Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #7 Review

   

   

Written by: Marc Silvestri

Art by: Marc Silvestri
Colors by: Arif Prianto
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Marc Silvestri
Cover price: $5.99
Release date: May 2, 2023


Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #7 brings the masterfully rendered mini-series to a close with an explosive final battle, Joker's secret ploy revealed, and a new "hero" waiting in the shadows.
Is It Good?

Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #7 is a solid ending to a gloriously rendered work of art. Give credit to Mark Silvestri for delivering a passion project that looks as good as (better than?) it reads while still crafting a memorable Batman story. It's not a perfect ending, but the end to Batman and Joker's ill-fated team-up is satisfying and earned.

When last we left the Caped Crusader, he was stuck in a three-way conflict between Amanda Simms's Jokerized zombies and Joker's double-cross with Jim Gordon. Now, Batman enacts his "nuclear" option to stop Simms, while getting as many people (friend and foe) as possible out of the abandoned tunnels alive.

The strength of Silvestri's script lies in the smartly-crafted challenges facing Batman and the equally smart ways Batman finds to get overcome them. You can poke minor plotholes in every story, but Silvestri put in the time and effort to make sure whatever plotholes are small enough to go unnoticed. Simms is a formidable villain that Batman can't simply punch out or subdue with yet another gadget. Silvestri's Batman has to use smarts and muscle to overcome the challenge with a lot of pain.

The more interesting aspect of Silvestri's script is a lengthy epilogue that shows what kind of plan Batman has in place should his identity ever be made public. Batman has a brilliant plan in place, and it's a believable ploy that, again, underscores how much thought Silvestri put into this story.

That's all good stuff, but is there anything that doesn't work? Well, yes. The epilogue is very long. Too long. 14-pages long. Most of the epilogue is good information, but after the fifth page, your mind starts to wander.

How's the art? It's phenomenal. Silvestri doesn't have a reputation as a master artist for no reason. The action is cinematic, Silvestri's "scratchy" hatching style is gritty in all the right ways, and the set pieces are mindbogglingly detailed. Again, if you bought this mini for the art alone, you're getting your money's worth.

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 #7 ends a gorgeously-crafted mini-series on a strong note. Batman's challenges are clever, he overcomes them with equal cleverness and grit, and Silvestri's artwork truly is a work of art.

8.5/10