The Batman and The Joker are synonymous with one another. Nobody who has heard of one is unaware of the other. Their relationship is one which has been explored in print, television, film and video games. In one of his suggested origins, The Joker is 'created' by Batman when the Red Hood is knocked into a vat of chemicals which stain his skin white and turn his hair lurid green. And in this story, we see that Batman is drawn back to Gotham so he can find the Joker.
Opening up with an explosion is a guaranteed way to grab your attention, and Joker does this in the first few pages when he blows up a carnival/parade in a high end area of Gotham. Soon after, he kidnaps a prominent councillor and holds her hostage in an old theatre whilst he forces her to watch old comedy films such as Charlie Chaplin.
The first issue of this story arc focuses on Batman's attempts to track down the kidnapping victim before it is too late. A lot of his internal monologue is focused on being dragged down into the chaos, and of the dangers of getting drawn into the Joker's crimes. At one point, he badly beats a decoy Joker, almost crossing the line before he pulls himself back. Batman realises the danger in crossing the line, and states that he can't concentrate or focus whilst he knows the Joker is out there laughing at him.
In a somewhat shocking twist, which is then spoiled at the very end of the issue (not that I believed they would kill Batman off...) the Joker sets off a bomb which badly injures and knocks out Batman. He kicks the body into the river, which is then swept away by the current of the river. Linking back to the earlier monologue when Batman acknowledged he would be swept away by the 'current' if he carried on hunting the Joker.
Issue 2 focuses on Joseph Kerr, a terrible pseudonym if ever there was one, and his whirlwind romance with a woman in his apartment building. Kerr is not what he seems though, and keeps having 'episodes' and nightmares about laughing clowns and bats with knives who threaten to 'drag him down'. It seems that without Batman, the Joker has lost his purpose, which in turn has caused him to push his Joker persona down below the surface. Another exploration of the idea that these two characters cannot exist without the other.
In The Dark Knight Returns, something similar takes place. The Joker is in Arkham Asylum, but he is catatonic, not talking and seemingly not even moving. It is only when the Batman returns that he stirs, laughing maniacally and escaping from the madhouse. Similarly, in issue 3 when Batman returns and begins his search for the Joker, we see Joseph Kerr's psychotic episodes grow worse.
Issue 4 sees the typical showdown between the Batman and his arch nemesis, which leads to Joker being incarcerated in Arkham once more. During this fight though we see more doubt from Batman, again highlighting that this is early on in his career. This doubt subsides when he is reminded of the good he does as Batman - by the woman who saved him from the river in the previous issue.
Batman realises that even though he is dragged down into the chaos, he will always be able to rise above it into the light again because of the good he does. Again this is a theme which has been explored in countless Batman tales throughout the 75 years he has been around.
Two other scenes which I loved in this were the scenes in the second issue where both Alfred and Jim Gordon seemed to flounder and lose purpose without Bruce/Batman. Gordon in particular finds himself under question and involved in a sniping match with a councillor who claims he isn't doing enough to bring the Joker to justice. Alfred just wanders around the manor and the Batcave, until Batman reappears from the shadows.
One thing which annoyed me was the slightly disjointed nature of the panels in the last issue, where we switch from Joker to Joseph Kerr and it isn't quite clear what order things are happening in. Perhaps this was intentional to show the mental state both Batman and Joker are in. It didn't work for me, as I was trying to figure out what was going on, which jolted me out of the story a bit.
Next up - Haunted Knight
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