Released on February 19th, 2020
Writer Tom King was fired from Batman and so they got James Tynion IV to write it for awhile until they name a permanent replacement (which everyone and their mother expects to be Bendis). King's run on the book was disappointing, although I read every issue of his run (which went from #1 to #85 with only three fill in issue that Joshua Williamson wrote). So far, Tynion's run on the book has been pretty average, although this particular issue got loads of press and sold out because it was the first appearance of Punchline, Joker's girlfriend. Yes, Joker apparently has a girlfriend, although you wouldn't really know that from this issue, as she only makes a brief appearance here basically in the shadows. First off, Punchline is the laziest and stupidest name ever. What...because she's with The Joker? What's next? A villain named Standup? I guess Tynion's idea is that Harley Quinn is so popular, why not just make another one in a similar vein? Eh. I guess time will tell when she's finally revealed in more substantial fashion. As for this issue, it's part 4 of "Their Dark Designs." There's a mysterious villain named The Designer who is going after Batman's rogues gallery for some reason. Last issue, Penguin got his throat slit but of course he's still alive. In this issue, Harley Quinn helps Catwoman fight off some bad guys in a cemetery. The Joker makes an appearance on the last page mentioning something about a "big game" about to start involving the Bat family (Barbara Gordon, Damian, Jason Todd, etc.). So this is pretty much just the usual Batman shit. It is fast paced at least, and it's not boring. It's a bit too convoluted, though. The art is was done by two artists, Carlo Pagulayan and Guillem March, plus an inker and colorist. I couldn't really tell, though, that two guys penciled it. While the art is pretty good, I still miss Tony Daniel, who I guess doesn't draw every issue because the book is bi-monthly. Since this run is merely a placeholder for who ever takes over after Tom King's epic, dour run, it's at least a fun little mindless romp until we're all complaining in about a year that Bendis fucking ruined everything...again. **1/2
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