The Joker Is The Scariest Comic James Tynion IV Has Written For DC

This is the story that picks up the threads from Guillem and my Joker War Zone story, and our coda to Batman #100… Which also means that this is the place we're going to be tapping into the character and the mythology around Bane in a big, big way. I have big plans for Bane and expanding the world around Bane, and Venom, and Santa Prisca. I was re-reading the Denny O'Neil Question issues where Santa Prisca first appeared over the last weekend, along with the original Venom storyline from Legends of the Dark Knight, and the original Vengeance of Bane one-shot that lead into Knightfall… All of that reading started mingling up in my brain with my recent re-read of Elektra: Assassin and I'm very excited to tap into some of those influences as we build things out. There's a new character we're introducing in that corner of the title's mythology, who I think has real Punchline break-out potential.

Beyond that, my influence for this story have been Noir and Spy stories. I've been watching a lot of classics of the genre to just fill my brain with the aesthetic. So much in both genres leans into exotic locales and strange characters with mysterious motives, and we have strange characters with mysterious motives in spades… Some of my favorites are a villainous group called the Sampson Family who are a bit of a nod to one of my favorite horror movies of all time, and I think they'll create some exciting and frightening new villains. And there's a another bit of Gotham Mythology I have been dying to get back to for a very long time, and they are a huge part of my plans with the series moving forward.

With the first issue in front of me, I can tell you that I think this is career best work from Guillem March, and Arif Prianto is knocking the colors out of the park. I hope this book surprises you and scares you. And I'm going to hang a lampshade on something. I know there are a lot of folks who are going to have a knee-jerk reaction to there being a Joker book. If I weren't writing it, I'd probably be one of them. Hell, back when it was first pitched to me, I said flat out that I wasn't really sure how to make that work… And then I sat with it for a few weeks and said "okay, I know how to make it work, but it's only going to work if we come at it from an unexpected angle." And thankfully everyone in the Bat-Offices, and the DC offices bought into my angle. It is the scariest book I have written for DC Comics so far. And maybe the most human. I love writing Jim Gordon so fucking much. He's been one of my favorite characters in all of comics for my entire life.

And then there's The Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime, himself. The devil of the DC Universe… Where does he lurk in between his bouts with Batman… What is he planning, and what does he want. The Joker bends and changes like a dark reflection of his true adversary, so what happens to him as a character when you take that adversary away. I've always been fascinated about the Joker, and I've always loved writing the Joker interacting with and against the villains of the DC Universe, going back to when I wrote the back-up stories to Death of the Family storyline in the New 52 Batman run. I'm already having so much twisted fun writing him here, and I am so excited for you all to see it.

I haven't ever been given the leeway to write a title like this in continuity at DC, and I am so freaking excited to have that chance here.

And there's more besides the Joker…

The Joker title is going to have PUNCHLINE backup features starting in March, co-written by Sam Johns with art by the incredible Mirka Andolfo. This story is going to continue what we started in the Punchline one-shot, continuing the story of the growing Joker Gang conspiracy in Gotham, Punchline's trial, and the efforts of Leslie Thompkins and Harper Row to ensure Punchline stays behind bars for good.