Hmm…how do I review “The
Joker: Talking Bust and Illustrated Book”? It is produced by publisher Running
Press, which suggests I should approach this package as a book, though DC Comics
historian Matthew K. Manning’s The Joker:
Behind the Smile is no taller than my thumb, and by my estimate, approximately
7,000 words shorter than the Wikipedia page devoted to the Clown Prince of Crime. There are some nice pictures illustrating such milestones as The Joker’s
debut in Batman #1, Bill Finger’s creation
of an official back story in the classic Red Hood storyline, the Neal Adams
years, the Frank Miller and Alan Moore years, Batman: The Animated Series, and a few twenty first century comics.
The real star of this
package is a plastic Joker bust the height of my middle finger that says several Jokery phrases (in either Mark Hamill’s voice or a reasonable facsimile) at the push of a
button. As just a book or just a collectible, there would not be much to say
about this mini box set, but taken together for a fairly reasonable price, “The
Joker: Talking Bust and Illustrated Book” makes a decent souvenir from your
latest trip to Gotham.
