It also makes you think that, as amazingly dark as the DC movie universe wants to be, it could never stoop to the depths that this GN does in showing just how sick and twisted The Joker is, and how the only person damaged and strong enough to understand that dangerous instability is ol' Batface himself.
The novel opens as we learn that The Joker has staged a daring raid on Gotham PD HQ to rescue his peeled off face. Yes, right there, this sets the tone for the rest of the story as we see Joker instantly leap into action to set the whole of Gotham City on edge, swearing revenge against Batman but taking down everyone the winged crusader holds dear first - including, of course, Batman's extended family and his merry crew of Batfolk. Robin, Nightwing, Damien Wayne, Batgirl - you name 'em and they've got a giant target drawn on their backs by the grinning maniac himself.
As Snyder and Capullo shift out of first gear to ramp up the speed and the tension, the true extent of The Joker's sickness begins to emerge. His horrible abusive mistreatment of Harley Quinn for example, woven into this story in 'tender' moments where Mr J gigglingly tells his squeeze that he's never found her beautiful, and that if she peeled her own face off it wouldn't make a jot of difference to his indifference to her. What a charmer!
Then of course there's the Joker's "Does he know / doesn't he know?" dalliance with Batman's secret identity. Without launching too far into spoiler territory, I've never seen a writer / art team capture so perfectly the calculating poker face of The Joker so well as Snyder and Capullo do here. There's a breathtaking moment where Bruce Wayne purposely gives the Joker a tiny opportunity to reveal whether he does know, only to be met by the thousand yard stare of someone who long lost their slim hold on sanity - or is so brutally sober and sane that they are playing the game ten moves ahead.
The issue I have with most major superhero comics (Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, god, just about all of 'em) is that you almost need a superhuman universal understanding of the many nuanced lines, threads and story arcs for a particular character to fully understand any new direction they're taken in by a creative team.
With "Death of the Family" you can come in cold with the barest of knowledge about Bats and The Joker, and come out of the end of the book shuddering at how these two characters have arrived where they are. Kudos to S & C that they did not pull any punches for this one, in fact it's probably safe to say that this isn't one to let little Timmy or Jenny loose on until they're older, to be honest this makes "The Dark Knight Returns" look like a children's book in tone and content so definitely not one for younger readers.
I have a love hate relationship with Batman just like Mr J does I guess but when you find a GN like this, and two creators who've obviously poured their all into making it work, it's a stunning piece and enters the hallowed list of GNs I'd recommend to anyone who thinks GNs are for kids and nerds. It's a deep dive into everything that makes us humans tick, and also a harrowing look at the depraved depths a maniac will go to in order to fulfil what they see as their place in the universe.
Utterly visceral, brilliant and (yes) dark.
Comments
Post a Comment