PUNCHLINE is basically a teenage version of Harley Quinn(a tab crazier though) who idolise anarchy. The good part of the story was definitely her blogs which gave a comprehensible insight on how she became enamoured with the Joker and above-all, that part of characterisation came in the first issue itself. However that was it as the story did not really got me interested. We could even find that they copied ideas from THE JOKER movie and simply replaced Arthur Fleck's character with Punchline especially at the part where she narrates how her voice reached the world to tell the joke, how society could not get the joke and also the clown mask. In the end, PUNCHLINE just seems to be another useless series from DC and a pale teenage boring version of Harley. more

This wasn’t as bad as what I thought it would be, but it still hasn’t convinced me Punchline is a character I want to read about anymore, even with all the pushing DC will be doing next year. I won’t be reading anything to do with the character and appreciate this comic for depicting her as she actually is.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to get to know what the character’s about, she is not as cold or sadistic as DC made her out to be, rather she is someone who acts on emotion, kills mostly for the joker’s sake and has brainwashed herself into believing the joker is a figure who can show the world how corrupt it is, with her help.

The back and forth of the past and present was ok, sometimes punchline’s podcast speeches had way too much dialogue I found myself really not caring. The highlight of the book was [spoiler] the kiss.

The idea of a radicalised character sounds interesting, but her lack of a likeable personality really makes me wish they took her in another direction, maybe as a character who isn’t obsessed with the joker like his ex, since she’s supposed to be the ‘anti-harley’. more

Tomasi is such a good writer, a nice short, nicely paced issue paving the way for future events

*spoilers* WOW. What a journey. There were so many moments of doubt I had in this issue but Geoff absolutely delivered. The art and colours is it’s own review, it’s obvious to anyone that Jason and the colourist put their all in this work.

I loved everything, especially how true to the Joker Geoff was. The characterisation of the last joker is perfect. He is completely obsessed with Batman and can not tolerate anyone, especially Joe Chill being higher than him. Perfect. I enjoyed the Criminal Joker so much as well, and it was a good decision to have him die, no one needs to mess up his characterisation. I loved Bruce and Joe Chill’s relationship in this issue. There is a sense of peace Batman can finally have.

The only things I’m unsure of is Jason’s sudden crush on Barbara and the changes to the Killing Joke. It’s a big change to Joker’s story which I’m not sure if I like as canon. But I do like the idea of only Bruce knowing who he is. more

This was a near perfect ending! I went into this pretty skeptical and came out loving it.

The art is fantastic! Flawless really.

Spoilers I suppose... The best part for me was Bruce forgiving Joe Chill. That's a super hero move and one that makes me like the character so much more. After the depressing jerk batman from Tom Kings run, this is a batman I can look up to and respect. He also showed some respect and cooperation with his allies which strangely has been absent despite the many teams ups.

The final Joker reveal - I really liked how it tied into the killing joke with a very believable retcon. There is no contradiction between these stories, just a reveal. Knowing that the Jokers wife and child are still alive and also validating the killing joke as continuity I am a fan of.

My only complaint, and the reason why a score of 10, is Bruce saying he's known the Jokers true identity the whole time... So why ask the Mobius chair for his identity?? Doesn't ruin it for me but it's a blip in the story telling. more

