DC reviews 2/8/22 – Detective Comics #1052, The Joker #12

The Joker #12

There’s a number of DC titles coming to a merciful end under less than inspiring creative teams. The Joker is not one of them.
In the penultimate chapter of season one of the title, Jim Gordon has finally pieced all the puzzle together and knows who sent him on The Joker’s trail.

It’s a big reveal and writer James Tynion IV has a payoff that largely was worth the wait.

The only problem with the reveal is how it impacts another strong Batman family title. Tynion has earned enough goodwill to assume he’s got that accounted for and next issue will tie up loose continuity threads.

The supporting cast of Harvey Bullock, Orphan and Barbara Gordon shine. Tynion crafts some strong interactions with Gordon and Bullock.

Giuseppe Camuncoli’s artwork is so smooth with a nice flair for dramatic action scenes and wonderfully capturing the twists.
Colorists Arif Prianto and Romulo Fajardo Jr. do commendable work with a lighter color scheme to show the veil being lifted from Gordon’s eyes.

All roads end with next issue’s big season finale. Tynion has set the stage beautifully and there’s no reason to suspect he won’t nail the landing.

Rating: 9 out of 10