“Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo” – Book Three
Writer, Artist: Marc Silvestri
Color Artist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Review by Adam Ray
An impossible choice greets us at the start of Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #3 and we’ve lost none of the built-up tension between issues.
The mystery takes some unexpected turns as the first culprit reveals themselves and we’re left wondering more about the details about them, what direction this deadly duo story line will take from here, and whether there’s anything deadly about this duo, or even if it truly even is one.
I’ve truly fallen in love with the sharp, gritty artwork is on show in this issue, Silvestri’s style and how Gotham has been rendered here. Everything’s angular and weather beaten, the hatch work shading makes every building daunting and every person looks weary and haggard with time.
As the narrative progresses, we’re only now getting the Joker and Batman buddy cop duo the title and end of issue one promised. A lot of the issue leading up to it was head scratching science about the strange creatures attacking Gotham. I can forgive moments of exposition like this to show off Batman’s chops as a Detective, but we’ve seen a lot of that in issue two.
It took Batman issuing the bare minimum of an ultimatum to the Joker to finally have the two of them go on a mission together, but on a very short leash.
Conclusion
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #3 has spoiled me and exceeded my expectations. I was expecting this to be the hyper gritty take on Batman and The Joker teaming up. It was a slower burn than I was prepared for, but I can still forgive it, if nothing else, because these issues are still some of the finest going in DC today.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