This was a massive disappointment for me. The story itself fails to show why there was even a need for 3 jokers and it really shows how DC, more specifically Geoff Johns, never really had a plan for DC Rebirth. What was the point of the 3 Jokers? Turns out oh it doesn't really matter since only one does. Why have this mystery then? And why make Joe Chill the target to be the new joker? In my opinion, Joe Chill shouldn't matter in the Batman mythos. The only thing he represents is crime and it could have been any criminal that killed the Waynes. He serves more as a plot point than an actual character. It's cool that Bruce makes peace with his inner demons, but we've seen that so many times before, not just in comics, but in the animated series and in video games. Also I know I complained about Jason and Barbara getting a huge spotlight in the last issue, but here they're not really given much to do at all except punch bad guys. What happened to all the development from last issue? And that leads me to the ending is who cares? This book doesn't change the status quo, it doesn't really have a message, and worst of all it baits the reader into thinking that 3 Jokers would affect Bruce's character. Even at the end, Bruce says himself he doesn't care about the real Joker's name because it doesn't matter. And he's right, none of this matters, which is what I felt at the end of the book. Look I get that in comics the toys have to be put back in the toy box, but there are ways to tell an entertaining and interesting story before doing so. Look at Hickman and his Marvel work, he changed the Fantastic Four and the Avengers before Secret Wars, which was awesome. And then he put the toys back in the playbox, in a satisfying way. This just feels like ok The three jokers idea will mess too much with continuity, so let's just kill the two that we think are the least popular and keep the real one. That's not good storytelling, and it makes the book really predictable to read.
The only twists the book offered in its entirety happened in the first issue. The only redeeming factor of the series is Fabok's art. Amazing details and great coloring from Brad Anderson. It's really such a shame that the story is so lackluster more

I liked it. I didn't love it, apart from the art.

But this is now the last three Batman runs, back-to-back-to-back, featuring what amounts to:

City of Riddler
City of Bane
City of Joker

Have a new idea, y'all.

A disappointing end. Will be dropping this book

I think that Tynion would be hard pressed to come up with an ending that’s more anti-climactic than the one he came up with for the Joker War. The arc started with a ton of promise but it just felt like Tynion bit off more than he could chew. So many aspects of this story went unexplored and the aspects that we did get to read about seemed underdeveloped. Tynion had 15 issues to write this arc and some how’s still only managed to give it an ending that felt rushed. Not to mention that this arc felt like a complete waste of the Joker and his only real role throughout the arc is to explain to Batman what is going on because this iteration of Batman is basically an idiot. The ending also leaves us in what feels like a weird déjà vu where Catwoman seems a lot more like a criminal than a member of the bat-family, there’s basically a Harley Quinn 2.0, a new anti-hero that basically seems like a Red Hood knock-off, and Batgirl is now oracle again for some reason. All that being said, I do give Tynion credit for doing a really good job of writing Harley but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this issue was a major let down. After this arc I don’t see myself ever picking up anything written By Tynion unless it’s a Harley Quinn series. more

I'm done with Batman until Tynion is gone, one of the most underwhelming and lethargic stories I've seem come out of DC lately. Good art though...

- First of all, I hate the implications that Batman can no longer be a good Batman without his wealth. In Red Son he's still able to become Batman despite having little to no money, so I think it's more likely he'd just stop being Bruce Wayne! Not to mention he literally bought the Justice League their satellite base, so they owe him that, and given that they value Batman highly they would give him the equipment and funds to do what he does. Plus he's still very intelligent, which would get him funds later in life. Even without his fortune, he still possess: genius-level intellect, physical prowess, martial arts abilities, detective skills, and is a brilliant scientist.

- Second: "Batman just wants to retire and be a loving husband and father" WHAT? Is it just the Joker saying that or is James Tynion really thinks that? Because Batman sure as hell doesn't dream of retiring. In this aspect, Superman is more human than the Bat. He's more comfortable with the Clarke Kent persona, he wants to be him. Bats doesn't have that inclination towards Bruce. Bruce Wayne is a mask he usee to uphold public appearance but in truth BATMAN is who he really is.

- Thirdly. Batman chose Harley over Joker ... I don't like it, but it would still be better if they did this at the very BEGINNING of this whole story arc. Then at least we would have some explanation for why he hates Batman so much in this...

- The fact that Harley now knows Batman's identity is a bit unsettling to me. I don't understand why they want to raise Harley to such a high position in the Batman universe. They literally let her be part of the Batfamily now. She may even become the new Batgirl soon... Just why?

