Batman Three Jokers #2 Review
Writer – Geoff Johns
Art – Jason Fabok
Colors – Brad Anderson
Letters – Rob Leigh
Publisher – DC Comics
Batman Three Jokers started off with a bang with issue #1 releasing last month and making quite an impression on fans who have waited literally years for this story to finally come to fruition. Most of the reception it received was positive but like everything else, there was also some uproar and concern with issue #1. This issue comes out today but there has already been massive uproar in the comic community because certain parts were leaked early, and it was leaked without context which caused a lot of negativity to be thrown at it. I can assure you as someone who has actually read the issue that this uproar is not warranted and once you read the issue and understand the panel, you will completely understand it and appreciate it. This is what happens when people see something without context and why you should never jump to conclusions prematurely.
This issue opens up by showing just how insane one of the remaining Jokers in the story is which was a genius ideas by Johns to further examine these characters and their individual backgrounds as each joker represents a different style that long time fans have all come to know and love. The story then goes on to examine more of the trauma each of the three Bat-family members has suffered at the hands of the Joker as Batman learns of the brutal killing of one of the Jokers from the hands of Jason Todd at the end of the last issue. Johns does a fantastic job giving us a deeper understanding of these characters and how they have reached processed what happened to them and how it effects their decisions and reactions to the events in this issue. We also learn a little bit more about how there came to be three Jokers and what it means to be considered a Joker. Johns also takes advantage of the Black Label publisher and delivers some really dark and gut wrenching moments in this issue that will for sure shock you as you read them but keeping it in tone with just how sadistic we know the Joker to be. The story is well rounded out and comes back to the bat family and their traumas and how they relate them to each other and really sells the pain these characters feel to the reader which is something that I feel draws the reader in and makes them invest more to the story and was an excellent choice for a story like this one.
The artwork of the issue stays up to par with the last with the incredible character designs and details that only Jason Fabok can deliver. Every panel is just about as perfect as it can be in a comic and Fabok delivers beautiful characters as well as backgrounds and scenery with so much detail that it feels more realistic rather than the animated feel some comics deliver. Every character has a stunning amount of detail and all their emotions are felt because of the detailing to their facial expressions and overall execution. In this issue we also see more vehicles than we did in the first and Fabok again raises the bar with his incredible detailing and overall delivers some incredible new designs for these bat vehicles that have a timeless feel to them while still coming off as modern looking vehicles. All the inking is smooth and too perfection and I did not see any instances of smudging or bleeding and I did not notice anytime where the inks took away from the original pencils. Everything was smooth and just the right amount. The paneling of this issue mimics that of the last, sticking primarily to 9 panel pages but there are some that have fewer panels that offer a better look at the artwork. The coloring of the issue also holds up to the art style with Brad Anderson executing a perfect tone with his colors that emits the emotion of the story and art. This issue deals with mostly dark settings but Anderson does a beautiful job making sure not to drown out the panels and gives excellent shading to areas in the night that feel realistic. Anderson also does a great job with the lighting of certain panels and uses brilliant shadowing techniques on characters and objects in the night that give off a more realistic lighting look. The lettering of this issue is clean and crisp and there were no issues I came across with reading any of the captions in the entire issue.
Overall, I feel the creative team stepped up with this issue. With this issue being the middle of the story, Johns does a great job with delivering enough for readers to feel satisfied as the story progresses but doesn’t give away too much which keeps readers intrigued and wanting to continue with the story. Johns also gives readers a bit more shock and awe and celebrates the true insanity of the Joker readers have come to know and love. The art is just stunning as a whole and Fabok and Anderson have created a seamless and beautiful work that gives off a realistic feel while selling the emotions of the story through the visuals of each panel. This issue satisfies its readers and delivers a bit more of what we were looking for in issue #1, leaving us excited to see what’s to come in the final issue.
Batman Three Jokers #2 is available today, so make sure you pick it up at your local comic store. This is not one that you are going to want to wait to read. You can also download it via digital download from your preferred digital comic retailer. Make sure you guys let us know what you thought about the issue by leaving your comment below!
