By Taylor Pechter — The Joker is one of the most iconic villains, not only in comics, but in mass media overall. The Clown Prince of Crime has been terrorizing Gotham City for almost 80 years and shows no signs of stopping. With that much popularity and malleability in one character, writers have been able to leave their mark on him over the years. 

Enter the Black Label branding. Last year, DC Comics started up this new prestige, mature readers imprint, to let creators make tell stories with characters that are not necessarily in mainstream continuity. While it had a bit of a rocky start, Black Label has started to find its footing recently. One Black Label book that caught my eye when it was announced was Joker: Killer Smile, a three-issue, prestige format series that was being done by one of the most acclaimed creative team in modern comics. 

Let’s jump in now, and take a long look at why we should all get hyped for this new series.

The Creative Team

As I said above, this book has A-list creators attached with superstar writer Jeff Lemire and his regular collaborator, artist Andrea Sorrentino, who is colored here by Jordie Bellaire. Lemire has been in the business for while, tallying quite the impressive track record. No matter which publisher Lemire works for, he always puts out some of the highest-quality comics today. 

Lemire is also a master of genre, moving between horror in books like Gideon Falls (more on that one later), science fiction with books like Descender, understated family drama in Royal City, and superheroes in books like Black Hammer and Animal Man. Joining Lemire on art for Joker: Killer Smile is Andrea Sorrentino. Sorrentino has worked with Lemire often, and his gritty and experimental art style lends well to Lemire’s scripts. 

Based on past work, I fully expect this team to perfectly fit the Joker.

Psychological Horror

I promised we would get to Gideon Falls, so here we are. Gideon Falls is a horror comic that is currently being published by Image, and the creative team on it is the same as it is on Joker: Killer Smile — Lemire and Sorrentino. The book has a very heavy focus on the mind and what is and is not real. That is what makes it one of the most captivating and unsettling books on the shelves. 

I feel this type of horror would fit with the unsettling nature of the Joker very well. With Gideon Falls being in the midst of its fourth arc, I feel the team will definitely take some cues from that series and apply them here, especially in the oversized magazine format that Black Label frequently deploys. Seeing Sorrentino’s art oversized, especially in this context, is a very exciting prospect. 

Conclusion

As Black Label has matured (pun intended) it seems like it has planted its flag firmly with the stories and creators it gets behind. While some criticize the glut of Batman and Joker related comics, myself included, there are always titles that are so good, they transcend the Bat-fatigue. If it were any other creative team, I may have been less hyped for Joker: Killer Smile, but Lemire and Sorrentino have done enough to earn my trust and get me excited for this book. It also helps that Lemire has another Black Label book coming out next month about a certain faceless detective, but that is hype for another time. 

Until then, I guess the joke’s on us.

Joker: Killer Smile #1 is out October 30, 2019.

Read more of Taylor’s writing on our comics analysis page.

Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.