Batman Cacophony # 3 - Baffles

Well, this short 3 issue mini series has it's ups & downs & if I was Linkara, I might find something wrong in continuity. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Batman made a reference to Lex & the Hitler Youth, didn't that happen in the Silver or Bronze Age? & didn't everything that happened in the gold & silver age get nullified by Crisis on Infinate Earths? Meaning it never happened? Then there's the Joker telling Batman that he DOES want him dead & hates him, which contradicts what he said in Batman Cacophony (& other stories dating back to the 80s); both stories being set in the past & released around the same time. Right after that, he mentions what he'd do if Batman wasn't around anymore, making what seems like an obvious homage to the famous Elseworlds story DKR. That part was perfectly okey, but when has the Joker EVER had real facial hair? & black instead of green. But not everythign was bad. The story was pretty ammusing, we got a good look at a semi-new villain we can hope for the return of, the facial expressions were lively, the Joker once again ideantified Bruce in disguize as Batman, Alfred got to be a smartass, part of it reminded me of Legends of the Dark Knight 200, & I never get sick of the gay jokes; something I've come to expect from both the Joker & Silent Bob....I mean Kevin Smith. (Was anyone else hoping to spot Bluntman & Chronic in this?)

In this issue Batman confronts the Joker and the new hitman in town Otomatapia ( probably spelled wrong ) who seems to be taking out masks. During their battle the Joker is stabbed in the chest. Batmn and Gordon debate on wether or not they should let Joker die. Contradicting himself from No Mans Land, Batman decides to save him. 
  I enjoyed this book. Although, I had a hrad time believing Batmans dialogue.  Especially after reading the aforementioned No Mans Land.  Aside from that and the stupid gay jokes, the dialogue is sharp and witty. The story was strong, and complimented by Walt Flannigans flawed but still good art.

Well I have only this past weekend got round to reading Batman Cacophony and as much as I wanted to love it...I didn't. I liked it...I didn't love it. Kevin Smiths Green Arrow run, I thought was pretty special. Quiver really made me fond of that character and I loved the wordy script that Smith turned in. Although the art would not have been what I was looking for, I felt that it really worked and made the whole 10 issues really enjoyable AND tied in with various DCU happenings which is always nice. Sounds of Violence was far more enclosed in the Green Arrow world and of course introduced us to Onomatopoeia.

Onomatopoeia (besides a bloody hard word to type) is for me a pretty cool character, albeit I wasn’t convinced at first (is he seriously going to make those noises the whole way through?). As Sounds of Violence progressed I really got into him and felt that his lack of dialogue actually added to his presence in the book – the repeating of the sounds really worked. Of course, with a character like that – you don’t want to kill him off and so, years later up he pops in the Batman world. And I was excited!

However, Cacophony didn’t deliver. The story didn’t really grab me. The art was ok. The dialogue – not Smiths best in my opinion.

As for Onomatopoeia, he really just cuts through the three issues. He is there, but really only as a supporting character. I think he is worthy of more than that. Instead, it was more about Batmans’ relationship with Joker.  As a Batman fan, I am also a Joker fan, but how he was depicted didn’t sit well with me. Yes the Joker is mad, yes he is insane but his sudden excitement with gay tendencies – I am not sure that worked.

Anyway, overall not a bad effort but I had hoped Smith might have done more with Onomatopoeia and less with the Joker.