Greetings comic lovers and welcome back to casually comics the channel where we chat
all things comics from reviews of comics new and old to history to anecdotes to really
wherever our whims take us I’m Sasha and this comic has a great title, it’s a perfect
title for a Joker comic.
We today we’re looking at another DC Black Label release their newish at the time of
this recording name for their label that prints more mature r adult stories/books also these
books tend not to be tied to canon so they are unique from that perspective as well.
They've been very Batman centric so far which some people are here for others not so much.
Hey it’s working though people are picking these up Harleen got some second orders that’s
cool I like people buying comics cause that means more get made and the more that get
made the more likely some will not be Batman.
Batman is here to save us all and remind us as always that his parents are dead and that
his rogues gallery is second to none, if you like a good mature non canon story hit that
like button.
Today’s outing comes to us from Jeff Lemire who’s work we’ve looked at before he did
the am I in a mental asylum or not trope run of Moon Knight who’s first issue I shared
with you, so if you missed that of course card and link.
So if you read that you know Lemire likes to dive into the psychological and play with
the surreal so this story is about a new therapist trying to unpack the Joker he didn’t learn
from the Harley example but that’s ok no one in Gotham learns anything otherwise they
would all move.
Let’s get started The cover is really trippy all dots optical illusion style I find it
hard to look at but in a good way if that makes sense it’s unsettling it’s already
starting you slightly on edge although if I look too ,long it starts to give me a headache
so fair warning to those who are easily done in by visual illusions.
But if you think this is intense check out the variant if I woke up at night and this
cover was facing my bed i would probably scream and then cry.
So the reaction I’m supposed to have to the joker well played Kaare andrews.
Joker Killer smile writer jeff lemire artist andrea sorrentino colors by jordie bellaire.
So we start with the Joker waxing poetic overlaying a horrific crime he perpetrated Beauty that
is all i have ever wanted All I have ever wanted is to create things that are beautiful.
The joker has filled colour coordinated balloons full of laughing gas and for some reason the
people of Gotham are enamoured as they float down no in gotham the colours of purple and
green together should evoke a pavolvian response instantly just head right for the hills.
But no people stop and are awed oooh balloons balloons are rarely good in stories and he’s
a clown next up he’s going to be telling people that they float.
I aim to give my audience what they need not what they want Happiness laughter yes laughter
most of all that is true beauty.
Life is meant to be savoured.
This panel of the joker walking amongst all his victims it’s just there;s something
about it captures the essence of him so well.How he revels in his own chaotic world it conveys
so much jokerness you could take the text away and it would still stand you don’t
need text to get this sentiment.
So we’re treated to Doctor Ben Arnell the latest in I’m totally going to cure the
joker and not go insane candidates.
He’s not going to be ok that’s not a spoiler it’s just a fact.
He even says I’m here to cure and the joker just laughs in his face...earned.
The Joker challenges him flat out saying so what if he cures him does that bring the people
he;s killed back to life and accuses the doctor of being in it for his own ego.
Where are the lies, no lies detected the joker gives great reverse therapy sessions just
ask harley or actually better not.
Is he right hmmm is this just an ego thing with you doctor arnell
Of course not.
Just think if we could break through with an extreme case like him if we could build
a model from that the applications for other patients facing psychosis like this… well
his boss is as skeptical as I am and gives him two weeks no one wants more harley’s
cause that;s honestly more concerning than if he just killed him.
She had a high death toll.
Ben starts heading home and the things the joker told him in the session about beauty
begin to play as narration boxes only instead of falling over corpses they’re placed over
his wife and son his family.
But there’s a really ominous panel where it shows he has a smiley on his dashboard
mirror with a tag saying best dad ever.
Nah fam it’s time to move I’m worried about his son.
Nothing should be smiling in a joker story.
We’re then treated to two panels of an unsettling childrens story where happy forest creatures
are suddenly visited by a mr smiles a clown with a chainsaw and if you’ve seen any episodes
of happy tree friends just go there and if you haven’t to quote zootopia blood blood
bloood and deathhh.
It gets even more disconcerting when it’s revealed this is a story he’s reading to
his son, This is...this is a weird book where’d you
get this one.
You gave it to me dad remember.
Show panel yeah that’s not ok.
Banned that book is going on the high shelf.
Understandably ben is disturbed cause he has no recollection of ever getting this book
let along giving it to his son.
Ben’s wife is understandably and justifiably worried about him.
It’s not right ben . I mean no one should be alone with that..
