Attacking the Bat's weakness.
Originally written 2-19-14
Gotham City once again will experience an all too familiar evil. The Joker is back and he's far more vicious than ever before, and this time Batman isn't the only one on his mind. Batman has been waiting for him ever since his disappearance and this time he's ready. He'll learn once again there's no "being ready" for the Joker. -summary
In the beginning of the New 52 reboot, the Joker made an appearance in Detective Comics Volume One: Faces of Death. He hired the Dollmaker to slice off his face, and the police took it as evidence. This led to Joker going underground. He returns after a year and invades the police station to claim his face, and from there wages a war against the Bat-Family. Batman Volume 3: Death of the Family is the second major Batman event that follows the Joker's attack, and that storyline is the bigger picture Scott Snyder was going for. The event crossed over into all the Bat-titles, and it followed Joker going after each member. The Joker: Death of the Family collects those crossovers. Some of the books are edited only involving the portions concerning him, while some contain the full encounter. This book isn't necessary for those whom only want Batman's point of view, but it will prove very valuable to those whom want everything dealing with this confrontation without picking up all the other books. This TPB collects Batman 13, 14, 17, Detective Comics 15 - 17, Catwoman 13 - 14, Suicide Squad 14 - 15, Batgirl 13 - 16, Red Hood and the Outlaws 13 - 16, Teen Titans 14 - 16, Nightwing 14 - 16, and Batman and Robin 15 - 17. The stories are written by Scott Snyder, Peter Tomasi, Ann Nocenti, Gail Simone, Kyle Higgins and others.
In addition to these stories following Joker's attacks, they also provide an in-depth look on how he effects Gotham City overall. It appears that Joker has garnered a fan base, and his antics gives every crazy in the city a reason to act up. It also provides a smokescreen for some to carry out personal vendettas using Joker's name as a calling card. Besides Joker's confrontation with all allies of the Bat, there's a good amount of background information not provided in Batman's solo book. While the Joker does commit a few heinous acts in the main book, some of the things he does here defines evil, and leaves one wondering why he's even still alive; of all the members Red Hood and Batgirl are the only ones willing to kill him. It makes perfect sense since they were hurt the most by him.
The best crossovers by far involves Batgirl and Nightwing; their encounters with him are action pack and very personal. I also liked Robin's face to face with him, because left alone with the Joker he won't hesitate to kill him, with Joker even pointing out that Robin did attack him with a crowbar. The weakest portions of this book by far are the Red Hood and Teen Titans crossovers. The two teams unite to battle against one of Joker's plans, while he attacks and kidnaps their leaders Red Robin and Red Hood; but I can't imagine people unfamiliar with their books to care for these teams. I read their books up to this point and still wasn't feeling them, nor could I get into their situation. Those two crossovers define filler and really bring nothing to the overall event.
One thing someone unfamiliar can definitely take away is how formidable Joker is; with enough planning he can put anyone under intense pressure and take down just about whoever he wants. He's a true mastermind whose potential is only limited by his imagination. He's also unbelievably cruel, as Harley not only learns that she wasn't the first to become Harley, but she also learns the fate of those who came before her. It's quite disturbing and sad, and it furthers the point that Joker needs to be killed. The writers do a splendid job handling him.
The artwork is a revolving door of artist and with the exception of Red Hood, everything blends well enough. The action and disturbing images are more prominent in Batman and Robin, Nightwing, Suicide Squad, and Batgirl. There are some bloody encounters with characters taking their hatred straight to Joker, and he delivers in kind. I'm surprised that there is something of a balance through these crossovers, because I've seen plenty where the artwork can get out of control. It's a nice job overall.
This TPB isn't bad but it's far from great also. It doesn't help at all that it doesn't include Batman 16, in which this is the issue Joker captures Batman, so you need his book anyway. Plus some of the issues could have been ordered better. While it does work as an expansion piece some of these stories aren't worth much. I only recommend this to the hardcore completest. I would recommend picking up Batgirl, Nightwing, and even Suicide Squad since those are the best crossovers, but at the same time those books have running story arcs that began in earlier volumes. The best advice I can give is use your own judgment; and if you had already been collecting those books then continue doing that. If you had been following everything then you don't need this book at all.
Pros: Some good stories here, works as an expansion
Cons: Some throw away stories, lacking some material
