Batman/The Joker: War Zone #1: A Relevant One-Shot Tie-In

We’ve seen it all before. There’s a major event in comics and here’s a one-shot tie-in, oversized and underwhelming. It has become a hallmark for comics events. When I saw this issue cross my desk, it was immediately met with skepticism. I was wrong. This book not only was well executed at all levels but it was relevant. In fact, I would go so far as to argue that it was an important issue– as important as the main series and perhaps more so than the urban sprawl across the other Bat-family of books. Let’s take a look at the individual stories, shall we?

“A Serious House”
James Tynion IV- writer
Guillem March – artist
Tomeu Morey – colors
Clayton Cowles – letters

Right out of the gate, this book establishes that it is not just a bit of fluff. Tynion takes The Joker into Arkham to have a very serious dicussion with Bane. There is a deep level of emotional depth in this short story as we learn the depths of The Joker’s disdain for Bane and the events of the “City of Bane” story from last year. Guillem March’s grotesque figure work is an excellent fit here in the contrast between the two distinctly different characters and the layouts beautifully convey the sense of emotional ups and downs that the story provides. With a cavalcade of fonts that we’ve come to expect from Cowles and the impeccable color palate from Morey, this first story is worth the price of admission by itself.

“Family Ties”
John Ridley – writer
Oliver Coipel – artist
Matt Hollingsworth – colors
Deron Bennett – letters

It’s been just over a month since the Legacy of the Bat panel, where Ridley talked a bit about the upoming limited series that will see a person of color in the cape and cowl. Now we see Ridley begin to frame out his plans for the Fox family amidst the stunning artwork of Oliver Coipel in a story very much about family trauma. The Joker War touched the Fox family in very intimate and horrific ways and the scars left behind are explored here in this short story. Then an encounter with GCPD promptly makes the story hit very close to real world issues and its as if the momentum of this story is only just beginning. Matt Hollingsworth’s muted colors bely a sense of eerie calm that evokes a sense of uncanny terror. Deron Bennett isn’t given a lot of room for freedom here but as always, his letters are sharp and his sound effects are some of the most subtle yet appropriate in the business. And the end will have newer readers scrambling for Google as a very obscure character’s return is teased!

“The Symbol”
Joshua Williamson – writer
David Lafuente – art
HI-FI – colors
Gabriela Downie – letters

My initial thought for this story  was it was clearly going to be the light, perhaps silly story that breaks up all the heaviness of the one-shot. Stephanie Brown/Spoiler and Cassandra Cain/Orphan are throwing down with the Hench Master– how deep could that get? The art from David Lafuente adds to the deception, with a bright, cartoonish quality highlighted by the bright palates of HI-FI and loud, exciting letters by Downie. Then the story develops in quick fashion as the pair set out to try and find a Bat-Signal Steph’s criminal dad had in a locker. Why? Because Gotham is flailing and it need the signal for hope. Things don’t quite work out as planned but in the end, the heroes manage to bring light to the city in the form of a costume change that brought the sting of tears to my eyes. The present may be dark but the future is looking bright indeed for fans of these two characters.

“Ashes of Eden”
Sam Johns – writer
Laura Braga – artist
Antonio Fabela – colorist
Tom Napolitano – letter

This story takes place in the aftermath of Harley taking Bruce to Eden to flush the Joker toxins from his system. Punchline and Harley’s battle left Ivy’s sactuary in poor shape and exposed to The Clowns, so when Ivy returns home and finds an invasive species in her space, she is forced to slash and burn it out. Johns, who has been appearing with increasing frequency in DC anthologies, writes an incredibly fierce and dangerous Poison Ivy. There is a distinct strength both in how she is written by Johns but also in how she is illustrated by Braga. The story hints strongly at a major Poison Ivy arc to come in 2021 that hopefully the same team will be on to deliver. Tom Napolitano manages to add a quieting grace to Ivy’s voice through his letterering that maintains an evenness in size and spacing throughout the story. Febela’s colors have a jarring shift midway through– from extremely bright to muted colors– that manage to portray a sense of grief by themselves. There is the odd choice here that Johns makes in having Ivy seemingly turn away from her highly debated entanglement with Harley. The nature of their relationship seems to be approached differently from writer to writer and series to series but fans in favor of a romantic relationship between the two will be disappointed but otherwise, it was still another excellent entry.

“Clown Hunt”
James Tynion IV – writer
James Stokoe – artist
Clayton Cowles – letters

And finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for (are you all as excited/interested in this character as I am?)– a solo Clownhunter story! After giving Clownhunter the quietest debut in recent memory in the pages of Batman, Tynion finally begins to give the character some depth as hints about the anti-hero’s origin start to come into place. Stokoe’s frenetic artwork helps to actually tone down the extreme violence of this story. It’s a nice touch that helps to keep the story from being almost too scary to end on because, as you can imagine, young Clownhunter is particularly vicious in his triumphs.