The Joker

[1989]. Cover price £1.75.
68 pages. Colour & B&W.
London Editions Magazines.

Batman Monthly Presents

Cover p: Kerry Gammill, i: Joe Rubinstein.
r: cover from Justice League Annual (DC Comics) #02 (1988).

ISBN-10: 0-7235-5580-X.

Contents:

 2 Joking Apart! text feature by Brian M. Clarke (?, uncredited).

 3 The Joker is Wild! w: Doug Moench; p: Don Newton, i: Alfredo Alcala, lettering by John Costanza, colouring by Adrienne Roy.

r: Batman (DC Comics) #366 (Dec 1983).

17 At Last... A Computer With Plenty of ZAP! advertisement for Sinclair ZX Action Pack.

27 Fact File The Joker text by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustration p: Kevin Maguire, i: Karl Kesel.

r: Detective Comics Annual (DC Comics) #02 (1989).

28 Mini Movies in the Palm of Your Hand (half page) advertisement for Tiny Hands' toy. / Want to See More of Justice League???? (half page) in-house advertisement for Superman.

29 Hit or Miss! w: J.M. DeMatteis, from a plot by Keith Giffen; p: Bill Willingham, i: Joe Rubenstein, lettering by John Costanza, colouring by Gene D'Angelo.

r: Justice League Annual (DC Comics) #02 (1988).

68 Spooky Wooky - One of the Fiendish Feet advertisement for St. Ivel dessert.

A cardstock cover makes this a remarkably attractive package, though one must wonder at the wisdom of the release of yet another Batman title during a year in which his exposure must have strained even the most committed of collectors' budget. Taking cues from the monthly Batman title, there's a stylish design to the inside cover's text feature (thanks to Ed Hyde), although the article itself is uncredited. The shattered visage of the clown prince of crime, and numerous tumbling playing cards, perfectly captures the insanity of the character in a way that a simple illustration couldn't possibly hope to match.

Jason Todd wanders around Wayne Manor after being left on his own. Despite Bruce having left for Central America, and with Alfred disappearing mysteriously, Jason seems quite happy to use this opportunity to snoop around, finding himself in Dick Grayson's old room. Having nothing better to do, he looks in Dick's wardrobe, where he makes a surprising discovery. Alfred is absent, by the by, due to his daughter, Julia Remarque, having tracked him down.

The same night, in a cave under an ancient Mayan pyramid in Guatemala, the Joker is furious with Batman, not only for rescuing Vicki Vale, but for making him shatter his scale-model of Joker-Land. He declares that his plan will proceed regardless - namely the assassination of General Diaz in the town of Mixtaya.

Batman, meanwhile, has hitched a lift on a truck (Vicki Vale in tow) in order to get out of the jungle. And yes, he does look rather silly when taken so far out of his usual environs.

There's a lot of set-up in the opening pages of The Joker is Wild!, only a small portion of which deals directly with the titular character. There was a nine-issue series focusing on the Joker back in the mid-seventies, making this story's inclusion ever more strange. Especially as so much of the narrative is of matters entirely unconcerned with the Joker.

Gotham Hospital: Police Commissioner James Gordon has been in the deep sleep of coma for three days and nights.

His daughter Barbara has been awake for the same length of time...

The vignettes continue on like this, displaying slivers of lives which have been intertwined with that of Batman, and slipping farther from the subject of the Joker. Bullock is at the Mayor's office, where he is asked to take Gordon's place. This isn't, you might surmise from the above, my favourite story, and it certainly isn't a Joker story. If anything, this is Jason's story, as it is his intervention which sets pieces in play for the resolution of the scheme to kill Diaz, apprehending the Joker.

The Joker is Wild! likely reads better in the context of prior issues, feeling like random and disconnected scenes thrown together in service of a grander plot, impenetrable without a key to events assisting comprehension.

Following the comic's lead, rather than the cinematic origin, the Joker's identity remains unknown in the fact file. In fact, the number of blanks is remarkably high for an informative feature, stating that he has no known relatives or group affiliations. Reduced to reciting the well-known (and oft-reprinted) adventures instead of delving into who he is, the feature is rather less interesting than it might initially seem. Maguire and Kesel provide a wonderful image to accompany the feature, redeeming it somewhat.

Hit or Miss! begins much more promisingly, with the Joker discovering Colonel Harjarvti ransacking Maxwell Lord's room in search of a rolodex containing the Justice League's personal 'phone numbers. Coming to an understanding with the Bialyan, the Joker agrees to kill the JLI, and in return Col Harjarvti will task his resources to uncovering the identity of Batman for the Joker.

You would be forgiven for thinking - given how many late-eighties Joker appearances were of a darker nature - that this would be a dark, psychologically-complex thriller. It isn't. It is a wonderful, glorious, madcap farce, with some of the best Joker characterization in a long time. There is even a Batman cameo, leading to a properly laugh-out-loud scene which is worth the cover price alone. I can't praise this story high enough, and I'm not going to spoil it for those who want to see how Batman should be written.

