Review Batman 23.1

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I'm still writing for Broken Frontier, and I hope you check the site each week for comics news and reviews with an indie focus. I tend to cover some of the bigger releases from DC and Marvel, as well. Can't help it, there are some great stories coming out of the big houses lately. I recently reviewed Batman 23.1, the Joker issue. The much-awaited glimpse into the origin of the Caped Crusader's nemesis received a whole lot of much-deserved pre-press hype. DC has never released an origin for Joker, and every Bat-fan has his/her own ideas about it. To quote my own review, the issue was "awful." It was. Read the review HERE and you'll see what I mean. I don't often write bad reviews. If I don't like a book, I generally choose to not review it. Sharing what I enjoyed about comics is usually more constructive, but I've made an exception with Batman 23.1. Why? Because I have had my own ideas about Joker's origins since I first read The Dark Knight Returns -- and the ridiculous story presented in Batman 23.1 was such a disappointment that I couldn't keep quiet about it. My idea: Joker and Batman have parallel origins. Both lose their parents in a robbery/murder, perhaps by the same criminal on the same night on opposite sides of Gotham. They experience identical tragedies and deal with the consequences by pursuing very different paths. You have to admit, it's a way better idea than the sadistic aunt and Joker raising a gorilla!