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Chip Zdarsky Dancing Between The Acid Rain Drops In Joker Year One

Chip Zdarsky talks about Joker: Year One and how it will be attempting to dance between the raindrops of continuity" when it runs in Batman

Published Fri, 24 Nov 2023 14:57:08 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Chip Zdarsky launches Joker: Year One in Batman #142-144, exploring dual timelines.
The storyline promises to challenge perceptions and add twists to Joker's origin.
Artwork evokes classic Joker tales like The Killing Joke, with a fresh perspective.
Zdarsky aims to respect past continuities, including Scott Snyder's Zero Year.

Joker Year One is coming to the Batman series in February 2024, by Chip Zdarsky, Giuseppe Camuncolu, Stefano Nesi, Andrea Sorrentino, Alejandro Sanchez and Dave Stewart as Batman #142, #143, and #144 go weekly.

"In part one, the tragic "death" of the leader of the Red Hood Gang in a vat of chemicals has become the subject of myth…but what is the heartbreaking and gruesome tale of the monster who walked away from that violent birth?"

There is a lot of Killing Joke seemingly referenced in the artwork seen but is there less than we thought? DC states that

"eager readers will be questioning everything they know about The Joker" and ask "how does it affect Batman's distant future… a mysterious figure from Batman's past has come into Joker's orbit, changing the Clown Prince of Crime forever! And what secrets does the re-formed Red Hood Gang have for Batman's future?.. The Red Hood Gang is on a rampage and the only man who can stop them…is The Joker! And can Batman stop a devastating new virus in a future where The Joker looms over everything?"

Chip Zdarsky posts the image above to his newsletter, adding;

"Yeah! For the month of February, we're putting out a special story within the pages of Batman called THE JOKER: YEAR ONE! Giuseppe Camuncoli and Andrea Sorrentino have come on board to make this a really cool looking story. It takes place in two time periods: the period directly after The Joker's creation in the chemical vat, and some time in the future as Batman tries to unravel a mystery. It's been fun attempting to dance between the raindrops of continuity on this one! Anyhoo, it's cool and pretty, and I hope people dig it when it drops. Also! Jorge is still going strong! He's leading us into this storyline and picking up right after in issue 145! And yeah, I did the promo piece above. It may end up being a cover? Maybe?"

And in the comments, where no one looks, he added;

"I'm working within Scott & Greg's ZERO YEAR continuity, so it'll be original content, but working within what they set up!"

Batman: Zero Year by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo ran in the New 52 Batman series, which began in June 2013 and ended in July 2014 and also included work by James Tynion IV, Danny Miki, and Rafael Albuquerque.

As to the Joker, Zero Year contradicts bits of both Batman: Year One and The Killing Joke (which also contradict each other), at least in relation to Joker's apparent origin as the Red Hood. Though King's subsequent run on Batman chose to reference Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's Batman Year One instead.

Zero Year saw Batman confront the Red Hood Gang across the city, with the Red Hood One in charge. Eventually, it leads to the chemical factory showdown…

…that mirrors the first established origin of the Joker from Detective Comics #168 in 1951, a masked criminal Red Hood, who, during his final heist, vanished after leaping into a vat of chemicals to escape Batman. The Killing Joke made the Joker a stooge of the gang, put in the hood to draw attention, made the focus of police or vigilante action.

Zero Hour made all the gang Red Hood and Red Hood One its leader. And someone with far more agency over his transformation into The Joker. It looks like the raindrops that Chip Zdarsky will be dancing between are of the acid rain variety.