Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Andrea Sorrentino
Published by DC Comics
This book has one of the best creative teams in comics presently: Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino.
I just wonder where they find all of their time. Both of these creators have another ongoing series out. Yet, they still have time to dabble in the Batman’s world.
The best part is, they both keep the quality extremely high on everything they do, including this! It is an impressive feat, indeed.
First off, this book is an epilogue of sorts to the series these two creators did about a year back called Joker: Killer Smile.
We are brought right back into the world that Lemire and Sorrentino have created right out of the gate.
The horror begins on the very first page and it never lets up.
We are introduced to a young Bruce Wayne at the beginning of the book. I love that the creative team focuses on a part of Bruce’s life rarely explored. Bruce is in love with the “Mr. Smiles Show.” It is so creepy to read, my skin was crawling.
Readers of the series that precedes this will remember that Mr. Smiles as a surreal villain. Bruce watches the show and we slowly realize a couple of things. One is that the show may be watching him back. Also, we see that the television show is only speaking to Bruce and nobody else. We get to go to some truly dark places.
It’s a good epilogue but it is short. I would have liked a bit more breathing room. But overall, it is an excellent coda to an excellent series. I love this creative team and it is essential reading.
RATING: A
