The two Jokers are on a collision course in DC Comics‘ The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #11, written by Matthew Rosenberg with art by Carmine Di Giandomenico. But which one is the real Joker?
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #11 Review:
Last issue, we discovered that the Gotham Joker was the real Joker, and the one in LA was a henchman whose mind got broken. Naturally, there are more twists to come as the two Jokers converge on Gotham with two armies ready to burn the city down to the ground.
Host Alex Zalben likened the storyline to the Joker War, noting that things are spiraling out of control “in that classic, Gotham way… You thought things were bad? Nope. Now the entire city is on fire.”
Justin Tyler joked the book should be called, “Oops! All Jokers,” and added that the book “is proving we don’t actually need a Batman in this at all.”
Zalben pivoted off of that, saying that reading this issue, “I had a little pang of worry… that Batman is going to show up as the deus ex machina in the last issue. I don’t want to see him at all. I never want him to show up.”
Instead, the mix of characters like Manhunter, Ravager, and Jason Todd are all working to make this a quirky, exciting book to read. And though it seems like the storyline is wrapping up quickly, Tyler said, “I would read this as an ongoing where the Joker is just screwing around.”
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #11 Official Synopsis:
Two Jokers walk into a bar…and one won’t be walking out. Both men who claim to be the Clown Prince of Crime are ready to end their little game, but they can’t do it alone. A who’s who of Gotham’s worst will pick sides and decide who lives, who dies, and who gets the last laugh!
