This is it, folks!!! The Final Joke concludes here!!!!
With Robin (Matt) held captive within the clutches of the newly revived Joker, Terry suped up in his Batman gear races to find Robin. As Batman and Grayson search the city, the Joker releases a city-wide broadcast requesting for the identity of the original Batman. If Robin doesn’t give up the identity of OG Batman, then it’s lights out for the Boy Wonder Beyond. Can Terry find his brother in time to prevent another Death in the Family? Or will history repeat itself again?
I feel that throughout this arc Jurgens has crafted a really great Joker story that’s worth archiving in the hall of good Joker stories. And given that this is the final chapter of the arc, there is some irony within this issue that one would be upset about at first, but once reading, and rereading, readers might understand the joke in which Jurgens sorta implies. Without spoiling this issue, I felt that this issue was a decent conclusion to the Final Joke arc. Usually, whenever there is a final issue of a story arc, it tends to have bombast action and a giant conclusion that is supposed to be gargantuan and insane. But this conclusion was quite the opposite in good way. It’s not meant to have some crazy, disastrous fight, and that’s kinda what Jurgens plays around within this arc’s conclusion. There are some really great moments that I thought was really cool, and in other cases, there are moments that I was expecting that didn’t happen, and other moments I didn’t expect to happen at all. Yet even with those expectations, I felt that this issue did a good job at wrapping up the entirety of the arc and in its own ironic way, lives up to its namesake.
In terms of the artwork, Brett Booth has been consistent throughout this entire arc delivering dynamic work. His paneling is always dynamic giving this epic of a story an extra flair that makes this arc stand out. Coupled with Rapmund’s ink work, it’s just a solid looking book that makes every page worth re-reading. Even though Booth’s pencils and Rapmund’s inks stand out, Dalhouse’s colors add another layer of energy that gives the story the right kind of atmosphere that Jurgens story requires.
Jurgens seems to be having fun with this series, and most especially this arc, and it shows. If you’re looking for something that doesn’t fall into the trappings of the current status quo of the DCU, and just want to read something that is in its own lane, I feel that this series is it. So often people will complain about King’s Batman or Lobdell’s Nightwing, yet no one seems to talk much about the other Bat-related titles that are actually worthwhile and offer some exciting thrills that are worth checking out. Now, it’s not to bash King or Lobdell, but I think it’s important for readers to understand that if they want to find something new, that doesn’t get relegated to events etc. It’s good to check out other series that are allowed to flourish and explore the possibilities beyond the constraints of the usual status quo. Which is why I recommend this series, because yes, it’s Batman, but it’s not stuck to the rules that are usually associated with Batman. That creates new avenues for readers to explore within a landscape where characters age, and grow. With that said I definitely recommend adding this issue to your pull list for new comic Wednesday.
Newsdesk