This book was fantastic.

Capullo was nothing short of genius. The rotting flesh, the stunned close ups. The stoic Batman who is literally foaming at the mouth because the Joker has enraged him. The colors by FCO, were also spot on. At this stage the Joker’s face has become green and is losing its white pallor.

Snyder knows the bat and the jester like few others. What he also understands at a core is family. The Bat family is no exception to most stereotypes, especially love and trust.

This story works so well because of the exploitation of long standing motivation behind characters like Bruce, Batman, and the Joker but also because of the supporting cast. There is genuine fear in everyone’s eye’s as the platters are revealed. There is genuine fear from a father who fears the worse for his children. There is genuine love from a group of unique and different individuals pulled together more by circumstance than by blood.

Although they play the smaller part their role is the emotional punch in the gut that the Joker can’t take. Not only does Batman fight for them but they all fight for eachother. The Joker is wrong in his assumption of weakness because his sociopathic perception of love is obsession. Love is the key component that makes every family fight for one another; the bat family is no exception.

Even though Batman is the victor it’s a small victory at best; The joke is “still on Batman” in the end.
Bruce is, as always, 100% correct about everything. Will being right cost him more than he could have anticipated? In a strange simile to a real relationship, being right doesn’t always mean you’ve won.
The Joker is still obsessed with the Batman and his cat and mouse game. The Joker “gets away” and what we all thought was coming turns out to be a giant misdirection – the key to a good magic trick and a great joke.