Goodreads Synopsis
He’s been called a maniac, a killer and the “Clown Prince of Crime” but “white knight”? Never. Until now…
Set in a world where the Joker is cured of his insanity and homicidal tendencies, The Joker, now known as “Jack,” sets about trying to right his wrongs. First, he plans to reconcile with Harley Quinn, and then he’ll try to save the city from the one person who he thinks is truly Gotham City’s greatest villain: Batman!
Superstar writer and artist Sean Murphy presents a seven-issue miniseries of a twisted Gotham City with a massive cast of heroes and villains that, at its heart, is a tragic story of a hero and a villain: Batman and The Joker. But which is the hero—and which the villain?
My thoughts on the plot and characters (Contains some spoilers!)
I was recommended this by my sister {@thecomicbooknerdlife) so on a four hour car journey I completely consumed this graphic novel.
All my childhood the Joker was always the biggest bad guy of them all and this graphic novel takes the approach that the Joker is a disease and after being cured, the newly formed Jack Napier wants to right his wrongs.
Oh did I mention that there are two versions of Harley Quinn? One that wants Jack Napier to stay and the other that needs the Joker.
I have always been a huge Harley fan from the moment I watched her in the animated series. She's honestly my favourite characters in the DC universe. I like the way she was portrayed in this, wanting to put a fix to things, to live a normal-ish life with the man she loves. The other Harley (who isn't really Harley but Marian Drews who was mistaken for Harley by the Joker) thinks that the disease is actually Jack and that the Joker side of him is his true side and he needs to return.
I really enjoyed the plot of this story, which is that Joker or Jack wants to make Gotham right again and take it away from The Batman, essentially painting him as the villain to the point where everyone turns there back on him.
This graphic novel shows you a side to both the Joker and the Batman which you aren't used to seeing, especially if you are like me and have only started to delve into the comics. The characters are already built up and even with my small-ish amount of knowledge I still knew who everyone was so there was no need to waste time in getting backstories. At no point in this novel did I feel confused and was constantly eager to carry on reading.
Final Thoughts...
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was a twist on two very popular and legendary characters almost creating a what if alternative. The artwork was beautiful and I felt captivated at every point, plus the fact that Harley Quinn played such a huge role in this made me love it ten times more.
I'm so glad my sister recommended this to me and I have actually brought my own copy, racking my total numbers of graphic novels up to five! I'm getting there slowly. I can't wait to delve into more graphic novel/comic treasure.
Rating: 5/5 stars