REVIEWS! | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Oct06

NEAL ADAMS Reviews JOKER

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Oct 6, 2019

A JOKER WEEK EXCLUSIVE BONUS: The acclaimed artist explains why you should see the controversial Joaquin Phoenix vehicle… — It’s JOKER WEEK! We’re celebrating comics’ greatest villain since there’s a big ol’ major motion picture out. For the complete index of features, click here. — Dan — We wrapped up JOKER WEEK with a look at why 1973’s seminal Batman #251 by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams — which has been a centerpiece of the week’s coverage — is evidence that the Bronze Age is the true Golden Age of comics. (Click here.) But in a moment of fortuitous timing, I sat down with Adams at New York Comic Con and he gave me his review of the polarizing Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips — the film whose release inspired me to do JOKER WEEK to begin with. There are a handful of writers and artists who’ve been crucial to the evolution of the Clown Prince of Crime and Adams is among those at the very top of that list — he and O’Neil set the foundation of the Joker we see in modern times. So, as an EXCLUSIVE JOKER WEEK BONUS, here’s his SPOILER-FREE review of a movie that’s become a cultural lightning rod — as told to yours truly. — Dan — By NEAL ADAMS The first half hour you’re going to hate, OK? It’s like a French movie. “What the hell is this?” you’ll think. It’s like, “Oh, Jesus, am I gonna watch two hours of this guy going through crap? And then nothing will happen at the end – because it’s like a French movie?” Which is basically what French movies are like: “Oh, I’m gonna have to experience it with this guy and nothing will happen at the end, it’ll just be screwed up.” But then you’re into it an hour and I’m going, “Well, it’s not quite like a French movie. Because some things are happening but it’s really sad and unfortunate.” And as the movie is progressing, I realize I’ve been interviewed on Joker a bunch of times and the conversation comes down to, really, how come his face is white and his lips are red and his hair is green? And the answer is because he fell into a vat of chocolate. Or chemicals, or whatever it...

Oct05

BATMAN #251: Towering Evidence the Bronze Age Is the True Golden Age

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Oct 5, 2019

BATMAN #251: Towering Evidence the Bronze Age Is the True Golden Age

For the JOKER WEEK finale, a tribute to a comic book that emblemizes the best of the best era… — It’s JOKER WEEK! We’re celebrating comics’ greatest villain since there’s a big ol’ major motion picture coming out this week. For the complete index of features, click here. — Dan — Walking into Midtown Comics this week and seeing a glorious new reprint of 1973’s Batman #251 made me realize something that has really been self-evident for a good long time: the Bronze Age is comics’ true Golden Age. Now, I love the actual Golden Age. I love the Silver Age even more. And I love a lot of what the Modern Age has to offer. But, push to shove, no period in the history of our favorite entertainment medium burrows deeper into my heart than the Bronze Age, which I define as 1970 to 1986. (Others have more nebulous definitions but I see it as beginning when Robin split for college and ending when Crisis on Infinite Earths wrapped up.) Anyway, you could chalk some of it up to nostalgia, sure. I was a child of the ’70s, that era of Batman TV reruns, Megos and Hostess ads, the heyday of Ben Cooper costumes and Slurpee cups. But there’s more to it: Taking the 81 years of the Superhero Era in sum, no period better exemplifies comics’ ability to entertain and make you think. It’s the ideal nexus of high adventure, dazzling art, pathos, realism and fantasy. Serious but never too serious. Sometimes silly but in the best way. And as far as standalone stories go, Batman #251 — The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge! by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams — is absolutely unparalleled. Everything taken together, it’s the single greatest issue ever produced and I expect I’ll believe that until I read my last comic. But hey, I’m sure you’ve got your own Bronze Age choice for that distinction and I invite you to list it in the comments below. In any event, Batman #251 is a deceptively simple story executed masterfully: the Joker, who has been locked away (DC pretty much had him on the shelf for several years), returns to kill his old gang because one of them had betrayed him. It marked the Harlequin of Hate’s return to his homicidal roots and O’Neil infuses the...

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