Two issues in a row and the main man (No"not Lobo"The Joker) has not made an appearance. There is a lot of stuffing to digest, but we need the main dish. Let's hope The Joker is around the corner. Read Full Review

Two issues in a row and the main man (No, not Lobo… The Joker) has not made an appearance. There's a lot of stuffing to digest, but we need the main dish. Let's hope that The Joker is around the corner. Read Full Review

It's a tense, action-packed ten pages that continue to sell Punchline in her new role as the Queen of Blackgate. Read Full Review

The Joker #8 finally tells us what the deal is with Vengeance, Bane's replacement, and why she's chasing Joker. The street-level cop narrative disappears this issue in lieu of an action thrill-ride, but Tynion and March show readers that they're more than capable of delivering an adventure as fun as the noir-style story they've been delivering thus far. Read Full Review

The issue itself is still solid and a quick read, but its one of the weaker entries of the series so far that really has been quite the thrill ride to date. Read Full Review

While the art continues to look great in both the Joker main story and the Punchline backup, the momentum of both stories seems to have been lost and we're stuck learning information about the characters involved in boring, clunky ways and it seems that the hunt for the Joker is now the least interesting thing about this book. I think back to the last issue where Julia Pennyworth and the Batgirls fighting the Court of Owls was the highlight of that issue, but sadly, we don't have any of that here and the background of Vengeance isn't as impactful as I originally hoped it would be.   Read Full Review

Tynion sets up a decent agenda for Bane II and her need for Gordon's insight, but there were cleaner and more intriguing ways to reach that end goal. This was a rare misfire for a comic that's been consistently strong. Read Full Review

This issue mostly focuses on Lady Bane, her backstory, motivations, and highlighting just how she'd kill Joker if given the chance. It is both something the story needed"as she's a major player" and something that could have been done with a little less bombastic action. Read Full Review

Quite a breeze of an issue, actually. Really enjoyed the brute-like demeanor of Bane’s daughter, so-called “Vengeance” (did not know that until now...), along with the dread she brings to each scene she’s in. Definitely sticking around until issue #12.

Really just an extended infodump, but Vengeance's backstory does make her a more interesting character than I'd expected

The main story is good for the most part, although I feel like the pacing isn't what it was. The backup sucks. I really dislike Punchline, and not in that fun "love to hate" way that you get when the villain is really well-written. Punchline really sucks, and I can't wait for her to be forgotten once Tynion leaves.

This is all nice and well but it doesn't make any sense if you look at the bigger picture. If the leaders of Santa Prisca were discontent with Bane for being uncontrollable they should be thankful the Joker killed him (still don't buy that), they have no reason to want him dead. I'm becoming increasingly afraid this is another one of those stories where Tynion just makes stuff up as he goes along. The backup was decent here.