Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #11 Review

    

Badger & Jam It In

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg

Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico

Cover Price: $5.99

Release Date: October 4, 2023

Here, we are again with another issue of Joker, the man who stopped laughing.  Unfortunately for Matthew Rosenberg!  This series has been canceled, and while some might be disappointed, I am neither surprised nor upset that this series of nothingness is finally ending.  I have tried to stick with this book, but every issue has been a slap in the face, especially since the price of admission is so high.  But, hey, maybe Rosenberg can stumble his way into a decent enough ending so that at least these last two issues would be worth something.  I don't expect it to happen, but crazier things have happened.  Let's get into this...

Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #11 finally shows us who the real and fake Joke is, and while there may be some more twists and turns in next month's finale, at least we got something here.  Unfortunatley, it feels like Rosenberg wants this to be his Fight Club / Sixth Sense moment, but it falls flat because nothing here was ever adequately set up.  Maybe I'm crazy, but a little more setup and fewer LAX zingers might have served the overall story better.  

While this book will only be remembered for the Joker Shit Baby, one clever thing is happening in this issue.  The reveal of who the fake Joker is tied directly into Knight Terrors, and I didn't see that coming!  Kudos to Rosenberg for that, but not much more.

Since this is the Penultimate issue and Rosenberg hasn't been telling anything that resembles a forward-moving overall plot up to this point, the book ditches the usual backup to give him more room to pretend that he has set the upcoming ending up.  The Gotham Joker kidnaps Randos to turn into Jokers that become bombs while the West Coast Joker chases them around because what else does he have to do?!?  That concept hits a hundredfold when we get an uninteresting side plot with Kate Spencer and Ravager that gives an excuse to switch scenes but is 100% to fool readers into thinking they ever belonged in the book in the first place.

The issue ends with the try-to-be clever ending that isn't going to wow anyone but might make them breathe a sigh of relief remembering that this shit show of a book is ending.  I know I did!

Carmine Di Giodemonico's art is fantastic but wasted here.  It feels like DC Comics wants Rosenberg to fill the vacant Tynion spot, but it just isn't happening, and this overpriced nothing of a series certainly won't change that.  People keep telling me that Rosenberg is a good guy; it's too bad he isn't a good writer.

Bits and Pieces:

Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #11 gives readers some answers, but it's too late to have much impact.  The art is stellar, but the total lack of story progression during the first ten issues is glaring as Mathew Rosenberg desperately tries to convince readers that there was ever a worthwhile story here.  Oh well, Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing only has one more issue to go, and then LAX lovers can rest easy again.

3.0/10