The Joker Annual 2021

The Joker Annual 2021

DC Comics 2021

Written by Matthew Rosenberg & James Tynion IV

Illustrated by Francesco Francavilla

Lettered by Tom Napolitano

His first year of being GCPD police commissioner was an intense challenge for James Gordon. He battled corruption in the ranks, his marriage was in shambles, and the vigilante Batman was clearly welcoming new recruits with the appearance of Batgirl. And The Joker picked his moment to unleash hell!

After recent events in the Joker’s monthly title, where Jim tells Barbara he’s known she’s Batgirl for a very long time, seeing this issue and all the times he knew what was going on and not saying anything about it was incredibly well portrayed. I also like that we are continuing to see the history between the Joker and Jim playing out like we do and that on some level even at this stage the Joker knows there is some sort of connection between Jim and Batgirl. I am actually even more impressed with the fact that the Joker sees the opportunity in the state of Gotham that has come about since Gordon has taken the crime families out of the picture and it would seem that for the first time in a long time the city feels relatively safe. Let’s face feeling safe in Gotham isn’t something many are used to experiencing.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see, which is utterly phenomenal by the way, through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how w e see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job with their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story the more intrigued I become and want to see more of their earlier encounters come to life.

I’m pretty impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge, grow and strengthen. I am also liking the way that we see these layers opening up new avenues to be explored. That moment with Catman, or the meeting and even the pinata’s all add some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

Francavilla has his own unique style and it is amazing to see him bring these characters to life. The linework is fantastic and how we see the varying weights create the detail work that we see throughout is spectacular. How we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is extremely well done. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a master storyteller’s eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work are so beautifully achieved.

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There are so many good things that happen within this issue and I love that they aren’t afraid to explore their past in such a way as this. There’s plenty of sensational moments throughout the book that really grab the readers’ attention and make them want to see more. Also the fact that Catman makes an appearance is just icing on the cake as far as I’m concerned though the best interactions do happen between Jim and Barbara. With some sensational writing and characterisation wrapped around these amazing interiors the Joker doesn’t disappoint in the slightest.