Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke set out to tell the story of the Dark Knight's -- and Gotham City's -- first encounter with the Joker, but I think the secondary goal was to create a bookend, a companion book for the classic and oft-reprinted Batman: The Killing Joke, by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. Overall, I'd say they succeeded. The creators capture the chilling nature of the Joker's insanity and bloodlust, not to mention the intensity of the Batman. One thing this project does accomplish -- and I don't think it's intentional at all -- is to rob the Joker of some of his mystery. This just seems so definitive and final an origin story that it takes away from the character's mythic quality.
A grisly discovery is made in an abandoned warehouse in Gotham City, where several bodies -- each contorted and wearing a hideous grin -- are found, already beginning to decompose. Capt. James Gordon leads the investigation, but he's comforted to know someone else is spearheading a different kind of investigation: his new ally, the masked vigilante known as the Batman. The man responsible for the murders soon reveals himself, and the media dubs him the Joker. The Batman races against the clock to decipher clues and to get into the mind of a madman to determine if there's any method to his madness.
DC readers are getting a different perspective on Doug Mahnke's work here. Most, if not all, of his previous work for DC Comics has been done along with inker Tom Nguyen; here, he flies solo on the line art. His style still shines through, but it's definitely different as well. It's not as polished, boasting a much more gritty feel. Given the tone of this story, that grittiness works. Mahnke's work here reminds me a lot of Glenn (The Authority: More Kev) Fabry's style. There are scattered panels here and there in which characters appear a little misshapen, but overall, the artist does quite well here.
One of the strongest scenes in the book is the one in which Bruce Wayne loses control, in which he touches the world and the perceptions of the man he's hunting. His accidental venture into the surreal realm of insanity is chilling, but I really enjoyed how it opened the hero's eyes as to how his opponent thinks and feels.
Those who have read Brubaker's work on Gotham Central won't be at all surprised at how well he brings Jim Gordon to life. His dedication to the job, his willingness to bend the rules and his overall sense of fatigue comes through clearly in the narration. Brubaker has also carefully crafted a plot that puts the Joker leaps and bounds ahead of the police on every level, but at the same time, it's one that never makes Gordon look stupid or ineffective. 8/10
