Interesting take on the Batman/Joker dynamic. Excellent art and an engaging storyline, plus character development that makes a whole lot of sense in this AU. I just wish there had been more dissection of mental illness, especially with Harley being such a major character. However, the lines between hero and anti-hero, and anti-hero and villain are worth exploring in a storyline of their own, and Murphy does it well.

This was an interesting elseworlds-like story exploring the relationship between Batman and his greatest adversary, Joker. The story is compelling, as it revolves around a reformed Joker, who becomes sane and holds Batman and the GCPD responsible for making him a super-villain. Exploiting the discontent from the poorer neighborhoods of Gotham, who disproportionately suffer from collateral damage in Batman's fights against supervillians, Jack Napier runs for Gotham city counselman. Napier has uncovered proof that Gotham's richest have been profiteering from Batman-related destruction, and his populist appeals to battle police corruption strikes a cord with Gotham's poorest. Murphy's story is a great comic book tale that touches on current racial tensions, echoing the Black Lives Movement's distrust of police brutality and the effects of gentrification.

An interesting but ultimately uneven Batman book. The first half was great and there were a lot of lovely and surprising tweaks to the mythology, but the story started to drag in the middle. The finale was also a bit underwhelming. The portions of this book focused on character worked really well, but the plot and action sequences left me wanting.