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JOKER: LAST LAUGH #5
"Mad, Mad World"
Neutral (4/10)
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DC Comics
Writers: Chuck Dixon & Scott Beatty
Artist: Ron Randall
Colors: Gina Going & Digital Chameleon
Letters: Willie Schubert
Editor: Matt Idelson
Price: $2.95 US/$4.95 CAN |
My essential problem with Last Laugh, leaving aside that it's a
crossover and I don't like crossovers, is that the creators have sucked most of
the dramatic tension right out of the story with the revelation that the Joker
isn't really dying. That they end this issue with a ridiculously safe
cliffhanger doesn't help much either. There are some entertaining moments in
this issue, notably a look into Joker's demented psyche, the continuing gag with
Multi-Man and some wonderful stuff between Shilo Norman and Dina Bell, but
mostly we seem to be stuck in a feedback loop headed to a predictable conclusion
that sees a return to status quo once again.
Dixon and Beatty jump around quite a bit this issue, looking in on a variety of stories already in progress. Some of those stories began in Last Laugh, others in Last Laugh crossovers, which means that sometimes
there are unanswered questions (When did Robin get captured and Huntress sent
after him, for example) but nothing that really grinds the story to a halt. The
jumping around does help to give the story a bit more of a scope, particularly
the guest appearance of the JLA, which sees them answering to Batman because he
knows his foe better than they do.
One thing that Dixon has
always done, and Beatty seems good at as well, is to handle the extended cast
that Batman has built around himself. Huntress has some nice scenes in this
issue reacting to Robin's change of fortunes, for example, and I continue to
enjoy the role of Oracle as the center of this crisis. In addition, the
characters of Shilo Norman and Dina Bell have become probably the ones I'm most
interested in this story, simply because where they go from here will probably
be considerably different than the conclusions for Batman, Oracle, Joker, etc.
I'd love to be wrong on that count, but the revelation that Joker isn't dying
and the lack of foreshadowing that Barbara might take revenge into her own hands
leads me to believe he's going back into a cell at the end of this, free to
spread mayhem again whenever the writers need him.
The art in this series has
been uneven at best, but Ron Randall is another bright spot, easily the best
artist since Woods's turn on the first issue. He does some great humor with the
Harley sequence or the Multi-Man gag, wonderful chase sequences in Arkham and a
gorgeous transition page which sees Black Canary driving along on her custom
motorcycle. The work is clear, varied in tone to fit the story and best of all,
beautiful to look at.
For readers new to Batman,
this might be a pretty solid read. However, given that the cliffhanger this
issue revolves around whether or not a character with his own series is dead,
and the whole basis of the series revolves around a character who isn't actually
dying, it all feels a bit hollow to this veteran of reading "event" comics. The
strengths of these two writers lie in characterization and action, not events,
and while there is plenty of solid action and characterization to go around, the
overall style of the book doesn't seem to suit them.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
