I am FAR from being a fan of the Joker, and never found anything about the character particularly interesting, but I thought "The Three Jokers" was a really solid and even gripping story. The idea of there being multiple Jokers and not a single, constant entity is quite creative, and it really feels like each of these main 3 are well thought-out and distinctly motivated, which makes the story seem even more delightfully chaotic and unpredictable. I read "The Killing Joke" a couple months back (and liked essentially nothing about it) so seeing that big plot twist at the very end was a bit of a jaw dropper. The art is also enjoyable, and while I don't really care for those big, exaggerated drawings of rippling superhero muscles and unrealistic boobs (poor Barbara), the art was still dynamic and had wonderful paneling. Finally, Batman's personal journey in this volume is one of the best yet - seeing him get closure with Chill and have to come face to face with those emotions was touching, and I was so happy to see it end how it did.
There are still some aspects that could have used improvement (the "romance" is forced and sucks, Barbara's unrealistic recovery time, the somewhat confusing Red Hood drama) but overall I think this was very well done, and one of the best Batman graphic novels yet. ( )

Batman: Three Jokers is essential a sequel of sorts to the events of The Killing Joker. The essential premise of this is what if there were Three Jokers running things in Gotham? The Criminal, The Clown, and The Comedian. What if they were all different? And how would Batman, Jason Todd, and Batgirl - all victims of the Joker's cruelty deal with such a crisis?

This instantly feels like a classic. It is consistent with Batman/Joker's origin story AND the creation of the henchmen that would do the Joker's bidding.

It's a quite emotional tale, with a quite satisfying ending. I highly recommend this if you're a Batman fan. ( )

Batman: Three Jokers
Author: Johns, Favok, and Anderson
Publisher: DC Comics: Black Label
Publishing Date: 2020
Pgs:
Dewey: 741.5973 BAT
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Batman doesn't understand how or why, but the fact is certain: the man he has spent a lifetime chasing isn't one man at all. There are three Jokers. Now that he knows the unbelievable truth, Bruce needs real answers. Joined by Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd, two former victims of the Joker's brutality, the Dark Knight is finally on a path to defeat the madman once and for all. Every last one of him.
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Genre:
DC Comics
Graphic Novels
Mystery
Superhero

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The Feel:
Seems like we're focusing on Bruce and Jason's trauma, and ignoring Barbara's. Comics as inadvertent sausage part? Man-grief? And the “relationship” between Barbara and Jason…if that was going to be a story, it should have been written 20 years ago. Even to old comics fans, that seems like a ship that sailed a long, long time ago.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
The note on the door was extremely out-of-character. Just plants the future seed of one more thing that Jason and Dick can compete over and does a disservice to Barbara's character.

Favorite Scene:
Joker shark.

The army of Joker toxin victims rolling out of the darkness of The Ace Chemical Factory.

Favorite Quote:

Favorite Concept:
The deathbed scene is well done. Bruce Wayne is a better man than most of us. Don't know that I could ever do that.

Cover and Interior Art:
Beautifully drawn and colored.

Hmm Moments:
Figured this was going to lead to a Dread Pirate Roberts. Didn't expect this.

Would've been interesting if somehow The Joker was the Dread Pirate Roberts.

The Sigh:
The font on the radio broadcast in the opening pages is way too tiny.

The Unexpected:
Red Hood’s revenge was unexpected. And robbed of his potency by the mystery itself.

Missed Opportunity:
Did this story get subsumed in New 52, Metal, Batman Who Laughs events? This could, and I guess could still be with the way continuity is handled like thinly sliced swiss cheese in comic books, the basis or elementally important to many future stories.

Get Off My Lawn:
Shouldn't Joe Chill be too old for this stuff? If I go with the idea that he was of an age with Thomas and Martha when he shot them, or older, usually seems to be presented as older, then he’d be in his late 50s or 60s now and I doubt he would make a good future Joker.
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Pacing:
Very well paced. The pages flew by way too fast.

Last Page Sound:
I liked it.

Questions I’m Left With:
But how long have there been three of them? And are there just the three? Seems if everyone ever exposed to the toxin could be one, a future one, or a current one, there could be a virtually unending supply of them.

Conclusions I’ve Drawn:
Of course, with all that Joker juice they spread around in this, there are a lot of candidates for the next understudy (ies).

Things I’d Like to See:
Blurb writers and comic writers and editors, specifically, stop using the “once and for all” trope.

Reread Pile:
Probably not.
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Great concept and very good execution. The first book was absolutely brilliant with its three Jokers - criminal, comedian, clown. The second dragged a bit with a slow story that seemed to not know where it's going. But then I read the final book and it all clicked. It's the most "Batman" ending I've ever seen, which isn't a bad thing. I loved the rationale of the "Joker" we see near the end, and the way they wrap up Joe Chill's arc was deftly handled. ( )

So is Geoff Johns just going to be a full-time Alan Moore tribute band from here on out what with Doomsday Clock and now this sequel to Batman: The Killing Joke? (Don't get me started on his Green Lantern run and the echoes of Swamp Thing.) He does also bring in elements of Batman: A Death in the Family as Batman teams up with Batgirl and Red Hood -- the two members of the Batman family most traumatized by the Joker in the aforementioned tales -- to find out why there suddenly seem to be three Jokers running around.

And boy, is the multiple Joker scenario the worst idea. Horrible. Hate it. Already retconning it away in my mind.

I'm also wiping *that kiss* from my mind, the second worse idea in this book. Stupidest Batman Family kiss since the one in the Batman: The Killing Joke animated adaptation.

And isn't the ending of this book pretty much the same as Doomsday Clock? Does Johns have no other twist in his bag of tricks?

I should probably rate this one-star, but I did get an involuntary buzz off the DC fanboy service and Easter eggs. And boy, don't those pages just look great as Jason Fabok does a Dave Gibbons/Brian Bolland fusion?

Does the Black Label mean this isn't in continuity? Or like Killing Joke, it's in continuity when DC wants it to be? ( )