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In this topsy-turvy tale of a world gone wrong, the Man of Steel is a hunted villain, while his imperfect duplicate, Bizarro, is hailed as a champion. With the heroes of the JLA altered almost beyond recognition, it's up to Superman to help his allies rediscover their true selves in an incredible struggle against the Joker, Emperor of the Universe.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
THE PUDDIN' FORK,
This review is from: Superman: Emperor Joker (Paperback)
It's a great idea... give the JOKER the power of a God and watch the top spin. And visually, the pages comes to life with solid, funny and well detailed art - but the story? There lies the problem. It just doesn't ZIG, ZANG or POP!, instead it just lays there while the Joker sits back in his easy throne and waits it out until Superman, Batman and the rest of the DCU get their act together and deliver the final smackdown on the Joker and his insane party.
It's a story that lacks any real threat, despite the Joker being in command of not only COSMIC POWER, but the ANTI-LIFE EQUATION itself. Yes, many die (the entire population of China goes down here as the Joker orders Chinease take out and eats them all), and there are some brtual, and yet lyrical, moments of violence that help to sell the book (both the abuse Batman and Lex Luthor take here is very graphic), but it never really reaches, or pushes, the story as far as it could. I mean, this is the Joker we're talking about here. Slanted, but brillant - so his world really should be more complex and confused than it is. As it is, it comes across less insane and more THE SLAP DASH SILLY PUTTY CRISIS OF ONE TRICK JOKES. DC is better, and has been better than this (early AMBUSH BUG, people, can I get a high five?) so it's a disappointment how tame this whole affair is. The Joker spends a majority of the book simply talking - although, some of the writing here is very well done, and funny (and surprisingly touching in places - the "final" resting place of Harley exposes the Joker's sick heart) it really doesn't distract you from the fact that the Joker simply sits and waits for the most part for everyone to come to HIM. I'll chalk it up to ego, but again... it's the Joker we're talking about here... you really expect more. The supporting cast is clunky. Superboy is all boy here, and this was the time we were saddled with the ANGEL / Supergirl hybrid that simply never, ever worked for me. The line-up of the JLA gets a THE TICK make over (of which exactly two are funny - the Flash becoming the Flab, the fastest fattest man alive, and Green Lantern turning into Paper Lantern Man, whose powers constist of his throwing shadow puppets) and Bizzaro takes center stage here early on in the book which made for great fun (and I'm sure, a pain in the neck for the writers when it came to his reverse speech patterns). Overall, SUPERMAN: EMPEROR JOKER tends to jog more than run to the finish, but there are some moments where it manages to leap and soar, and in those few moments you can see where the story might have gone in other hands... say, Grant Morrison's hands (whose ALL STR SUPERMAN is hands down one of THE best Superman comics being pusblished right now). But as it is, it's a great looking book with some wonderful moments, that sadly don't equal a great read. If you're a fan, it's worth having to share with pals.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good for a while but falls apart at the end,
By
This review is from: Superman: Emperor Joker (Paperback)
I'm a big fan of Jeff Loeb and I love Ed McGuinness's art so I was prepared for something special. Sure the average Amazon reviews for `Emperor Joker' were kinda crummy but I loved Vol: 4 Vengeance and this one followed along with Joker still having the powers of Mr. Mxyzptlk. Things started off great but after a time the jokes started wearing thin and by the end I was ready for the whole thing to end. Since this is a compilation of monthly stories the omnipotent Joker story line must have gone on for the good part of a year.
At the risk of sounding like a comic book geek let me just say that Mr. Mxyzptlk NEVER had this level of power. It's been established that the beings of the fifth dimension are ultra powerful but this is ridiculous. By usurping the magical abilities of Mr. Mxyzptlk the Joker becomes the strongest being in the universe. The Specter, the Wizard Shazam and the Guardians are mere fleas compared to Emperor Joker. I guess you could say just go with it but Loeb is REALLY stretching it. Also, this isn't the first time the Joker has had limitless powers, he did the same thing in a Superman/Spiderman team-up many years ago. Ed McGuinness's drawings were as awesome as ever. They're kind of cartoony but he has a clean, bold style that I really enjoy. Unfortunately he only drew the first part of the story. Not that the other artists were disappointing at all. Emperor Joker is far from bad but like a 3 1/2 hour movie it just overstays its welcome. I gave `Vengeance' five stars but I'm going to have to remove two on this one. As a final kick the ending was just not good and after working through the entire book it was a major letdown.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Chaos reigns,
By Borg Cube (Trinidad and Tobago) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Superman: Emperor Joker (Paperback)
My first impression of the book was "this makes no sense whatsoever!!!". Generally, when I have that reaction, I find it difficult to continue...but given that I knew this was "Emperor Joker" I plowed on bravely.
And I'm glad I did as the intricate insanity was unfolded. Indeed, this is to a tee what The Joker might do given powers such as Myx's. Some of the torturous deeds he unleashed were almost painful to witness. I dinged the book a star because the actual explanation of how Joker was able to trick Myxy was not explained, however given that Superman accomplished that task, it is not a stretch of the imagination that Joker could outfox the pompous god. As Myxy himself said "Joker might be insane, but that does not mean he isn't smart".
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