The Murphyverse is back, baby! Following the events of Beyond The White Knight, the AI program copy of Jack Napier/Joker is now in the possession of his children, Jackie & Bryce. He takes them on a road trip to spend some time with him before the device holding his program deteriorates and he is gone for good. But once they catch whispers of something that could keep their father around, Jackie & Bryce race through Gotham while their mom & the FBI are searching for them. Sounds like not much has changed in Gotham after all these years.
The art, to put it briefly, very good. It’s in keeping with what we have seen from the other installments of the Murphyverse. Lots of bright, neon colors, able to properly show what the characters are feeling through body language. Some cool designs make familiar characters feel fresh and unique. Nothing big to note in this department.
Regarding the writing, the story on a surface level is fun. It definitely has a smaller-scale feel to it for the most part, which is perfectly fine for a spin-off like this. That doesn’t mean it still can’t be well written. And it still has that personal touch to it. While we got to know Jackie fairly well in Beyond The White Knight, we do get to know her brother Bryce a little more. He feels like despite doing what he is supposed to, people still expect him to be better. There are several moments where he shows he cares just as much as Jackie does in spending as much time with their dad as they can and is just as dedicated to finding a way to make sure he doesn’t leave them. It’s clear that he is dealing with his own emotional issues that we get a peek at. The main example is that he found out that Jack Napier’s condition is likely hereditary and that if he also has it, symptoms will start showing when he’s an adult. I would have liked it if we got to know more about what Bryce was like before all of this went down, but I’m satisfied with what we got.
Regarding themes and ideas, there is a lot of overlap from what’s been covered in the other books. Especially concerning recognizing and owning up to dark deeds from the past, which definitely happens in the final issues of this limited series. I would argue they do add in a little bit of new stuff in this book. One idea is that even if you do own up to past deeds and actions that you regret, that doesn’t mean everyone will forgive you. Nor does it mean they should forgive you. The first main obstacle of the story involves being confronted by the daughter of The Ventriloquist, one of the super-criminals that was killed by Azrael in Arkham when Joker let him loose during the events of Curse of the White Knight. Another idea is that even owning up to all the bad stuff that happened won’t prevent the past from influencing the present/future in negative ways. We got a few hints of how Jackie and Bryce are treated by their peers in passing, but also get a little focus on how they are worshipped by a criminal cult because they are children of the Joker. In a sense, trauma from the past being carried over into the next generation. One last idea it mixes in is that, while you may have done a bunch of bad things in the past, what’s most important is what you do next. Basically the same thought as “learning from your mistakes”. All of this thrown in helps this book stand on it’s own and keeps the legacy of the Murphyverse strong and relevant.
And…that’s all I got. Definitely more on the short side, but that’s okay. This was still a good and fun book and I recommend fans of this universe check it out.
