Batman: Gotham Nights #6

[cyberghostface]

Comments

[donnblake]

Logistical concerns aside, this is a novel and interesting Joker scheme that doesn't immediately revolve around mass murder (although I can see things getting nasty as the bar rises on what'll impress the Joker).

[remial]

I know this is going to end badly (because pattern recognition) but there is a part of me that kind of hopes that Joker has altruistic motives here, because let's face it. The idea of a mass murdering psychopath doing more in terms of health care than the government is funny as hell.

[crinos]

Honestly this feels like a kind of Heath Ledger Joker move where he's doing a "I'm gonna show just how really terrible people can be when they're desperate" while at the same time taking a pot shot at the society that would allow him to create this situation.

"Me? I'm not the bad guy here. No, its the assholes who charge 500 dollars for a shot of insulin that are the bad guys. I'm just a clown looking to have a few laughs. They made this all possible, I'm just taking advantage."

Honestly I love this. More Joker schemes like this please.

[scelestus]

Right?? I honestly hesitate to click on Joker-centric scans anymore (because the world is depressing enough as it is), but this is pretty good!

[zachbeacon]

This is pretty much what I'd expect of a Batman comic by the guy who gave us the gift that was that last Flintstones series.

[bradygirl_12]

When pigs fly! :)

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

See, this is the kind of Joker I prefer. Not just random killing

[tcampbell1000]

I agree with everyone else on all points, and I'd add that it's great to see someone taking on the issue of prank videos, which is a real problem that traditional-media entertainment has mostly overlooked. Even without a Joker egging them on, YouTube has a lot of people who are trying to pay their bills with views, and some of them are engaging in (or pretending to engage in, which can be almost as bad) some pretty vile behavior.

[icon_uk]

Yup, this is the sort of Joker story I can enjoy, and am so hoping that it doesn't go where it might reasonably be expected to go based on the past few decades.

[akodo_rokku]

Having read it I can confirm that Joker does not lay a finger on a single person in this story.

[icon_uk]

That was too carefully worded to be anything other than the reddest of red flags, but thanks.

I suspect the "People will do horrible things to each other with enough incentive" genre...

[donnblake]

As do I, though I suspect with less disappointment than you.

I don't mind the Joker being consistently dark or even consistently murderous, I just prefer his stories to have a bit more of a point than "I'll murder someone," "I'll murder many someones," or occasionally "I'll murder someone with an unlikely weapon."

A set-up of "What extremes can I drive desperate people to, with a relatively small push," definitely works for a number of takes on the character. Whether it's entirely for his own amusement (and I don't really think the Joker needs to care about anyone else's sense of humor, except occasionally to rage when they don't appreciate him, but that's probably a different discussion), as part of a complex ploy to hurt Batman's morale ("Look at the people of Gotham! And you think you need to protect *them* from people like me? All I was doing was offering to help with their medical bills!"), or because deep down he feels the need to prove that everyone is just as rotten as he is, given the right circumstances.

But this is all personal preference, and even given an interesting premise for a story, execution, as Lord Russell said to Jack Ketch, is everything.

[zachbeacon]

I never really liked Joker as a physical treat anyway.

The Joker that tries to turn regular people into monsters* is much scarier than the guy who beats people to death with a crowbar.

*Either to prove his "One Bad Day" point, to attract Batman's attention, or because he thinks its funny.

[beeyo]

Who's doing the art here? It's very...not to compare, but Capullo-esque is the first way my brain interprets it.

[zachbeacon]

Viktor Bogdanovic

[shakalooloo]

The social media platform is called 'LEXEMA'? There's a joke in there somewhere...