FORMAT: SINGLE ISSUE | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Who is the Joker? Four years after Batman asked the question during the Darkseid War, we finally get an answer. As the Dark Knight learned in 2015, there are not one but three Jokers; The Criminal, The Comedian, and The Clown. And no, that’s not a metaphor, there are literally three of them.
What was once set to be a major shakeup of DC continuity is relegated to a three-part Black Label story, written by Geoff Johns (Doomsday Clock) and illustrated by Jason Fabok. As multiple Jokers are spotted across Gotham, Batman, Batgirl, and Red Hood take to the streets to put down the Clown Prince(s) of Crime before he can do too much damage. This is as much a story about confronting trauma as it is Batman and the Joker. As such, it’s probably the only post-resurrection Jason Todd story worth reading.
Unfortunately, the three Jokers are the least interesting thing about Three Jokers; a story far too indebted to The Killing Joke for its own good. Why bother having three if at least two of them are practically indistinguishable? At least it explains why the world’s greatest detective never clocked on before. Gorgeous and well-written as it is, it comes too late, into a market already oversaturated with Jokers. There’s plenty of wiggle room after Issue 1’s shocking cliffhanger, but it’s only likely to get more convoluted from here, as we go deeper into the Joker-verse.
