"Joker War" is in full swing and chaos is reigning down upon Gotham City. This is a fantastic blend of action and horror that delivers on every front. Batman has been through some crazy battles before, but never like this. Read Full Review

Batman #96 blew me away. I havent been this taken with a Batman story in quite some time. If the creatives can keep this energy going for the rest of this storyline "The Joker War"could find itself a spot among the great stories in the Dark Knights history. Read Full Review

This issue keeps the hype train running at full speed. I feel like I'm reading a part of the story much later in the arc. Read Full Review

Joker War hasn't disappointed so far and I'm already excited about where Tynion and Jimenez are going to take the next few issues. Read Full Review

Batman #96 injects a strong emotional core into "The Joker War" while possibly quietly introducing a new character. Read Full Review

Overall Batman #96 checks all the boxes that readers have been expecting in this Joker War story. The writing explores a more emotional and deep side of Batman as he struggles to only maintain his sanity but his mission to protect Gotham after having lost everything, a dark and vile Joker that you love to hate, and stunning artwork that immerses the reader into a deep and beautiful world taking us deep into the emotions of Gotham City. Read Full Review

We're still in the opening act, but this storyline is exactly as intense and creepy as it should be. Read Full Review

Jorge Jimenez blew me away with the art in this issue. There are so many great visual moments from Bruce's utopian-esque Gotham to the finale with Batman at the Monarch Theater. The art conveys so much emotion throughout and really engages the reader. Read Full Review

Some readers might take issue with the fact that Tynion is a very deliberate writer. There's a lot going on here, but not a lot happens, if that makes sense. For an arc called 'Joker War,' there's not even really an abundance of the Clown Prince of Crime just yet " but it's tough to ignore the good work here. Readers already recognize that Joker is a threat, but he's been foiled so many times before. Tynion and Jimenez have to show how this time is different, and that's the fun of this part of the ride. Read Full Review

Batman #96, and "Joker War" as a whole, has been an interesting event that has had some great concepts. But, much like a summer blockbuster film, those concepts never quite get the depth and focus they deserve. There's so many directions and levels this event could take place and we're getting the "action" version of it. It's not bad. It's actually quite entertaining. But, reading the two chapters so far, it's hard to not see the potential within and how many more interesting directions it could have gone. Read Full Review

This chapter, despite the issues of pacing, does a fantastic job painting the picture of the Joker War as well as Batman's psyche. Read Full Review

Batman #96 is a tone setter for "Joker War." After the explosive reveals in the first part of this event James Tynion takes the time to develop the new state of Gotham City as it has fallen under Joker's new world order. Through that Tynion and Jorge Jimenez create a lot of questions for how "Joker War" will turn out. Which is exactly what you want to peak your interesting for the remaining chapters in an event. Read Full Review

So far after all of this Designer build-up and now the twist into Joker War. Bruce has had no breaks in the action. Which in itself has made the action itself rather droll, the exposition seems to be overlaying the entirety of Gotham right now. I really hope this next issue gets to popping off. The flash so far has stayed in the pan. Read Full Review

Batman #96 is a perfectly serviceable issue. One gets the sense that Tynion is building to something bigger, but right now he's laying the groundwork. While many of the concepts aren't completely unique, it's still a lot of fun seeing Batman, and other characters, reacting to the Joker's takeover. Tynion doesn't give readers a lot of plot right now, but fun enough ideas and visuals to keep them coming back for the next issue. Read Full Review

The art is the strongest thing about Joker War so far. There isn't too much substance to the event, just a generally entertaining Batman story. Read Full Review

The art by Jorge Jimenez is top notch, however. He is really taking to this title well and the art is the best part for sure. Read Full Review

I give this book a lot of credit this time around because I found myself enjoying it from almost start to finish. That being said, from a critical standpoint I have to look at this book and say that almost everything they did in it was of no consequence and pretty much left me exactly where I was when we started this issue. Read Full Review

Things aren't thrilling or groundbreaking, and there's still this nagging sense that the whole story is going nowhere, but the issue is an intriguing read if for nothing else than a glimpse at what Bruce's ideal world looks like. Read Full Review

Part Two of Joker War proves that you CAN pull too many toys out of the Batman toy box. One hopes that this arc picks up soon, or it is curtains for Joker. Read Full Review

I've made it quite clear I'm not a fan of this run. I know many people are loving it, but, for me, this is not Batman. In so many ways, I feel as though Tynion is missing the mark. All "Joker War" is, is "shock value" and a desperate attempt to try and create something that will last long-term, but, unfortunately, misses the mark on the one thing it needs to be: a good, cohesive story. Read Full Review

Even if I feel Tynion's Batman is a little too talkative and aggressive, this is the best story in a long time.