- And why the heck Batman is still so surprised that the Joker knows his identity?? I thought we had already established in Death of the Family that he knew who Batman was all along! Is Tynion ignoring the stories he co-created on purpose? It really puts me off when I see writers not enforcing what what happened in someone else's book (let alone, the book they helped create!). DOTF is still canon, and canon is important, because otherwise we'd get a bunch of stories that make no sense and goes against everything the previous story had!

minus 10/10 more

This was a set of plagiarism that Tynion does from other writers, other numbers, only changing characters and modifying scenarios in a messy way.
In short, all I need is for Harley to tell Batman "it's him or me" and throw a gun at him.
That and all is giving Dick almost the center of all the action excluding the others.
Too bad that such a mediocre and apathetic story ruins all art, which is the only decent thing in this issue.
Wouldn't it be so hard on the rating if DC didn't revolve everything around Batman, give her the best stories, the best writers etc, for this? I think they kept the wrong people to stay, they are doing a very bad job.
Oh and in the end when you think something different will really be done and the clown will finally be killed, you have to put such a cheap cliche. It is clear to me that all this that Tyrion did who thinks it is novel is to want to promote the Punchline series and give the Clownhunter a leading role in the future, which is a mix between the origin of Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, despite the fact that Clownhunter is much more interesting than Harley ... or sorry Puncheline (the cheap copy of Harley Quinn) neither character is interesting. Hope you make things better with Gost-Maker more

Blah, I'd been enjoying parts of Joker War, but this ending kind blew it. Felt rushed and weird, and the Joker monologue was just bizarre (I guess Joker is an anti-capitalist now?) I dunno, it just felt wrong. And wtf was the point of that Bruce Wayne investigation if it was literally brushed away in a line at the end? They never showed it affecting Bruce, he's been Batman for this entire arc! That was literally pointless and I have no idea why it was in here. Unless Tynion does something amazing in #101 I'm dropping this book after 100. I have no interest left to give. more

How can you write a big event starring the joker so badly? How can you copy so many other stories and still write so badly? So much potential wasted. Should’ve been done by someone else.

The whole run aside from the art has been garbage. Not worth ANY suspense or hype. Tynion can NOT write the joker at all, his joker is unlikeable, no humour, no charisma, just political. Not the joker I know. Hopefully the eye hole isn’t permanent. You don’t need to copy the dark knight returns too,Tynion.

Punchline’s still annoying, the more I see her the more Harley like she is to me, done worse, as is all things with Tynion’s batman. Delusional and in love with the joker, just like Harley. Not surprising since Tynion hasn’t brought much originality to his Batman run. After punchline’s one shot I will not be buying anything else that’s written by him.

The only character written well has been Harley and the only good things about the WHOLE run is the art and nightwing. Dramatic moments are flat, funny moments are flat. I’m not even going to talk about Alfred or the whole stupid idea of joker overtaking the city just because he has tons of money and no one doing anything about it. Why did he mock tom kings city of bane in the joker war zone when his is just as bad? Whole event was a waste. more

Spoilers.The art and colours are on the exact same speechless level as the last issue. The writing however, I don’t know what to make of this issue and where Geoff Johns is going. So far it seems he is following the route of making Jason a Joker, which is very controversial/bold if this becomes canon.

There were some great scenes, like seeing the jokerised bodies which was so disturbing and Jason’s interrogation scene. Batman’s characterisation seems to be a little off though, this is the second time he’s dismissed Jason killing someone, the first being Gaggy, and not shown any frustration about it. I also don’t like the idea of Joker being involved with Bruce’s parents death, especially being canon, there’s no need for it.

There’s only one more issue left to wrap things up and I feel like the mystery of who the 3 jokers are hasn’t been solved at all. I really don’t know where this is going, and at this point it could either stand as a classic or a huge fail and waste of potential. more

really bad, if you don't read it you have nothing to miss, a compendium of scattered stories of nothing important, just another number for this insignificant canon of the Joker War

Joker once again sounding nothing like his usual self, he hates bane not for killing Alfred and that now being something he will never get to do but for killing Alfred wrong? Still waiting on an explanation for why he hates batman so much

The Ivy story felt rushed, I’m really supposed to believe Ivy hates everything and everyone including her best friend because of a misunderstanding? Sure.

The Lucius story was okay, it really felt like it was only there to set the new status for Luke becoming batman.