While the contents vary in quality and usefulness, the packaging is impressive.

Indiana Jones Vol.2 #1

Oct 1991. Cover price £1.00.
36 pages. Colour & B&W contents.
Trident Comics.

Edited by Martin Skidmore.

Painted cover by Dave Dorman.
r: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Dark Horse) #01 (Mar 1991).

Contents:

2 Indiana Jones credits. / The Story So Far... / Indicia

3 Indiana Jones The Fate of Atlantis w: William Messner-Loebs & Dan Barry (uncredited), based on a story by Hal Barwood, Noah Falstein & Lucasfilm Games; p: Dan Barry, i: Karl Kesel, lettering by Gail Beckett, colouring by Lurene Haines.

r: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Dark Horse) #01 (Mar 1991).

29 In Space, No-One Can Hear You Scream in-house advertisement for Aliens #09 (Oct 1991).

30 Apocalypse Presents Makabre in-house advertisement.

31 Next Month

32 Terminator T-Shirt Offer in-house advertisement.

33 Trident Comics Mail Order in-house advertisement.

34 Competition with five copies of Indiana Jones Explores Ancient Egypt to win.

35 Toxic! Bite off more than you can chew... in-house advertisement.

36 Terminator - A Gripping Comic in-house advertisement.

While there isn't an introduction to the title, at least there's a text primer for those arriving to the character late. This is primarily a title aimed at fans of the films, of course, so a proper introduction should have appeared inside the front cover - there's plenty of room left over, with the cover image re-used in light blue, the text inexplicably placed directly over Indy's face. Foregoing a free gift is slightly odd, especially as the (stunning) cover being a perfect depiction of the adventurer, and worthy of reproducing in a larger format.

Normally, Indiana Jones is a Professor of Archeology at Barnet College, in New York State. But he's no ordinary archaeologist. He's had extraordinary adventures all over the world. He's recovered the Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets Moses received with the Ten Commandments engraved upon them. He restored some magical eggs, which bestow immortality, to the village which takes care of them. He even recovered the Holy Grail, the chalice from which Jesus Christ drank at the Last Supper.

But there's one place even Indiana Jones doesn't believe in. A place considered legendary by everyone. And now, discoveries made on Indy's first dig a decade ago are coming back to haunt him. and Indy must set out on a quest to discover...

THE FATE OF ATLANTIS

Addressing the storytelling issues which plagued the back-ups in Marvel's launch issue, the strip opens in the middle of an adventure. This is how the character should be seen at the opening of a new story, and it is a gloriously mad sequence with the self-proclaimed god Tenochtitlan preparing to throw him to crocodiles. It is, unfortunately, a dream sequence, but it is an important glimpse into his psyche.

The sixth of May, 1939.

One of the things which bothered me about the various Indiana Jones printed material throughout the nineties was the lack of direct inspiration from the films, and the manner in which we are given the date (not to mention the prior text introduction) is how pedestrian and unimaginative it is.

There was a wonderful conceit in his bulging diary, which was never - to the best of my knowledge - picked up on. Had there been a page of the diary, with attached photographs, sketches of artifacts, a fragment of a crumpled rubbing, or other elements which might he might have carried with him, then the immersion could have been so much greater.

Small details, building into something greater with each page revealed.

Samuel Corn, a man of many skills, arrives at the class Dr. Jones is teaching, with an ancient key which he finally identifies as containing similar markings to items discovered during the Jastro expedition in Iceland. Indiana Jones' first dig, a decade earlier, had unearthed an object of similar design - which happens to be the item to which the key belongs. Corn takes the contents from Indy at gunpoint before escaping, though without his ID - which reveals that his real name is Klaus Kerner, and that he is a colonel in the S.S.

Alongside Kerner's ID is a newspaper clipping referencing Sophia Hapgood, another member of the expedition. Indy decides to pay her a visit, and finds her living in New York, promoting ancient Atlantean culture, calling herself Madame Sophia. Sophia isn't pleased at his arrival in her life again, although she permits him to spend the night - which he fills by indexing her collection of irreplaceable relics. Kerner breaks into Sophia's apartment, and while the German gets his hands on the artifacts, Dr. Jones is able to save his friend's life.

An above-average beginning, reprinting a fine story, and with a competition which fits perfectly. There are, perhaps, a few too many adverts (the Terminator one is certainly effective), and a certain reserved caution in presentation - one would have imagined such a high-profile franchise to have been a feather in Trident's cap, yet there isn't any celebratory punch here. This is where introductions are so important, as they can say to the reader that there will be great things forthcoming, or to highlight how much the comic will develop over forthcoming issues with proper support.

Encouraging readers to write in with their opinions on the title is the main reason to include a brief message at the front of a new title. How many people, on picking this up, would have sent in missives regardless? By throwing suggestions on the naming of a letter column (The Snake Pit would have been perfect) readers are challenged to one-up the title's offerings.

It is early days for the title, and despite rough edges it feels promising.