Jokers Asylum The Joker #1

Like probably most people, this book was barely on my radar until I noticed it on the shipping list for this week, and picked it up more out of curiosity than anticipation. The basic premise is that for four weekly issues, each iteration will tell a one-shot story starring one of Batman's famous rogues. And quite fittingly, our first Master of Ceremonies is none other than the enigmatic Joker. It is his Asylum, after all.

In #1, Arvid Nelson gives us "Joker's Mild," where the titular character is, you guessed it, a little more reined in. And by "reined in," I of course mean holding an entire studio audience hostage and forcing the contestants of a game show to answer ridiculously obscure trivia under the threat of mutilation. But hey, this is a guy who once beat a teenager to death with a crowbar and got away with it via diplomatic immunity. He's a cheeky monkey.

I won't spoil how things shake down, but I have to give credit where credit's due: Nelson totally nailed the nature of the Batman one-shot. He doesn't go big - he goes fun. This is a story that anyone can enjoy, even if they're only passingly familiar with the characters. Alex Sanchez's sketch-happy art was intensely enjoyable, but it probably won't be for everyone. In either case, this is definitely something you won't want to miss. In a week where Grant Morrison's R.I.P. storyline is delving deeper and deeper into the wretched history of the Dark Knight, this is, oddly enough, my favorite book of the bunch.