The suspense was killing me.

So I decided that, rather than be inadvertently spoiled online (and there WILL be a lot of talk about this issue), I would buy it today digitally.

It is tough to put this issue into words. Because the art and words come together to create an absolutely intense book.

The tension created, panel by panel…the creepy sensation that runs down your spine… the sense of witnessing something horrible that will truly change things going forward while you remain helpless to do anything but watch. That is this comic.

It leaves you breathless, pulling the rug out from under you only to find yourself falling through yet another hidden door.

I don’t want to do a thing to spoil it. Nor do I want to single out a single person on the creative team because everyone brought not just their a-game but took it a step further here. Just fantastic work from everyone.

In the end, this is a truly epic Batman/Joker story that really examines the relationship between the characters and asks some of the questions fans themselves ask. But it’s also about Batman’s relationships with the people closest to him in his life.

And unlike many books that promise things will never be the same, you get the sense that, after this, it may not ever be able to be the same.