Comic Review: Batman #95

Batman #95

DC Comics

Writer: James Tynion IV

Art: Jorge Jimenez

In this issue, James Tynion IV starts diving into the grand story his run has been setting up – The Joker War. While many people are tired of Joker stories, I’ve somehow managed to avoid fatigue. Given that out of the 18 Black Label books published (excluding lines like Hill House), half of them have included the Joker, I understand where others are coming from. That’s not even including the abundance The Batman Who Laughs appearances in the last few years. Despite all of this, Tynion IV decided to write a Joker story and I decided to read it.

It’s hard to talk about this issue without spoiling the previous ones so I’ll use it as a chance to catch you up. Seriously, if you don’t want a story from previous issues spoiled skip to the last paragraph. So, back in the 80th anniversary Joker special, it was revealed he has a new sidekick. Kind of a more serious Harley Quinn. At the end of issue 94, we got to see her in action as she tricked Catwoman into giving her Bruce Wayne’s banking information. At the end of the issue, all hundred billion dollars off Bruce Wayne’s funds were transferred to the Joker. He now is one of the richest men in the world and has control of Wayne Enterprise. I’m not sure if it works like that in real life but let’s just go with it.

Reading the previous issue didn’t sell me on the premise but this one has gotten me on board. Watching the Joker walk about making business deals was unnerving. The way his lawyer talked to the commissioner as if his client was an evil Bill Gates is bizarre and exciting. Granted, a mentally ill serial killer gone CEO can take you out of the story some. I’m pretty sure he’s still at large from Arkham so there probably should be a warrant out for him. Maybe you’re supposed to assume he’s paid off the right people or maybe you should just apricate the fun idea. Either way, the story is engaging, fun, and feels new.

Colorist Tomeu Morey really brings the art to life. There is a lot going on in each panel so he is sure to break it up in whatever way that page requires. My absolute favorite page in this book is one where the Underbroker talks to the police in front of flashing police lights. Red and blue police lights create a watery collage behind the characters. Sometimes the colors wash over them instead making it a gorgeous silhouette. The dark and gloomy Gotham can’t stop Morey from making a scene colorful and eye-catching. That’s not to discredit Jimenez’s artwork, which is also phenomenal. Anyone who has read Supersons already knows what he is capable of.

This is a very exciting issue of Batman. It feels like a Batman book, despite Batman only making a couple of appearances. The art is fantastic. The story feels new and unique. Longtime fans might disagree with that last point. I would argue, however, this take on the “Batman loses everything” story is somewhat novel. The previous story arch was a bit of a roller coaster so you may want to just read the cliff notes on that one then go pick up 95. Better yet, pick up issue 94 which will more or less get you caught up. This issue feels big, it feels exciting, and it feels important. Strongly recommend it to anyone wanting to start reading Batman.