DC Comics reviews 2-26-20 – Action Comics #1020, Detective Comics #1020
Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3
If 2019 was the Year of the Villain, 2020 is shaping up to be the Year of the Joker. It’s no surprise then that Batman and Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen writer James Tynion IV is laying the groundwork in both titles for a major status quo shakeup by The Joker.
When Lex Luthor calls for help, Joker makes the save, but he hasn’t forgotten how they parted terms when Joker was part of Luthor’s Legion of Doom. But when The Batman Who Laughs threatens to show the world a real Crisis, will their alliance be enough? Or will Joker provide Luthor with the winning strategy to end the threat of TBWL once and for all?
Tynion has a great feel for writing villains thanks to his split writing duties on the LOD stories on Justice League. His Joker is impressively psychotic and Tynion uses this issue to further tease Punchline, Joker’s latest sidekick. Luthor continues straddling the line of super powered apex being and most dangerous human in the DCU. It seems like Tynion is more a fan of traditional Lex even against TBWL’s army of heroes.
Javier Fernandez and Steve Epting pair up again on the art. Fernandez’s frenetic style clashes with Epting’s more grounded approach to an extent but not to a level where it’s hard to enjoy the story.
With a lot of story elements tied to Dark Nights: Death Metal, Tynion seemingly can only take this story so far but he’s making it an exciting and unpredictable journey. This villain focused special hasn’t disappointed yet and with the finale next month it’ll be exciting to see how this story wraps up.
Rating: 9 out of 10