The Joke’s On You
Writers:
Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Artists:
John Timms, Chad Hardin
Layouts:
Bret Blevins
Colors:
Hi-Fi, Alex Sinclair
Letters:
Dave Sharpe
Cover:
Amanda Conner & Alex Sinclair
Cover Price:
$2.99
On Sale Date: February 1, 2017
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE
BOTTOM**
So here’s something interesting: I saw it intimated
online that the Joker featured in this story arc is one of the three Jokers
discovered by Batman when he sat in Metron’s chair during the Justice League’s “Darkseid War” story
line. That would be strange since, as we’ve discussed on the podcast and as will
be revealed in this review, this Joker ain’t the real Joker. So if a fake Joker
is one of the three Jokers teased by Geoff Johns, then what does that mean for
the other two Jokers? I look at Harley
Quinn as having its own continuity, that doesn’t really impact the regular
DCU. Does it matter? Do we care? Oh, I dunno. Read my review of Harley Quinn #13 while you think about
it.
Explain
It!
So you’ll remember that last issue ended with Harley
Quinn tossing a bound “Joker” into traffic and letting some cars bat him around
like a pinball before dragging him back inside to get to the bottom of this
nonsense. Well, as you and I have guessed, this is not the “real” Joker. I
gotta hand it to him though, he doesn’t give up the ghost until he’s been
viciously tortured by Harley while tied to the scatapult—the best one is
probably when she pastes a bunch of birdseed to Fake Joker and then calls a
flock of parrots to peck away at him. Harley monologues the whole time,
eventually explaining how she knew this wasn’t “her” Joker: she checked out his
junk. Some guy went through rigorous plastic surgery and skin conditioning to
look like the Clown Prince of Crime, but neglected the Clown Penis. For want of
a dick, the ruse was lost.
Once Fake Joker agrees to confess, Harley straps him
to an electric chair on the stage of the wax museum, and he tells his story:
he’s Edwin, a crazed stalker from way back in Harley Quinn vol. 1 #9. He fell for Harley after she’d promised to
visit him at Arkham, but when she failed to do so he wrote to the Joker who
then did a My Fair Lady on him and instructed Edwin on the way to win Harley
Quinn’s heart…which would be to emulate the Joker. Through mail correspondence,
Joker hooks Edwin up with a diet plan, a plastic surgeon, some training videos,
and even the chemical dip that turns your skin white and your hair green (it’s Mountain Dew). Harley tells Edwin that
it was a damned stupid idea to hook up with the Joker like that—and she should
know! So, with a heavy heart and a sense of duty, Harley shoots Edwin in the
face in front of all of her friends. The end.
And…I didn’t like it. For one thing, the book opens
up with another dream sequence—this one by Edwin, but still another one
imagining a great future with Harley Quinn—and I have about had it with this
obvious padding. I mean—the same shtick two issues in a row? Come on! But more
than that, I didn’t really like the story of the Fake Joker, none of it rang
true (Does Joker receive fanmail in Arkham Asylum? Seems that would be
restricted) and I thought it was a pretty lame way to conclude a three-part
story that’s been hyped up since November. Thirteen issues in, I can definitely say
that this bi-weekly schedule isn’t doing this title a lot of favors. Seems like
there’s a lot of fluff in what used to be pretty tightly-plotted series. I hope
the forthcoming Paul Dini backups will change the pacing of this book, because
it feels way off.
Bits and
Pieces:
The heavily-teased return of the Joker ends with a plop instead of a bang. I think this arc could have easily fit into two issues, though I don't know that it would have made the story more worthwhile. Frank Cho's variant cover pretty much gives away the whole book, so just look at that and keep it moving.
5.5/10
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