_Wes Greer
Art – Jason Fabok
Colors – Brad Anderson
Letters – Rob Leigh
Publisher – DC Comics
Batman Three Jokers started off with a bang with issue #1 releasing last month and making quite an impression on fans who have waited literally years for this story to finally come to fruition. Most of the reception it received was positive but like everything else, there was also some uproar and concern with issue #1. This issue comes out today but there has already been massive uproar in the comic community because certain parts were leaked early, and it was leaked without context which caused a lot of negativity to be thrown at it. I can assure you as someone who has actually read the issue that this uproar is not warranted and once you read the issue and understand the panel, you will completely understand it and appreciate it. This is what happens when people see something without context and why you should never jump to conclusions prematurely.
This issue opens up by showing just how insane one of the remaining Jokers in the story is which was a genius ideas by Johns to further examine these characters and their individual backgrounds as each joker represents a different style that long time fans have all come to know and love. The story then goes on to examine more of the trauma each of the three Bat-family members has suffered at the hands of the Joker as Batman learns of the brutal killing of one of the Jokers from the hands of Jason Todd at the end of the last issue. Johns does a fantastic job giving us a deeper understanding of these characters and how they have reached processed what happened to them and how it effects their decisions and reactions to the events in this issue. We also learn a little bit more about how there came to be three Jokers and what it means to be considered a Joker. Johns also takes advantage of the Black Label publisher and delivers some really dark and gut wrenching moments in this issue that will for sure shock you as you read them but keeping it in tone with just how sadistic we know the Joker to be. The story is well rounded out and comes back to the bat family and their traumas and how they relate them to each other and really sells the pain these characters feel to the reader which is something that I feel draws the reader in and makes them invest more to the story and was an excellent choice for a story like this one.
The artwork of the issue stays up to par with the last with the incredible character designs and details that only Jason Fabok can deliver. Every panel is just about as perfect as it can be in a comic and Fabok delivers beautiful characters as well as backgrounds and scenery with so much detail that it feels more realistic rather than the animated feel some comics deliver. Every character has a stunning amount of detail and all their emotions are felt because of the detailing to their facial expressions and overall execution. In this issue we also see more vehicles than we did in the first and Fabok again raises the bar with his incredible detailing and overall delivers some incredible new designs for these bat vehicles that have a timeless feel to them while still coming off as modern looking vehicles. All the inking is smooth and too perfection and I did not see any instances of smudging or bleeding and I did not notice anytime where the inks took away from the original pencils. Everything was smooth and just the right amount. The paneling of this issue mimics that of the last, sticking primarily to 9 panel pages but there are some that have fewer panels that offer a better look at the artwork. The coloring of the issue also holds up to the art style with Brad Anderson executing a perfect tone with his colors that emits the emotion of the story and art. This issue deals with mostly dark settings but Anderson does a beautiful job making sure not to drown out the panels and gives excellent shading to areas in the night that feel realistic. Anderson also does a great job with the lighting of certain panels and uses brilliant shadowing techniques on characters and objects in the night that give off a more realistic lighting look. The lettering of this issue is clean and crisp and there were no issues I came across with reading any of the captions in the entire issue.
Overall, I feel the creative team stepped up with this issue. With this issue being the middle of the story, Johns does a great job with delivering enough for readers to feel satisfied as the story progresses but doesn’t give away too much which keeps readers intrigued and wanting to continue with the story. Johns also gives readers a bit more shock and awe and celebrates the true insanity of the Joker readers have come to know and love. The art is just stunning as a whole and Fabok and Anderson have created a seamless and beautiful work that gives off a realistic feel while selling the emotions of the story through the visuals of each panel. This issue satisfies its readers and delivers a bit more of what we were looking for in issue #1, leaving us excited to see what’s to come in the final issue.
Batman Three Jokers #2 is available today, so make sure you pick it up at your local comic store. This is not one that you are going to want to wait to read. You can also download it via digital download from your preferred digital comic retailer. Make sure you guys let us know what you thought about the issue by leaving your comment below!
_Wes Greer
A Look Inside
