Devin Grayson pulls off a trick that few comics writers have ever been able to accomplish: she takes the reader inside the head of the medium's best-known madman. There are some fascinating ideas at play here, but the execution doesn't quite come together as one might expect. It's a pleasure to see these two creative talents playing around in the DC Universe once again, but a blurred line between the "reality" of the setting and the surreal developments of this plot made for an unusual read. The artist shows off a harder edge in his work here, but I'm surprised he didn't take a darker approach with the visuals, given the subject matter.
Someone has embarked on a killing spree in London, and witnesses are pointing to a fellow that sounds suspiciously like the Joker. But that can't be, as the Joker hasn't been reported as an escaped from Gotham City's Arkham Asylum. As the Batman learns that the clown-like serial killer made his beyond the asylum's walls for a very different reason, the Joker himself finds himself in a predicament in London. Someone's stolen his smile, and in order to track it down, the madman decides he must become a detective, a hunter. The Joker realizes that he must become the Batman so that he can become the Joker once again.
The greatest strength of Grayson's script is her depiction of the Joker's inner monologue. She really captures the illogical and disjointed thought process that sets this twisted figure apart from sane society. Grayson doesn't just portray the Joker as a wise-cracking killer, but as a strange soul who's mind is afflicted. Todd Klein's unusual lettering motif aids her in those efforts quite well. I also like Grayson's portrayal of the Joker as something of a pitiful figure. He's really more of a victim here than the villain of the story.
The first half of this book boasts a wonderfully surreal tone. The notion that the Joker thinks he's lost his smile and that a new one has been added to the back of his head is a thoroughly twisted and inventive portrayal of the character's madness. The problem is that when it comes to that impossible disfigurement, he's not mad. The second half of the book makes it clear that the reader is meant to see the change as a literal one, and at that point the story starts to fall apart. Furthermore, the Joker's attempt to take on the role of the Batman isn't creepy or disturbing at all. In fact, it's laughable, and that's not in keeping with the edgier tone of the script. I was also surprised to discover that the "switch" referred to in the book's title didn't extend to the Batman taking on a Joker-like role.
Bolton's artwork captures the surreal nature of the story, and I enjoyed it when I thought the script was focusing on the chaotic, fluid nature of the Joker's consciousness. Of course, when we learn that the surreal is the "real," Bolton's exaggerated tendencies don't work as well. His take on the Dark Knight here is decidedly Bisley-esque. The Batman is a brute of a figure here, and his mass as portrayed in this one-shot makes him an unlikely and frankly uninteresting protagonist. He comes off as a bruiser, not a thinker.
