by Tony Rhea, Reporter

My worst nightmare? Waking up back on a ship towards the beginning of  a long deployment. As bad as that seems to me, it’s all about perspective, right? Some people can’t stand the thought of the mundane, and one of those people is the Joker as DC Comics continues the Knight Terrors event with Knight Terrors: The Joker #2!

Official Description:
The Joker’s nightmares have been terrifying and horrific…but what does the Clown Prince of Crime have locked away that might be the most disturbing reveal of the year?!

Creative Team:
Writer: Matthew Rosenberg
Artist/Cover Artist: Stefano Raffaele
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Variant Cover Artists: Christian Ward, Ryan Brown, Riley Rossmo and Stefano Raffaele

Joker continues his nightmare of insane mundanity as Batman seemingly, once again, stalks the night. Isn’t he dead? Who could this Batman be? As Johann Kaiser (Joker) continues settling into his new (meaningless) life, it seemingly erupts all around him as his questions need answers, but they may not be answers he likes.

The writing and art in these Joker-centric issues of Knight Terrors are delightfully unhinged. Rosenberg gives us a Joker who can’t help being who he is, but has definitely lost direction. It’s a nice twist that wouldn’t fit outside of an event like this, but is fun to read. As much as life without Batman would be his nightmare, it’s even more interesting that a large part of this nightmare is the lack of any real reaction to his over-the-top actions and reactions. It’s even more interesting that in the vacuum left by the meaningless death of Batman, that Joker’s nightmare is compounded by the idea “sleepwalks” as a replacement for him, further tormenting himself. The exchange between Bruce Wayne and Joker in the issue is particularly great as Rosenberg highlights the parallels between the two of them while subconsciously acknowledging Bruce Wayne’s secret identity helps to highlight the absurdity of the issue. Rosenberg does a fantastic job of gripping the potential of this event, and takes his readers on a sadistically-entertaining ride through the psyche of a madman. 

Stefano Raffaele does some stunning work in the issue, as well, giving us multiple variations on the Joker, including some great takes on classic Batman poses. Raffaele’s work with some other classic villains in office attire is great as well (such as Mr. Freeze wearing a shirt and tie that go around his helmet). I would love to continue seeing Raffaele’s take on other DC characters, as he does a great job drawing not only the more extreme characters, but the more normal-appearing characters as well.

This issue is fun and nuts, and should definitely be a part of this event that you take the time to read.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Knight Terrors: The Joker #2 – 4 out of 5 shunks.

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