Let Vengeance Be Your Guide
The hunt for the Joker continues but things might have slowed down in that area since in the previous issue we saw that Interpol had arrested Jim Gordon on suspicion of murder, but we know that's all a setup since we also saw that the Joker had set our former Commissioner up either to slow him down or just to see the look on old Jimmy-boy's face. Maybe things will pick up outside of Jim Gordon's story though as we know that Vengeance, the Daughter of Bane, and the cannibalistic Sampson Family are on the hunt for the Joker as well. Let's jump into this story and see where this hunt takes us and if we get any more looks at the Court of Owls as the Batgirls continue to look into Jim Gordon's mysterious benefactors.
For this issue of the Joker we're seeing the next leg of Jim Gordon's hunt for the Clown Prince of Crime begin with a new Interpol connection and also telling us how Europe deals with costumed Super-Villains that cross the pond and this team-up could lead to Jim Gordon finally getting the jump on his prey and if the Joker somehow ends up getting killed in the process..... Well, Jim's Interpol connection that deals with this doesn't seem to think that it will be a big deal, just as long as Gordon plays ball and helps her bring down The Network, who we learned previously were people who give Super-Villains asylum during their off periods of causing mischief and mayhem. Even though this is an interesting bit of information to continue our story, the real main event to me is the Batgirls getting attacked by a Talon as their investigation into Cressida continues, and not only is it a big deal.... at least in my mind that we're hopefully going to see a continuation of the Court of Owls that doesn't feel like it diminishes their legacy but how they might have to be working differently after so many defeats through the years.
As for our Punchline backup, we have Alexis searching Blackgate Prison for Harper Row, while Harper is trying to find wherever Punchline's former friend Kelly Ness has been hiding inside the prison so that she can use her to get testimony on who Alexis Kaye really is. On the outside, Harper's brother Cullen is discovering that while his boyfriend and he have been all about "Free Punchline" it appears that Cullen's boyfriend is actually closely connected to the Royal Flush Gang. While this is alright, still not something that really feels like it keeps the character of Punchline relevant in the DCU.
All in all, I really enjoyed the art in both sections of the book..... even though Orca's size seemed to keep changing in the backup but beyond that aspect, I dug how the book looked this issue and had a pretty fun time overall. My biggest gripes with the book in the main story the way we progress Jim Gordon's hunt for Joker seemed to be presented in a pretty boring way, which at least came to a fun cliffhanger but two people simply talking at a table wasn't really engaging and I found myself wishing that we were still dealing with the Batgirls part of the story. As for the Punchline backup, it does feel like we're going somewhere but these little snippets don't do enough in each issue to make me continue to care about Alexis Kaye overall.
Bits and Pieces:
While both stories in this issue aren't bad, some parts of each just seem to come off as a tad boring in the long run, even though I'm still interested in what they're talking about. Thankfully though, the art in both sections is great and the Batgirls part of our main Joker story was a real highlight for me as it looks like we're finally doing something interesting with the Court of Owls again.
So Julia Pennyworth exists after all. I was wondering about that since we hadn't seen her since before Rebirth.
ReplyDeleteAnd has anybody else figured out the guy Gordon's friend from Chicago never managed to catch was obviously a member of the Sampson family?
The Sampson Family connection would be interesting but I'm not sure if the timelines add up and it didn't seem like they did much outside of Texas back in the day and the kids don't seem like they'd be old enough.
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