Art by: Marc Silvestri
Colors by: Arif Prianto
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Marc Silvestri
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: April 4, 2023
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #6 ramps up the tension as Batman and Joker fight for their lives to escape an unholy wedding held by the Queen of the Dead, Amanda Simms.
Is It Good?
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #6 is the penultimate issue in Marc Silvestri's solo take on the Dark Knight, and it's a humdinger that ties most of the dangling threads together and sets up a big finale. The action is exciting, the answers are (mostly) satisfying, and the cliffhanger is ripe with anticipation.
When last we left Batman and Joker, they were outnumbered by Amanda Simms's bestial Joker army and positioned to bear witness to Amanda's unholy wedding reenactment. Now, Batman gets the main villain monologuing to spill the beans on the Jigsaw-like antics Batman endured and to buy enough time to come up with an escape plan.
What's so great about the issue? We learn how Amanda Simms became the spiritual successor to the Zombie Queen from Return of the Living Dead, Part 3. We learn the Jigsaw booby traps were part of a secret agenda with an almost (but not quite) satisfying explanation. And of course, we learn Joker is not an innocent bystander in Amanda's plan.
What's not so great about this issue? The timing and details of Amanda's resurrection are unnecessarily muddy. Was her father experimenting on her before or after she died? It had to be before because she clawed her way out of the grave, so how long was he experimenting on Amanda's body between the time of her death and her funeral?
Also, the Batman/Joker/Harley/Gordon escape was way too easy considering how much trouble just one of the Joker beasts gave Batman in the first issue. A whole room of Joker beasts should have been exponentially harder to fight off, so the escape comes off as overly convenient.
So, the story is good but falls short of great. However, a significant portion of readers will pick this issue up for Silvestri's art, and they would be right to do so. Silvestri's art is mean, gritty, nasty, and all-around gorgeous. If you're getting this series solely for the art, you won't be disappointed.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #6 uses the penultimate issue in the 7-issue run to answer lingering questions, deliver big fights, hit you with surprise twists, and set the stage for a big finale. Most but not all answers are satisfying, and the art is next-level brilliant.
8/10
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