No matter who you are in the comic world, it must be difficult to write The Joker. Being around since the very beginning of Batman’s career, there have been countless portrayals of the villain. His personality changes from writer to writer and sometimes you could have two different tone’s of the characters running around in the same universe. So now that we have Scott Snyder handling the character I only have one question: Will I need to sleep with the lights on tonight?

That answer is undoubtly yes because Snyder writes one disturbing Joker. At first I thought he was jumping on the Grant Morrison bandwagon on the level of craziness. But no, this is his own spin on the character and it’s disturbing to read. It’s also fun though (if you’re sick like me) who finds enjoyment on just how crazy this Joker is. It helps that letterer Jared K. Fletcher uses a different font for the clown and it’s like reading messages in an insane aslyum. There is more to the comic though then Joker, which Snyder also does a great job with. Dick shows off his detective skills, another great moment between Dick and Jim, and Oracle plays a good mix into the issue too. It’s moments like these that show just how characterization and in-depth moments between characters are integral to Snyder’s writing. We’ve seen Gordon as a main character in other Batman comics, but not to the level that Snyder perfectly writes in each issue.

Jock comes back for the final two issues of the series and I think I’m finally at a point where I can finally see how great of an artist Jock is. The way he layouts a page, or how he draws a finely detailed Gotham city, to the lighting effects (with help from Dave Baron) this book sets the mood of the script quite well. Jock also handles some of the more disturbing moments of the script including my panel of the week: The reveal of Barbara (the wife) in the shower. I’m gonna be afraid to go into my own shower after seeing that image. It should also be sad how interesting Jock’s take on Joker is. He kinda looks like a rock star with having a buzz cut and a nice suit and jacket on. While Snyder provides the chilling dialogue with Joker, Jock adds to the insanity by the way he draws his eyes. I’ve seen madness in the eyes of someone before and Jock draws it perfectly here.

We have one more issue to go until the end of this run by Snyder and the reboot begins. This issue continues to show why Snyder is downright perfect for the Batman no matter who is under the cowl. He just gets the entire character; from the supporting cast to the corrupted city he lives in. It also doesn’t hurt that he writes one hell of a Joker that rivals that of Grant Morrison’s take. Add in some fantastic pencils by Jock and you got yourself one hell of a comic. Snyder did warn us that the next issue is going to be very disturbing. Not sure how he can top it with this issue, but I know he can definitely do it.