real close second. I want a poster of each though. They each killed it on this month’s set of covers.
As for the issue itself, things start out really tense. Batman is is still infected with madness.
He seems to be in the process of releasing something called “Last Laugh.”
The whole beginning of this book plays a bit like a fever dream. And it just gets more and more intense of the issue builds.
We see Bruce Wayne in a wheelchair. He looks to be accepting an award. Then, we see the Batman Who Laughs set up as a sniper. He takes a shot at Bruce Wayne.
Just what the hell is going on? It’s disorienting but it all eventually makes sense in a very cool way.
While this whole thing is going on, James Gordon is with his serial killer son, trying to figure a way out for the city. Things are looking even more bleak. Batman eventually gets himself together to take a stand against the Batman Who Laughs. It’s a beautifully nightmarish scene.
The ending of this book is a cliffhanger of course. It’s as rousing as can be. Jock does his best work here and that’s saying something. He and Snyder have created an incredible book. Let’s see how the last issue goes, but this could be considered a classic if it ends well. We shall see.
RATING: A
