John Carpenter’s The Joker: Year of the Villain Review
The Master of Horror takes a turn at writing The Clown Prince of Crime as part of DC Comics Year of the Villain universe-spanning event. Click on as we dive into John Carpenter’s The Joker: Year of the Villain one shot.
Seems everyone has gone Joker crazy in the past few months, and why shouldn’t they? The iconic comic book villain has a brand new dark and gritty solo film out with Joaquin Phoenix starring in the title roll creating all kinds of Oscar buzz. I saw it during my New York Comic Con weekend at an Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn and I was totally sold on this unique and different take, not only on this legendary villain, but also on the comic book film genre in general. But I’m not here to talk about that movie.
No, I’m here to write about the equally dark and gritty Joker comic written by the one and only John Carpenter! I know what you’re thinking: “John Carpenter writing a comic? How did that come to pass?” Well, it’s actually not his first foray into the world of the illustrated print. He co-wrote last year’s limited series based on one of his other famous properties, Big Trouble in Little China, sharing scripting duties with videogame author, Anthony Burch. Carpenter teams again with Burch on this Joker book.
Depending on where you fall on the topic, it can be a hard read as this Joker adventure really delves into and explores the matter of mental health. Much like the Todd Phillips film was criticized for its depiction of mental illness, and some would say glamorization of, I feel you can't really tell a Joker story in the twenty first century without talking about mental health issues. I mean, if you’ve read some of the greatest Joker stories ever told, form Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, to Jim Starlin’s A Death in the Family, and back around to Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, then you know that the Joker is a pretty crazy dude. Events loosely based on Starlin’s classic were even brought to TV screens in both the 2010 animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood and in the mega hit videogame of 2015 (and still one of my personal faves), Batman: Arkham Knight. So it’s no surprise that Carpenter’s take is no different than those of the legendary creators’ that came before.
In this one shot (a comic book term meaning only a single issue is released and tells a complete story in the span of just those single pages alone), Carpenter and Burch opt to tell the story from the perspective of one of the Joker’s newest henchman, both having recently escaped from Arkham together. Jeremy, our narrator, also known as Six of Hearts, an allusion to his membership in one of DC comics most historic, yet notoriously panned villainous organizations, The Royal Flush Gang, is taken under the Joker’s wing after their simultaneous breakout. Over the course of several days or weeks, we’re never really told; Jeremy is witness to some of the Clown Prince of Crime’s most villainous behavior. Throughout the whole experience, in one event The Joker blows up an entire hideout full of his own henchmen just because they didn’t come and break him out of Arkham soon enough, Jeremy questions and often compares his own diagnosis of insanity with that of The Joker’s. We’re never really let in on what exactly is wrong with Jeremy, but we do find out that his dad beat him for it and that may have led to his eventual committal to various mental health institutions throughout his life.
This is where the comic is at it's strongest. Not when Jeremy questions what it is to be insane, but more so when he questions what is “family,” eventually looking to The Joker as not only a mentor, but also a possible father figure. It’s not until The Joker attempts to murder a lowly diner worker for charging too much, whom Jeremy “rescues” by offering his last pocket of cash before Joker can pull the trigger, that our narrator decides it’s the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back and decides to leave his employ. Afterwards, in a brief moment of self-discovery, Jeremy realizes it’s those whom love you that will always welcome you with open arms and so, decides to seek out his mom at her old apartment after not having seen her in over five years.
After discovering her door broken into, upon entering the apartment, Jeremy finds The Joker with a knife to his mother’s throat. It’s in this singular moment that Jeremy realizes The Joker isn’t crazy at all; in fact he’s quite sane, he’s actually just fucking evil, not crazy. In a moment of blind rage, Jeremy attacks the Joker and begins to strangle him to death, yet in a single intentional POV frame of Joker’s, we, the reader get a glimpse of just how mad The Joker truly is when he looks up at Jeremy to see a silhouetted and warped image of Batman and thus concludes that he choke him “harder.” Weird shit, man. Of course, taken aback by his request, Jeremy stops, which then gives Joker an opening to proceed with cracking Jeremy’s skull via crowbar, citing his disappointment in him. Jeremy miraculously survives the beating, thank goodness, and our story closes with him leaning on his mom as they exit the apartment and head to a hospital.
Aside from the deep story Carpenter and Burch are trying to tell, long time DC comics contributor, Philip Tan, doles out some great pencils to further solidify the insane and surreal world in which the story takes place, yet still taking time to lighten up some moments by poking fun, or offer praise to, the sixties television series, as well as some trademark Batman comic book moments.
Take that, Jim Lee, or Frank Miller, or any other famous artist who’s drawn Batman and his trusty sidekick.
In the end, this isn’t a story that seeks to demonize mental illness at all, but rather, find faith in those who are there for us, regardless of our mental state or other flaws, and in some ways maybe even suggest to the reader that one can always find hope, help, and shelter in those whom we are closest to. Proving that family always takes care of family and love will once again prevail over all.
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