Review by Ian Keogh

Although titled The Joker, with the Joker certainly appearing, his presence here is minimal, not physical until halfway through. That’s because the primary character is James Gordon, formerly Gotham’s police commissioner, tracking down the Joker in the present while contemplating past encounters and how the Joker has crawled under his skin. In Volume One he still hadn’t decided whether or not he was going to kill the Joker after tracking him down when events moved beyond his control. That’s because others are also tracking the Joker, deciding for various reasons he crossed a line when killing people during his last escape from Arkham Asylum. Among them are a new version of Bane, the Court of Owls and the deplorable Sampson family, oil rich cannibals.

The twist is the Joker claiming he didn’t do what others believe, and considering the crimes he’s only too happy to take credit for, that’s an assertion with some credibility. James Tynion IV eventually supplies a clever solution to that particular mystery, as a sideline also supplying a reason for countless villains who’ve returned from certain death without any previous explanation. The opening sequence, though delves deeper into the Sampsons and their atrocities.

Guillem March (sample art) draws half the content, again very stylishly, his pencils having a touch of Joe Kubert about them, his backgrounds detailed and his page layouts exemplary. His Gordon is very human, believable as a man past his prime and haunted by events of his past, while other characters are equally well defined according to their primary motivation. Stefano Rafaele’s final chapter of the main story doesn’t bear comparison.

Of course, Francesco Francavilla’s also one hell of an artistic talent, and he draws the final chapter here, a tale Tynion co-writes with Matthew Rosenberg looking back into Gordon’s past. On the face of it Gordon should be proud of clearing out some corrupt Gotham cops and taking down the old fashioned gangster who ran them. However, the writers cleverly point out how others see it as a watershed moment transferring Gotham’s villainy. It’s a stylishly drawn flashback that’s more noir crime than events in the present day, but equally compelling.

Some trilogies sag in the middle, but Tynion’s plotted the Joker as a continuous multi-chapter story to ensure that’s not the case. Everything comes to a head in Volume Three.