Wow… just wow! This short story was recently updated, with Brian Bolland recoloring (and apparently sketching in a few new details) the original comic. This is a Joker-origin story, though as the Joker himself admits, he doesn’t remember his own past well. In his words, “Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another… If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!” The short summary is that the Joker escapes from Arkham, only to have Batman discover he’s missing when he goes to try and offer something resembling a peace treaty. This escape isn’t about crime or money… it’s about proving a point. One bad day is all it takes to go from being an average person to a maniac or even a masked vigilante. Before the Joker is through, two of Batman’s closest friends and allies will have had their lives changed forever.

Like I said before, the story is brief and to the point. Between moments of the story we see flashes of the Joker’s past, of what he did to support himself and how he had his first run-in with Batman. Bolland has washed out these flashbacks, leaving shades of red to stand out, tying in nicely with the Joker’s first criminal persona. I guess some people thought the ending was ambiguous… it does end with a joke, and I like how the moment was shared between the two of them. I suppose if you were to take away the text in the box, it would look a different way, but I didn’t really find it confusing.

There! That’s fairly spoiler-free! I did enjoy the Joker’s lines about a coffee-table edition… being a librarian myself, I hope to never be in the same situation. :P

For a little added oomph, Brian Bolland included his short story “An Innocent Guy.” I enjoyed the giant typewriter.