Punchline #1 Review: An Oversized Special

Writers: James Tynion IV and Sam Johns / Artist: Mirka Andolfo / DC Comics Gotham’s newest villain has her own book, and it’s all about giving us the punchline. I love new characters in comics. Not that I don’t love the old ones also. But it’s so rare that we get someone new. And even rarer that they get their own book. It makes everything feel so fresh in a medium that can at times feel very stale. So, when I heard that the Punchline Special was coming out, I had to give it a try. Punchline takes place in the aftermath of the Joker War, where Punchline is about to go on trial for the crimes that she committed with her ex-boyfriend, the Clown Prince of Crime. Most of the issue gives us two different looks at Alexis Kaye, a woman who in court projects someone who is mentally sound, competent enough to hold up trial, and a seemingly decent woman ready to lay it all on the table. Juxtaposed with that, we are given deep dives into a podcast that Alexis hosted years ago when she was trying to find the punchline to the Joker’s jokes, or rather, the lesson in his teachings.

What I really like about this issue is that it builds the structure of who Punchline is as a character. In one way, she’s someone who started sipping too much of the green Kool-Aid and got lost in the sauce. But in another way, she is almost like a bridge to the Joker’s message to the masses. Joker is often only really trying to speak to Batman. Punchline wants the whole world to see.  I like that Punchlin…