SquareChaos Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 I read the first issue. I'm not a huge Murphy fan, but I do lean positive on him overall. Like a lot of people (I have to imagine), I was most curious going into this book to see if he is a capable writer... while it is hard to tell from just the first issue, I did find myself thinking "don't lose Scott Snyder's phone number". The main premise is set up... well, a few scenes were laughable in my opinion. However, I am not against putting my head down and powering through some goofiness (these are comic books after all) as long as the payoff delivers at some point, and we won't know that for several more issues at a minimum. I'm curious to hear what others think about this first issue. ... BTW, I did search before creating this topic. I wasn't able to find a previous thread on this book so... my apologies if I doubled it up. But then, we don't really talk about reading comic books here in modern too much, so maybe it all makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brain Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Having finished All Star Batman, I asked at my LCS what was good. They said I should pickup this book as it was just starting out. I like the art, and the story was intriguing enough that I am likely to see it through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKinTO Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Yep, I enjoyed it for what it was. Looks like future issues will feature Harley Quinn quite a bit (I think Sean Murphy tweeted a photo of Joker / Harley naked in bed getting it on) - should be an interesting story. This is really one of those "What if?" type books, with a more room to develop a bigger more in-depth arc (I think this is supposed to be an 8-issue maxi-series?) I plan to keep reading it and finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drill423 Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 I really enjoyed it. For me it was tops for the week it dropped. Looking forward to see how it progresses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted October 18, 2017 Author Share Posted October 18, 2017 Spoiler I'll definitely read at least the second issue, but it was pretty difficult for me to read through the bit where "Joker can't fake MRI scans / oh by the way he is a super genius who is no longer insane... oh, and we've never really been able to charge him with anything ever, so we gotta let him go, it's only fair, also he now has social standing or something"... even the book's own (brief) backstory never seemed to suggest that the Joker was in any way special, let alone a genius. Anyway, I'm definitely in for at least the second issue, the strength of the art alone deserves that, and there could certainly be deeper threads to the story that make some of my concerns sound less ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Baru Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 (edited) I like Murphy's drawing style on the Bat's that he did in 2005. Edited October 18, 2017 by Lucky Baru 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brain Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 Well with issue # 2 we get a little more of the back story, and a look at the relation between Harley & Jack (Napier). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 Personally... I'm out - all of the hype in the world, but I could only get through 2 / 8. The premise for this book appeared to be good for a lot of mileage, but Murphy is just nowhere near subtle enough as a writer to take it where it needs to go. I just can't buy into the story line being presented, it comes off farcical more often than not (yes, even for a comic book). I will say, while the story as presented has let me down pretty hard, Sean isn't afraid to go big with his art, and that does pay off pretty well almost uniformly throughout the issue, so it does have that going for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParamagicFF Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 10 hours ago, SquareChaos said: Personally... I'm out - all of the hype in the world, but I could only get through 2 / 8. The premise for this book appeared to be good for a lot of mileage, but Murphy is just nowhere near subtle enough as a writer to take it where it needs to go. I just can't buy into the story line being presented, it comes off farcical more often than not (yes, even for a comic book). I will say, while the story as presented has let me down pretty hard, Sean isn't afraid to go big with his art, and that does pay off pretty well almost uniformly throughout the issue, so it does have that going for it. I get where you're coming from, but I don't find it quite so off putting. I absolutely love the art, and feel like it's worth buying for that alone. His cityscapes attention to detail definitely make what could've been talking head panels interesting. With the way he is instituting his plan at the end of issue 2, I am certainly a little confused about this characters moral alignment. Joker being a parallel for those who suffer from untreated mental health disorders getting wrapped up in the system was very interesting to me. To see him get treated and then champion a good cause could've made for something worth a very deep dive. But with his villainous methods sticking around, I don't think there will be much to go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 1 hour ago, ParamagicFF said: I get where you're coming from, but I don't find it quite so off putting. I absolutely love the art, and feel like it's worth buying for that alone. His cityscapes attention to detail definitely make what could've been talking head panels interesting. With the way he is instituting his plan at the end of issue 2, I am certainly a little confused about this characters moral alignment. Joker being a parallel for those who suffer from untreated mental health disorders getting wrapped up in the system was very interesting to me. To see him get treated and then champion a good cause could've made for something worth a very deep dive. But with his villainous methods sticking around, I don't think there will be much to go on. I do believe that there was merit in the idea... but there is too much 'telling' and not enough 'showing' with regards to the narrative we're supposed to swallow. It just stretches credulity too far - The Joker gives an 'I'm the victim / we're all the victims' speech in a courtroom that looks set up like a press conference and half of Gotham somehow lines up behind him. The only explanation we get for this is a tossed in reference to 'SJW' and a painfully worn out stereotype of a 1%er wealthy jerk spouting some nonsense about how he has made so much money off of everyone's misery. The more I've thought about the actual storytelling in the book, the more heavy handed it is, the writing is insisting when it should be attempting to convince me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParamagicFF Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 1 hour ago, SquareChaos said: I do believe that there was merit in the idea... but there is too much 'telling' and not enough 'showing' with regards to the narrative we're supposed to swallow. It just stretches credulity too far - The Joker gives an 'I'm the victim / we're all the victims' speech in a courtroom that looks set up like a press conference and half of Gotham somehow lines up behind him. The only explanation we get for this is a tossed in reference to 'SJW' and a painfully worn out stereotype of a 1%er wealthy jerk spouting some nonsense about how he has made so much money off of everyone's misery. The more I've thought about the actual storytelling in the book, the more heavy handed it is, the writing is insisting when it should be attempting to convince me. You're absolutely correct, Murphy does kind of shoe-horn a lot of modern sociopolitical topics together. It bothered me less than it does in some instances, but it is far from elegant. I really enjoy Rick Remender's writing, which admittedly can get borderline preachy. I think Murphy has a more ham-fisted way of doing it to be certain. I'm just interested enough to see where this is going that I will keep picking it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 7 minutes ago, ParamagicFF said: You're absolutely correct, Murphy does kind of shoe-horn a lot of modern sociopolitical topics together. It bothered me less than it does in some instances, but it is far from elegant. I really enjoy Rick Remender's writing, which admittedly can get borderline preachy. I think Murphy has a more ham-fisted way of doing it to be certain. I'm just interested enough to see where this is going that I will keep picking it up. There are a lot of good writers out there. I respect Sean's attempt to handle both tasks, but sometimes collaboration can smooth away the rough edges of some work. Maybe he needed more collaboration on this. Or maybe he is just cutting his teeth here and his later efforts will be great, I don't know. I like how stylistic his art is, he isn't in my top ten personally, but I respect his work. I'll finish the series when it comes out in trade most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doktor Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I'm really loving this book & surprised that it's not getting a lot of attention here. But I also think his mechanical art is just top notch. I'm a car guy thru & thru & his automotive art in this is just outstanding. I'm definitely in for the rest of the series & I would probably buy a trade if they released an ink & pencil only version. The Brain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipB2k17 Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 (edited) Just out of curiosity, I'd like to know when Murphy started developing the story for this (and his idea of Harley becoming Joker). I posted my similar story idea last may - in the CGC boards of all places. UPDATE: I see he gave an interview where he went to see the Batman Lego movie, and was worried they would use his idea about the Batman/Joker relationship. He ment9ones he was "5 issues in" to Batman White Knight. The Batman Lego movie came out in February, 2017, so he developed the story in 2016. Serendipity! Edited January 12, 2018 by PhilipB2k17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
