Comic Review | Joker: Year of the Villian & Joker/Harley: Criminal Insanity

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

As some, or most of you constant AITH readers know by this point in time, last week or so I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to sit down an interview HALLOWEEN and THE THING director John Carpenter (read it HERE) about his newest comic book: a killer standalone tale of The Joker. Obviously I had the chance to check out an early copy of the comic as preparation for the interview with Carpenter and co-writer Anthony Burch, and so it makes a bit of sense then that I was contacted by the powers that be behind the scenes to do a review of the comic this week. But better yet I was also asked, since I was at it, to go ahead and give another comic a review at the same time. Sounds good to me! So what follows is my dual review(s) of John Carpenter & Anthony Burch'sTHE JOKER: YEAR OF THE VILLAIN and Kami Garcia's JOKER/HARLEY: CRIMINAL SANITY #1. 

Let's get started!

THE JOKER: YEAR OF THE VILLAIN – 10/10

PLOT: In the Year of the Villain, what's a Clown Prince of Crime to do when the world has started to accept doing bad as the only way to live? Out-bad everyone else, of course! The Joker is on a mission to get his mojo back and prove to the world that there is no greater villainy than the kind that leaves you laughing.

REVIEW: Truth be told I've never reviewed a comic book before so let's just get to it and treat it like any given movie review, sound good? Okay then. John Carpenter & Anthony Burch's JOKER: YEAR OF THE VILLAIN #1 was a joy to read. With killer artwork by Marc Deering & Philip Tan, this comic was a quick and fun read from beginning to end. The basic plot is that the Joker has recruited a mentally ill young man to be his sidekick and the two go about Gotham causing all kinds of horrific havoc – all under the guise of doing good under vigilante justice. As I said in my interview piece with Carpenter and Burch, my favorite aspect of this tale was how they handled mental illness. Not just the Joker's illness (or lack thereof) but the main character's obviously unstable mind. Not to get into the nuts and bolts of the piece too deeply, but there is one scene where the Joker guns down a woman and her dog and tells our hero that the woman – and the dog – had guns and he had no other option but to put them down. Our remorseful hero then looks down and sees (in his mind) yes, even the dog had a gun. He thinks, "Wow this town is so bad even the dogs carry guns." And it is this maniacal streak of dark-ass humor that permeates all of Carpenter and Burch's tale. Add in the fact that Joker and his new sidekick carry out most of their vigilante justice while wearing cheap Halloween costume knock-offs made to look like Adam West and Burt Ward's Batman and Robin from the original Batman TV series and JOKER: YEAR OF THE VILLAIN is a classic read. Grab a copy for yourself RIGHT HERE.

JOKER/HARLEY: CRIMINAL SANITY #1 – 9/10 

PLOT: In Gotham City, where heinous acts of violence are a daily occurrence, the GCPD relies on Harley Quinn, a young forensic psychiatrist, and profiler, to consult on their toughest cases. But Harley is haunted by one unsolved case—the night she discovered her roommate's body marked with the signature of a notorious serial killer known as the Joker. Five years later, the case remains unsolved and a new series of horrific murders occur throughout the city. As the murders escalate, Harley's obsession with finding the depraved psychopath responsible leads her down a dangerous path. When the past and the present finally collide, Harley has to decide how far she is willing to go—and how many lines she is willing to cross—to solve these cases once and for all.

REVIEW: Moving on to Kami Garcia's JOKER/HARLEY: CRIMINAL SANITY #1. This one is a bit harder to review in the way that it is obviously merely the first part of a larger story. But that said, I've reviewed the pilot episode of many TV shows so I guess this is the same thing: it's as much about the promise of what lies ahead as it is about the art and skill of what lies contained in the issue itself. And this first issue is pretty damn killer – as are the breadcrumbs left in its wake hinting at the larger story to be told. As far as the writing goes, think of this as a new Harley Quinn origin story by way of David Fincher's SEVEN. Harley is on the search for a serial killer known only as The Joker. But it seems to this guy that things are going to become quite a bit more complicated than that as the story unfolds. In fact, I'm getting the vibe from these first few pages that this story will turn into a murder mystery, slasher who-dun-it type of deal – and that intrigues the hell out of me. Is it really The Joker committing these murders? Is it a copycat? Is The Joker dead, locked up, or just moved on? I'm sure all of these questions will be answered as the series goes on – and I can't wait to read along. And as far as the artwork on hand goes, the talent displayed here by Michael Mayhew & Mico Suayan (with cover art by Francesco Mattina) is nothing short of stunning. I especially dug the flashbacks which are done in color and rendered to look like a living cartoon ala Richard Linklater's A SCANNER DARKLY. I fully plan to keep up with this series as it progresses as I'm sure it has some truly brutal cards hidden up its sleeve. Bring it on!

Grab a copy for yourself RIGHT HERE.

***

And that's our review(s) of John Carpenter & Anthony Burch's THE JOKER: YEAR OF THE VILLAIN and Kami Garcia's JOKER/HARLEY: CRIMINAL SANITY #1. Obviously I found both to be must-read comics so if you want to go ahead and snag yourself a copy of either of them you can do so by clicking on their cover art below. Good times! And if you've already read the comics, go ahead and give us YOUR review below!