The Monarch theatre thing sorta reminds me of the Arkham City climax. I really would've figured it would wait until the climax of this story, but I guess it will be in the Batcave instead. So far the "Joker war" is a satisfying compensation for "City of Bane."
The future fantasy sequence is reminiscent of Silver age fantasy stories. A safer Gotham where Batman still fights crime by daylight. I hope he overcomes this crap soon though. I think I've read enough Hallucination stories, especially in Batman. Still, I've been pleased with this story. It and "Dark Designs" have both been better than anything I read during Tom King's run. And kudos to Jorge Jimenez on his artwork. Don't you dare go until the story's finished (And maybe longer). more

" But you know they're all liés. Youuu don't get a happy ending Bruce... You die alone. With no familly. With no love. As the city falls into his hands ! HAHAHAHAHA..."
- ALFRED

Whats with the negative reviews? This is a strong issue. Peoples attention spans are way too short nowadays. The first half of the story gives us a look into Batmans ideal vision of Gotham, that makes the reveal of what the city actually looks like much more impactful.

And the art is frickin amazing.

Some of the book has some over the top ideas. It was well done in terms of art and the story isn’t bad but just could use a little more grounded story telling.

The art is incredible. Love the new suit and the future vision of a utopian Gotham.

I dig Tynions use of Harley Quinn so far in the story. Glad to see she stitched herself up.

Just felt once Batman makes his way to the Monarch that the book got stale.

Well, it still sorta a build up, but I am liking it more and more, which is Tynion's style I guess. How Tynion plays with Batman's past and his parents and Alfred, its chilling, its scary. But its done very well. I loved it when Joker was getting into Bruce's head. The details of the movie theaters, the Mark of Zorro film, it is all set up to completely dismantle Batman by turning his own life against him.

We also get a bonus feature of yet another new character debut, Clown Killer. And while only a snippet, like Punchline and Designer holds alot of promise and speculation, hopefully it doesn't disappoint with what Tynion has hyped up. Art by Jimenez again is gorgeous, DC's new flagship artist at the helm right here. His Joker is amazing, and the colors, oh so good.There is a reason why artists and colorists go to DC.

Liked HQ in this issue. So we can see she healed from her knife-cut, but I really like how HQ is handled here as a character. She is quite funny with her relationship with Punchline and her injury, but isn't annoying and can be quite serious when its needed.

The comic is subject to some laughable exposition like " Sno-cone ", " Jokercycles and Jokerplanes ", " heatarrangs " etc. But overall, I liked this issue despite being mainly exposition. But it was very entertaining exposition and finally seeming to ramp up to some really crazy action in the oncoming issues. A good improvement from issue #95.
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I really liked the art. The story was a little... I’m not sure, something felt off. Pacing maybe? It’s usually pacing.

Ice-Pop and Sno-Cone, jesus fucking christ...

This issue Tynion succumbs to his greatest weakness, THE EXPOSITION DUMP!

Short issue; only 19 pages, blame it on double shipping. Jimenez is great as always. Don't care for the blue suit, don't care for Clownhunter, but I'm kind of surprised that Harley successfully pulled a reverse uno on Punchline's muting a few issues back.

Psycho drugged bats was done in Morrison's run and I was hoping that Tynion would bring back our lovely Zur-En-Arrh Bats what with his Alfred earpiece hallucination. The Mark of Zorro stuff is probably the most interesting part and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with this "real ending" stuff.

I think the pacing here is not great. I understand the point of the hallucination, but if we already need digressions like that to fill up the page count, that's a bad sign. The story itself is fine. I feel like a lot is waved away for the sake of making the story work, which is usually fine, but we spent 9 issues building up to this story and we're still making big leaps in order to hold this story together. The goodwill that last issue brought me, this issue abuses. I don't think it's a bad issue, it's just an average one. But this is the big event. It should be good. The best thing about this issue is the art, and even that had a few moments of weakness. How unfortunate.

The Alfred voice is interesting, but the plot leaves something to be desired.

Average.

Tynion is lucky Jimenez and Morey are putting their all on this series because the story itself so far is still lackluster. Everything feels slow and I can’t say I was surprised or excited by the end of it. On the plus side, I’m glad Harley’s back and Clownhunter seems cool.

I like Tynion's Books but this? no this is not good at all.

Wow, again nothing happens. Batman wakes up after being drugged last issue. Harley was taking care of him, I guess, by watching Batman sleep, and he goes to Monarch Theater where Joker has dug up allt he corpses of the people he has killed. Guess people don't get cremated in Gotham.

And there's a guy with a batarang in a baseball bat who is killing clowns. At least someone is doing something. Tynion says lawyers have prevented cops from stopping Joker thugs. Huh? That's not how the law works.

Basically, this is one giant issue of treading water. Oh, Harley isn't dead. She stitched up her throat cut. What do you want to bet that after this run is done, no one will mention the cut again and we will never see the scar?

Imagine if this was taking place monthly instead of bi-weekly? A lot of issues where nothing happens.

Just get on with it? The art isn't bad.

Or I could be wrong. more

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Toonstrack - Aug 9, 2020

Harley doesn't stitch up her own wound... you have to read the issue.

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Sorry it's not getting anywhere, it feels like it's just filler. You can completely skip this number and nothing happens