21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Uncharacteristically Bad, May 28, 2008
This review is from: Batman: Joker's Last Laugh (Paperback)
Absolutely awful! I have never in my life put down a comic book before this one. When one thinks of the Joker going on a last hurrah before his supposed death it conjures up The Bat in a lion cage, Gotham City ablaze, Tim Drake being drawn & quartered by a ferris wheel and Arkham pouring into the streets. No such thing here.
In Slabside penitentiary for meta-humans(?!) the clown prince of crime is told he has an inoperable brain tumor and quickly whips up a riot before "jokerizing" all the villains. After breaking loose with his posse he then defaces famous parts of the earth with the trademark grin before trying to kidnap Harley to knock her up(?!).
A Batman epic at worst can bog down by the slew of Gotham heroes & villains who don't contribute much to the narrative; here they go the way of Emperor Joker by attributing every other DC character EXCEPT the ones who inhabit Gotham City. Joker himself is only featured in half the book! For the most part it follows Oracle's narrative before settling back to an illogical and unmotivated normalacy. How is this the same Chuck Dixon that wrote Knightfall?! This is not the Joker I know. A great idea but a plane crash follow through: avoid!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Last Laugh : Somewhat Laughable, July 27, 2008
This review is from: Batman: Joker's Last Laugh (Paperback)
Just a quick word of caution. This review may contain minor spoilers for future readers.
The basic plot of Batman : The Joker's Last Laugh is this. The Joker is told he has a brain tumor that will kill him, so he masterminds a breakout of Slabside Penitentiary with a horde of jokerized villains. With this force, he goes on to devastate the world to go out in style, if you will.
Firstly, this comic feels nothing like anything taking place in the Batman universe, and unluckily, not in a good way. Having the Joker, for some unexplained reason, outside of Arkham Asylum and instead in a prison for super-powered villains, does not make much sense besides the obviously necessary plot point of being able to taint his fellow inmates. It feels a bit like Batman is barely in it at all, as well as the Joker himself at some parts, and instead it is filled with quick appearances of other superheroes (Superman and Flash) and others that some readers may be unaware of (The Spoiler?). The dozens upon dozens of various, un-Batman-related villains shown are almost difficult to keep track of and barely carry the story further either.
For the Joker himself, the author appears to be trying to keep Joker in his comedic side, which is fine. The Joker is a funny guy, but he is not a fool. Here is where that fails in this comic because this Joker is not even somewhat humorous, no outright laughs or dark ones. He is both lacking his intelligence and unique sense of comedy.
As for the story, it sounds like it should work. With disappointment, I have to admit it doesn't, at least not for me. It's one of those great ideas that just fail in execution. The plot is thick, hard to get through, and I personally had to set down the comic for long periods of time in order to actually finish it. Some characters, such as Harley Quinn in a brief appearance, just pop into the story a little one-dimensional and with their parts a bit boring and a little ridiculous. The ending itself is somewhat predictable, and also, in a way cheap. Without giving it away, I'll just say that it is one of the cases of guilt and victory that are often seen in Batman's philosophy, only transferred to Nightwing. It doesn't suit him, and feels forced, hurried, and under-developed.
This tale does not leave the reader satisfied.
However, there are small things that keep the story from slipping down to a one star. There is a little of Barbara dealing with what the Joker has done to her, and how it is in affecting her life. The Joker himself has a few good lines concerning the plans for his demise towards the end, even if they are overrun with poorer responses only a few pages later. Besides that though, there aren't many lights in the darkness.
The art itself feels amateur at best. It's barely detailed and a little sloppy. I have to say, it feels very poorly done and cartoonish. Unfortunately, its quality pulls the reader out of the story instead of carrying it along.
Chuck Dixon is a true author with great works, but I have to warn you that this is not one of them. It would be best to pick up something else, and leave this one on the shelf.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Lousy, May 4, 2009
This review is from: Batman: Joker's Last Laugh (Paperback)
This book fails on nearly all counts, even its title is a lie. How best to ruin a Joker crossover event? Keep Batman's involvement to a minimum, handle major plot points in exposition, and put characters nobody has ever heard of in the spotlight and expect the reader to care.
Amazingly poor.
I'm going to two stars, rather than one, because a couple of the issues were well drawn and very well inked.
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