That thing it’s not healthy for you or safe.
And I don’t want you bringing any of that home.
I’m not I won;t even as the panel rats him out And it’s perfectly safe Trust me Arkham
is probably the most fortified place in the city….slow zoom, I have no words.
That says a lot about Gotham.
Oh really how many times has he escaped already…
Thank you!
Ben unsurprisingly has nightmares bizarre symbolic ones he sees a purple balloon see
balloon sign of evil and it explodes into a roarshach text ink blot so you know he’s
not ok it’s not exact but it appears to be cxlosed to the thirs roarshach card the
one used to examine how the subject relates to other people cause most people see it as
people interacting in some way.
Again it’s not an exact replica it may just be meant to coney hey a roarshach test ink
blot I may be reading into it.
There are 10 cards by the way some are have colours not everyone knows that also these
tests contested but we’re not hear to look at ink blots.
Ben awakens now coloured purple like the balloon and he wanders downstairs towards a mysterious
scratching sound seemingly coming from a green door, don;t go in there the hulk’s back
there.
Little immortal hulk joke for ya, That would be great the mysterious green door just leads
to a joker elseworlds black label comic.
Suddenly the light goes on Ben what are you doing down here.
He’s in the basement and the night is done it’s morning he’s disoriented and potentially
sleep walking and because he’s had training and knows something must be up he tells absolutely
no one.
This is Gotham.
He goes into work and asks the joker about one of his most iconic and famous crimes in
this universe 8 years old the laughing fish.
They're finey and funny and oh so delish.
It’s almost like performance art to you isn’t it.
Yeahh...almost.
He’s making fun of him this man is being made fun of.
He’s a murder artist come on now Ben stop getting your theories from Hannibal.
Really ben is prying trying to get the joker’s past out of him for only a chemist could so
mutate fish but the Joker loves for his origin to be multiple choice so he starts to tell
him a story the exact same story as the children’s book that seemed to appeared out of nowhere
in ben’s home.
Mr Smiles.
Ben runs out horrified fleeing to the washroom to splash water on his face.
It’s time to quit sometimes you need to just leave this is one of those times.
The story of mr smiles continues now paralleling the story of Ben and the Joker casting Ben
as a creature lured into mr smiles house going in willingly despite knowing that it was a
trap.
Ben hallucinates that one of his colleagues has been brutally murdered by the joker in
a really beautifully disturbing panel.
This colleague apparently is unphased by this only mildly annoyed he even leaves ben crying
there on the floor.
I mean in all fairness this probably happens a lot at arkham.
The joker is in his cell drawing a giant mr smiles on the wall and my only questions was
who gave him coloured pencils those are pointy.
This is a crayon room if I ever saw one it’d be hard to kill someone with a crayon I mean
unless you’re bullseye but he can kill a man with the cardboard from a toilet paper
roll he sets high standards.
As the animal lay there dying on his floor Mr smiles asked You knew this would happen
why on earth did you come inside?
With his dying breath the poor little creature responded Because I needed to now how it feels.
I am here for this.
If you’re into that blurred what’s real what’s not real person losing grip on sanity
plot also ft the joker who is a\ genuinely scary joker.
Not hot joker go to harleen for that sexy hipster joker over there.
This is menacing and I like that as a reader we can already tell Ben is in way over his
and nowhere near as clever as he thinks he is.
We’ve heard about the joker doing things like this but rarely see it.
However as a result for some this is hardly going to feel very compelling in fact it may
feel played out also there are a lot of sitting and talking panels which are similarly coloured
so it may feel a bit flat and undynamic in parts for some.
Also the Joker isn’t very charming here he’s scary and what’s happening to ben
is scary so it’s hard to get behind why he’s staying.
This is a story that wants you to read it again to look for layers but it remains to
be seen if it will prove as clever as it clearly hopes to.
And let’s play guess that twist!
Cause the real twist would be if there isn’t one in a story like this.
Ok I’ll start Ben’s family died in that balloon attack which looked recent cause the
joker got punched by batman knocking out a tooth and seemingly breaking his nose and
in arkham he has a bandage on his nose the bridge.
So I postulate Ben is going home to no one!
Cause I’m dark like that.
It’s probably not that, give me your theories down below and are you on board for this psychological
joker thriller or are you going to do what ben should be doing and quit.
Let me know down below.
And while you’re down there please do all of the youtube things.
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I’m Sasha and I’ll see you again soon here on Casually comics.