Like many others are saying, this will be a seminal story, and one of Snyder & Capullo’s masterpieces in legendary careers. Their talent has already been made abundantly evident with their past work but their run on Batman so far has been better than fantastic. After listening to Scott Snyder talk about his insight into the Joker and Batman’s relationship you quickly know that Snyder understands these characters like few others.

The Joker is immediately familiar but also foreign. He has had Snyder’s unique brush applied to him and the result is an amalgamation of all prior Jokers. He is funny and dark. He is sinister and sadistic. He is maniacal and malevolent. He is the pure sociopathic evil of Hanibal Lecter wrapped in the obsession of Buffalo Bill. This Joker is frightening and, with the magnificent coloring, the tone keeps you on pins and needles all the way to the climactic final page. That’s where your emotions are left – along with your heart in your throat – and that’s where they will remain for the next 4 weeks.

All of that is the main story. The book just get’s better with Jock on pencils for a backup by Snyder and James Tynion IV. The backup is an inside look into Joker’s relationship with Harley. He’s just as twisted as he is in the main story and it’s clear that Harley will always be second to his obsession with Batman.

This book is often the Pick of the Week because of the Mob. When Snyder & Capullo’s Batman is firing on all cylinders though, it’s hard to beat it for quality story telling. Contrary to Ron’s opinion, Batman will be the sites #1 pick this week and it absolutely deserves it.