I found the premise of this intriguing. Gotham, continuously plagued by terror and violence in the form of "super criminals" now has to reckon with the horrors done by the vigilante Batman. It asks important questions about the role of the police state, how much accountability they should have, and do the means justify the ends. It discusses the people who suffer at the hands of Batman and how they continue to be exploited (non spoilery, but it is mentioned that there is something called "The Batman Fund" in which grants are given to developers to fix destroyed neighborhoods, generally low income, which are them flipped a higher price) and those who suffer. Who the story seems to ask, who is the real villain? And it's the Joker who makes the people of Gotham ask all of these questions. The Batman villain we know to be the most destructive and worst of the lot. I found this made for a striking juxtaposition. But oh how I was wrong. At about mid way point, is where the story really lost it's footing in regards to any complexity. Still compelling, but I found it lacked the more interesting sociological exploration of Batman and his role in the city. Instead the story turned into a more straightforward, less complex hero-villain story (complete with a new Joker!). The story had great intentions, but was ultimately lost in a more conventional superhero narrative.

The reason for 5 stars? • Joker in a Batman crop top. Okay, that’s not the whole reason, but damn, this was such a good comic. Joker is such a unique character and I genuinely think this is my favourite version of him. Although he wasn’t “joker” for most of the graphic novel, the parts where he was the clown we know him as, he shone. This was a very fun and emotional graphic novel and I’m honestly surprised at how well it was done.