The most in-your-face transformation of the Joker since DKR.
I'm deducting 1 point for the writing; the author has a tenacious tendancy to prattle on & on with insignificant details, like Anne Rice or John Steinbeck, which is annoying for those who don't have rock-solid attention spans.
Batman R.I.P. is an exciting new story arc that has been mostly positively recieved, leaving a few confused & impatient for what comes after. For Joker fans, Batman R.I.P. brings about the biggest rebirth of the Joker since The Dark Knight Returns, only this one is canon to the series as opposed to being an Otherworlds story.
This all-new Joker wants to destroy his ties to his past & sports a whole new look, a very attractive & super awesometastic look, the way Tony Daniel draws him in latter issues. His first priority is to baptize his rebirth in the blood of his former henchmen.
This book also signifies the end of the questionable relationship between himself & Harley Quinn. She's been mostly soloing without him since 2004 & working with him on the occasion, but since she is a reminder of his past, the Joker wants her dead.
Batman R.I.P. primarily has readers questioning the fate of Bruce Wayne as Batman, but with the Joker's over-the-top transformation & him being linked to Batman like an unavoidable reflection, we can only expect the same from the Bat.
By personal suspicions are that the "death" of Batman will be about rebirth or "sheding his skin", even if there's a temporary stand in until he emerges from his coccoon.
