Writers: Various (see below)Artists: Various (see below)
Publisher: DC ComicsCollects: Joker's Asylum: Joker; Penguin; Poison Ivy; Scarecrow; Two-Face
When this mini-series from DC first came out in 2008, I feared that it would get lost under the mountain of Bat-hype that was happening at the time. The Dark Knight was approaching cinemas faster than ticket sales could keep up with, and in comics Grant Morrison was taking Bruce Wayne on an interesting journey in Batman R.I.P.
And then there was Joker's Asylum. Five one-shots focusing on different members of Batman's infamous rogues gallery, each narrated by the Joker. These intriguing character pieces not only gave us an in-depth examination of each villain wrapped around a short story, but also spoke to that old chestnut we all secretly love: That the bad guys are always more interesting than the good guys.
Now, for this review of an anthology, I could weave together my opinions on each individual tale in a beautiful, flowing, continuous piece of text for you to read like some great punch of prose to the face, but I think it would be easier on all of us if I segmented each mini-review. Like so:
The Joker in "The Joker's Wild"
Written by Arvid Nelson. Art by Alex Sanchez.
With suitably chaotic artwork, this opening tale seems to be riding The Dark Knight's hype-wave, presenting us one of those classic "Everyone's exactly like me" Joker stories. Plus, in one panel, the Joker totally looks like Heath Ledger.
But what makes this a memorable classic, rather than a pitiful rip-off of The Killing Joke, is that the Joker's intentions are left unrevealed until the climax, drawing out the tension and mystery, and finally hitting us like a hammer to the skull, much like that original and much-aped Alan Moore story.
With some snappy dialogue to round it out too, the series was off to a good start.
The Penguin in "He Who Laughs Last..."
Written by Jason Aaron. Art by Jason Pearson.
This is my favourite story in the whole collection, and the one I remember most. Jason Aaron does an excellent job of building up the Penguin's humanity -- the age-old tale of a bullied child taking out his anger via power and control -- only to tear it all down and show us that a troubled past is no excuse for present evils.
Surrounded by the likes of the Joker and Two-Face, the Penguin is often reduced to a comedic villain, but this story takes on the difficult task of showing us what an absolute monster he really is, and succeeds both triumphantly and eerily.
The stark and sharp art by Jason Pearson compliments the dark and poignant story elegantly and is at times appropriately haunting.
Poison Ivy in "Deflowered"
Written by J.T. Krul. Art by Guillem March.
This story might be the weed in the rose garden. A solid plot -- Poison Ivy killing off some loose ends while Batman hunts her down -- but it feels somewhat unremarkable and basic. There's nothing really stand-out about this one, as it is the same as most Poison Ivy stories and doesn't tell us anything new about her. The dialogue and characterisation also feels a little flat too, and the ending isn't as shocking as it should be.
March's art has always been a little wild for my tastes, but his colouring is pretty.
Scarecrow in "Dark Knight of the Scarecrow"
Written by Joe Harris. Art by Juan Doe.
So many others have tried and failed to write a genuinely scary Scarecrow story, but this nails it. We are introduced to Lindsay, a victim of high school pranks and bullying, who is mentored by the Scarecrow into getting her revenge on some mean cheerleader types.
The teen horror movie connection is clear from the start and that tone is helped by Juan Doe's gorgeous, retro-looking art. The pacing also superbly highlights the fright moments, sending shivers up your spine with subtle or sudden scares.
Two-Face in "Two-Face, Too"
Written by David Hine. Art by Andy Clarke.
Andy Clarke's solid and simplistic style reminds me here of John Cassaday's work. Both acheive maximum impact with minimal technique. And I'm not just talking about how ex-firefighter Holman Hunt, who believes he can "cure" Two-Face, is oppositely scarred from the eponymous villain. Any film student could replicate that kind of blatant symbolism.
I'm talking about his crisp designs, classic layouts and genius placement. The story itself is also a little simplistic, but in this instance it does suffer from it slightly. Again, we don't really get anything new from the duality-obssessed Two-Face, who tries to turn his scar-alike Holman's helpful attitude against him.
The device of Two-Face's coin has been used to the point where it carries no more dramatic weight to it, and Two-Face filming his whole psychological torture of Holman seems a little bit off. That said, giving the story its "interactive" coin-toss ending was a nice touch.
Overall Rating: 4/5
Fortunately, the works collected in here, and the general idea behind the mini-series, did not go unappreciated. By popular demand, a second mini-series was released in 2010 and has also been collected. Here's to a third!
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