And The Jokes Keep Coming

I finally got around to reading the 100th issue of Batman, which signaled the end of the Joker war. However, it could have but didn't end the reign of The Joker. If this was a movie, there would be two scenes after the credits utilizing different artists (Carlo Pagulayan and Guillem March). Throughout the main body of work the artwork was handled by Jorge Jimenez. James Tynion IV wrote this action-packed finale, with Tomeu Morey assisting with colors and Clayton Cowles with letters.

With Gotham dealing with a corrupt government body, this story could have very easily been referred to as "Clowns and Robbers." It is hard to figure out where the police stand. That is, all except Commissioner Bullock who threw down his badge and gun to side with Batman, against the orders of the mayor. With a resurrected sick version of Alfred in tow, the Joker has turned all of the movie theaters into his own personal fun factory. Nightwing is attempting to take down Punchline, while Batman wants the Joker for himself. Meanwhile, other heroes are utilizing a transmission by Oracle to round up all of the other clowns wrecking havoc on the city.

While Batman wants to bring the Joker in alive, Harley Quinn has other ideas. Quinn sets it up for the Joker to be killed in an explosion, while Batman has to make a choice as to who he will save. This plan doesn't go well as the Joker is able to disarm the bomb with tools that were part of the bat suit that he was masquerading around in. Gotham is still going to be forever changed and this doesn't seem to sit well with the Ghost-Maker, who seems ready to make his presence known.

Batman ends up paying Bao Pham a visit, trying to get him to seek help from Dr. Leslie Thompkins. The caped crusader wants him to stop his vigilante acts against criminals pretending to be clowns. Meanwhile, the Joker is incognito at an eatery where he finds another victim to use as a distraction for his next move. Reading about himself in the newspaper, the Joker notices Punchline on the tube where she comes clean as Alexis Kaye while blaming the Joker for all of her actions. That only leads one to believe that this story will be picked up again sometime in the near future!