The clownhunter story didn’t reveal anything shocking. The art was a little too much for me and it only confirmed he’s an antihero who has a grudge against the joker. There’s potential in clownhunter, but you don’t need to read this for him. Save your money. more

Everything was pretty lackluster and the writing felt rushed in some stories. Wouldn’t really recommend this for anyone unless you want to collect everything death metal based and want a summary on the batman who laughs

So far I’ve only read Fraction’s story and that’s what my current score’s based on. I loved the story, the simplistic art matches so well with the writing, and the close up panel of joker’s smile just before batman arrives as well as the ending is something else in making you feel emotions.

From the start of this run I’ve been waiting for a Wow moment to happen. still waiting. This whole arc for me has been a mix of existing stories done worse(city of bane, endgame, a little batman R.I.P with
hallucinations)and attempts to make Wow moments but not delivering

Why does joker suddenly care so much about Gotham? Why is their rivalry based on who owns the city? That’s not what comic Joker is about, that’s Heath. You can’t change a character to fit your story without saying why they’re different and showing how they changed. The prelude before this run didn’t say why either

This arc has been a let down, funny moments didn’t land, Harley foreshadowing Joker’s death wasn’t deep. Joker wearing the batsuit was enough to stop me buying this after #100 which we all know will have some fight that’s supposed to make this run good. more

This entire arc up until now could've been done in 2 issues.
What's even more disappointing is the fact that the previous arc also led up to this.
Will be dropping this book after #100

James Tynion doesn't understand the character of the Joker one bit. On the previous issue, when he recalled C.J. Henderson, I got my hopes up a little and I thought maybe it would make a decent Joker story in the end, but in this issue, Tynion disappointed me sharply (once again). His Joker is grim and no fun at all. He's using the army of the living dead against Batman, where's the humor in that? Tynion stripped the character of all its charm and quirkiness and made it into the embodiment of all evil (God, I miss the Joker from the 70/80s so much... Give us that cackling, mischievous fiend back, DC!). The Joker isn't even a good villain for this story at all, in the first place. They might as well have given this whole scheme to someone else. Besides the Batfam-Gotham rogues team-up against the Joker? We've already seen it before in Endgame. more

Finally, the fast pace that should’ve began at the start of this run. This is probably the best issue out of the average story because stuff actually happens. I liked the different perspectives Tynion gave Harley and Punchline although I’m still not sold on the character. We get she’s Joker’s biggest fan and is delusional but what is there to like about her personality? Her arrogance? Also don’t think the Harley not being a real shrink comment needed to be made.

The exchange between Bruce and Alfred was okay, especially with Jimenez’s art and since Bruce never had closure in King’s run. But the fact that we had to wait for the 4th issue for things to pick up for Joker and Batman’s ‘final chapter’ is annoying. more

I feel like most of this issue is just a repackaging of what came before. We haven't had a face to face talk between Bruce and Dream Alfred, but almost everything he says is something that's already been explored in this run. And then with Punchline... She's just the worst. Her reason for being trash is not a good reason. She's just an insufferable twenty-something brat who buys into the Joker's bullshit. And while I'm sure there's a huge swath of edgelords who are just like that (and I would not be surprised at all if this was somehow a reaction to the Joker film), I don't empathize with that at all. At least Harley's reason for becoming the Joker's "main squeeze" is not trying to be based in some sort of logic. I really hope things happen in the next issue and it's not just *another* issue of Batman being broken. And no this isn't a "Batman can't be sad" argument. He can be sad all he wants, it's just that this arc is over halfway done and he's done almost nothing but react to whatever the Joker has planned and, when he's not doing that, he's having sad drug hallucinations. more

I'm with one of the other users. I think this is shaping up to be the Batman story of the decade.

Geoff Johns understands the character and history of Joker. Tynion should take notes.

The mystery theme, the introduction to each Joker, each Bat member sounding like themselves, the scene with Jason at the end...speechless.

Harley’s dialogue, clownhunter and the art are the only highlights of the issue. Mainly the art. Everything else is mediocre or less.