The Batman Who Laughs #7 // Review
After taking another issue onto this marketing ploy, Scott Snyder and Jock drive this series home having accomplished very little. From the edgy dialogue to the over the top violence and frequently incoherent artwork, this series will sure to be loved by preteen boys around the world. Trading in substance for nonsensical convolution. Snyder and Jock seemingly pat themselves on the back for seven issues. While still never truly displaying why this series needed to exist other than selling more variant covers with the titular villain.
Jim Gordon and his son continue to fight against The Grim Knight. As he attempts to turn Gordon Jr over to his side and kill the commissioner once and for all. Meanwhile, Batman and his dark nightmare face off while Bruce’s sanity still continues to slip away. Overcoming all odds, the Dark Knight gets past the toxins in his body and bring his doppelgänger back into captivity within the Hall of Justice. As the story closes out, Commissioner Gordon is seen having been affected by the Joker Toxin while the series ends alluding towards the upcoming Batman-Superman ongoing series.
Jock’s signature style is lost yet again within this jumbled mess. More often than not, the incoherent pages bring down the scripts even lower, making for an unpleasant read overall. Between the convoluted scripts and the incoherent artwork, this series shoots itself in the dot repeatedly. David Baron continues to do his best with what he is given, but even his colorwork cannot bring enough clarity to this horrific clutter.
From the master class work on Justice League to this unimagined and uninspired miniseries, the two titles stand worlds apart in quality. Instead of building upon what has come before. Instead of merely adding his own new touches, such as on the flagship team book. Snyder continually returns back to the well he created as he metaphorically congratulates himself with each new issue. Whether he callbacks to Black Mirror or Court of Owls, Snyder stays strictly in the Gotham he has created, and this way adds on more unnecessary filler to this pile.
Seven issues complete, and yet nothing has been accomplished. Batman destroys his gateway into the Dark Multiverse like he should have well over a year ago. The Batman Who Laughs winds up locked up again such as he was before the series began. The series never once managed to prove why it needed to exist outside of sheer marketing strategy. The toys get moved into strange and new areas. But by the end, nothing matters and everything gets put back into its spot while making room for more appearances from the polarizing monstrosity.
