After just finish reading The much hype and anticipated batman 3 jokers. I got mix bag feelings. On the one hand i thought it was ballsy go up against killing joke and death in the family and the art work is just amazing and really demands attention. The end results just falls flat and quickly feels pointless. Like the pressure got to be to much to top killing joke and death in the family. And its ashame cause there is a beautiful story underneath this complete jumble mess of different plots. And to keep from spoiling i feel if they just kept to that under lining theme and story this mini series could have been so much better
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My quick review would be enjoyed the story, loved the art, very anti climatic ending.
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I would have to agree the art was top notch i loved the panals the best. And yeah the ensing was really anti climatix
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I enjoyed it for the most part, and as others have said the art is gorgeous. I think part 3 was the least interesting for me, since I was really more interested in the character dynamics and exploring the trauma/recovery dynamics between the Batfamily.
Spoilers
I wish we got to see more inside Barbara 's head space. She seemed the least affected here, which on the one hand I get - the story made a point about how she recovered - but she also saw a friend/ally completely fall apart at the hands of a tormentor, she witnessed a murder and isn’t arresting the shooter, she had her mentor’s motives and knowledge questioned … Basically, a lot of drama happened, but we just see her running on the tread again. So is she really healed or just diverting focus? Also, it seemed like she was interested in helping Jason, at least by loaning him books (which I like), and interested in stopping a future murderous event. This isn’t revisited. Instead we get what seems to be a desperate Jason reaching out and sadly trying to get the help he needs in the wrong way. Foiled by tape… I would have liked to see Barbara’s reaction to the note (change for yourself, Jason! smack back of head) and then a book club buddy scene.
I liked Batman knowing one of the Joker’s names, but I still feel like current Joker is a different beast… so maybe one of the trials didn’t fail as much as these 3 thought. Keep more mystery with Joker as a villain of chaos and less former name focus…
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I’m going to be getting into some spoilers, which shouldn’t be surprising considering the name of this thread:
For one thing, I never thought I’d see the day where someone would seriously retcon The Killing Joke. I mean, I knew going into Three Jokers that Killing Joke would get a new meaning (Death in the Family too, for that matter), but crafting this whole retcon that Joker’s wife and son flee to Alaska is something that you wouldn’t expect from any comic writer, even one as acclaimed as Geoff Johns.
The Barbara/Jason stuff didn’t interest me much. It almost felt like it just got wedged in as filler, but it’s not like Johns is pulling this relationship dynamic out of thin air. I remember there were a couple issues of Batman: Gotham Knights that played with the idea that Jason was interested in Barbara romantically, and obviously there’s plenty of folks out there who ship them as a couple.
Looking at it all laid out in front of me, I feel like my favorite parts in the story don’t even have to do with the main characters. I mean, the parts describing how the Joker toxin worked or why Arkham’s got a “revolving door” seemed far more interesting to me than the Comedian’s “grand plan”. The double-cross at the end felt like an obvious conclusion, and the motivation behind it all was exactly what I would expect from a Joker who wanted to become Batman’s greatest priority.
Regardless of my critiques, I feel like Johns still did an excellent job at encapsulating the characters and using this story to talk about trauma and the recovery from it. There’s a lot to unpack in this story, certainly more than in Death in the Family, and maybe on par with Killing Joke.
Overall I think the two best qualities of Three Jokers are it’s ability to fit into continuity and the fact that it answers the question that started this ball rolling. Johns was able to get this whole story done without altering continuity at all. Not a fan of Jason/Barbara? Don’t worry, Jason won’t ever talk about the letter! Not a fan of there being three Jokers? Don’t worry, there’s only one left at the end and he seems to know everything that happened to the other two! So really, this story can fit seamlessly into continuity just about anywhere. And of course, Johns answers the question we readers have had since Batman sat on the Mobius Chair with the only valid answer: that Joker’s real name doesn’t matter. I mean seriously, imagine if the book ended and Bruce tells Alfred, “I’ve got it old chum! The Joker’s true identity is Bob Kane!” Would that have been satisfying? Would it have been any more satisfying if he said Joker’s name was anything else? Or that it turns out he was related to someone else in the DCU (maybe a distant relative of the Kent’s)? Personally, I agree with Johns. Joker’s identity just doesn’t matter.
I agree, fantastic art. So so story. Fun cover selections.
I liked it better than I expected to.