This past summer, no other movie made as sizable an impact as The Dark Knight, the eagerly-awaited follow-up to Batman Begins. To date, the film has grossed $529 million domestically, putting it second only to Titanic as the highest-grossing movie in history. A huge part of the critical and fan acclaim has gone to the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, arguably the most recognizable of Batman’s nemeses.
In the runup to The Dark Knight, DC published a number of Joker-themed trade paperbacks (The Joker: Greatest Stories Ever Told, Batman: Joker’s Last Laugh, Batman: Going Sane, etc), as well as reprinting two best-selling original stories (Batman: The Killing Joke and Batman: The Man Who Laughs). Joining those is a brand-new graphic novel, Joker ($19.95). The book’s creative team is Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, who last teamed up in 2005 to offer a perspective on the motivations of Superman’s greatest adversary in Lex Luthor: Man Of Steel.

In Joker, the Clown Prince Of Crime takes his leave from Arkham Asylum (the revolving door of many a Bat-villain) and seeks to reclaim the assets that was once his. Joining him is Jonny Frost, who pulls double duty as narrator and Joker’s new right-hand man. Jonny is a two-bit hood who is thrust into Joker’s world of crime. Instead of an immediate confrontation with Batman and elaborate deathtraps, Joker rebuilds his empire from the ground up, leading to a turf war with another of Batman’s adversaries, the scarred schizophrenic Two-Face (the other main villain from The Dark Knight).

Azzarello’s Joker is unpredictable, a substantial prerequisite for any interpretation of the character. Here, it takes the form of grim insanity, where nobody knows what he will do next, least of all Jonny Frost. While the first death takes its sweet time to happen, the bodies do start to pile up in the Joker’s wake before long. Jonny is presented as ambitious, the sort that gets off on power and access he could never have imagined before. He wants to be somebody, he notes at one point, “Not some two-bit hood, hustlin’ small potatoes wouldn’t satisfy a starvin’ Irishman.” Of course, Jonny does find himself over his head as the story goes rapidly downhill to its conclusion.

The Ledger-like look of Joker is a happy coincidence; in an interview with Comic Book Resources, Bermejo noted that the character was being visually fleshed out before the role was given to Ledger. While this Joker shambles a lot less than Ledger’s dark clown, the white skin, green hair, and smeared lipstick effect are all there. Bermejo also tweaks some of Batman’s other villains. While Two-Face and Penguin remain mostly unchanged from their traditional looks, Killer Croc’s scales are much more subtle, making him look like a merely oversized hoodlum until the reader takes a closer look. Harley Quinn – who started out as Joker’s moll on Batman: The Animated Series – doesn’t get any lines, but does look a less manic and more sultry. Bermejo is assisted by inker Mick Gray and colorist Patricia Mulvihill, making for a gritty read, from the criminals to Gotham City itself.

Even with an almost-total absence of Batman, Joker makes for a great read and a fitting companion to The Dark Knight when it comes out on DVD. You might not know where the Joker goes, but you’ll enjoy the ride while it lasts.