I find myself back in London, and now I have a whole bunch of comics and graphic novels I need to review before I head off to Mexico. I got a few momentos from my trip across Canada and the States to review, as I approach one hundred columns.
Sometimes comics aren’t meant to be sold in the traditional sense. Sometimes art is made because the creators are fans themselves. CJ Hudson loves Batgirl. I know this because we’ve talked about it on the Discord we both share. He is a big fan of Barbara Gordon and decided to write his own dream story.
The Book
The Laughing Game
Written by C.J. Hudson
Illustrated and cover by Moy Marco
Lettered by Micay Meyers
Published by Warn Everyone Comics
The Laughing Game is an anniversary and a play on the Killing Joke. Barbara is back on her feet, back in the suit, but everyone is wondering if she’s okay.
One doesn’t forget being shot in the spine, and the Joker is still out there. Try as she might, Barbara can’t forget what happened. Try as she might, she can’t escape him.
Later, after going on patrol to try and take her mind off things, they find someone tied up, similar to Commissioner Gordon in The Killing Joke. The Joker hadn’t forgotten the anniversary either.
Barbara decides to confront him about what happened. She ends up going to Arkham, where he’s waiting for her. The Joker’s game is to remind her of what he did to her. Batgirl tries to make it a joke, as she realizes just what kind of man he is, and what he wants.
Still, the Joker doesn’t go away that easily. Barbara finds herself surrounded by security guards who have been jokerized. She is beaten and she is bruised as she fights her way out of the predicament the Joker places her in. After, though, the question of what to do with him now that the game is up rears its head. The Jokerized guards attempt to beat and cripple her and fail. Still, the battle isn’t without a reminder of the scars of The Joker. Try as she might, Barbara can’t forget that day.
CJ Hudson is a fan of Batgirl. He gets the idea of Barbara Gordon and gets the relationship she has to the Joker, as he has a long list of books the reader can read to get an idea of their relationship, as the book is filled with clips from the issues they interacted in. In fact, that’s maybe the only real flaw in the story. There is a degree of understanding of who Barbara is with Batgirl to understand their relationship.
Still, Hudson manages to do a great job writing about the relationships we have with the people who hurt us. This is a man who cares about Batgirl and desires to write about one of the key moments of her life. He tells the story well and would be an excellent writer for Barbara in a proper main DC book should the opportunity arise.
Marco’s black and white pencils add to the story. The black and white feel to the script being told made the whole issue feel like a bad memory, which, in some way, it is. This is about remembering a bad thing that happened to you at a point in time. The choice here is inspired. And you know what? Moy Marco’s Batgirl doesn’t feel out of place with the real one in comics right now.
Kudos to both men for pouring their hearts and souls into the book. It’s a solid read, and there’s a lot of care about the character. My only gripe with the book is that it’s not a main DC book. Well done, gentlemen.
Now is it worth buying? I would say yes. Even though it’s not canon, there is something genuine to the character in this issue. Well done.
The Business
Since my last column, I worked on a movie. Tim Chizmar’s Naked Alien Massacre was an incredible experience for me on the set. I learned about a lot of things that I never expected to come my way. I’ll be writing about it on the substance eventually. Right now, I’m about to enter the naturist village of Bare Oaks and manage the park. Should be a fun time.
You can read all about it on the Substack. Go to https://joshuapantalleresco.substack.com if you want to see more, subscribe, and send me a few bucks. Or not. You can just read along. IN the novel, I’m back in Vancouver. Wait a few weeks, and I’ll be across the table with him in the future. A man is only as good as the opportunity that follows ef.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. Yes, it’s a stolen concept, but it’s executed so well. Thanks, guys.
That’ll do it for this column. I hope you get all that’s coming to you. Now, if you excuse me, I‘ll join a friend to eat and help out. Be kind to each other.
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