Unconscious and trying to fight off the Joker toxin in his system, Batman must go on a spirit-quest to re-center himself to finish his war with Joker. Spoilers for Batman #98 follow.
So far “Joker War” has had its ups and downs and has never really felt that it has fully had a proper momentum to the story being told. Now, with Batman getting over his Joker toxin poisoning and going on a spiritual journey, that shouldn’t bode well for the pacing of the story. However, in the rare exception to spirit-quest pacing in stories, this issue gives the arc the kick that it needed to propel the story forward. Plus, there’s a great Harley and Punchline fight in this issue.
In the spirit-quest portions of this issue, the issue really doesn’t do anything all that surprising in the terms of story. Bruce doesn’t realize he’s hallucinating, then he does, and he comes to terms with the real world thanks to his hallucination of Alfred. However, it’s in the execution that this storyline really shines. Everything from James Tynion IV’s dialogue to Jorge Jimenez’ layouts, linework, and inks to Tomeu Morey’s colors, it all comes together to create something incredibly touching and hopeful. Those aren’t things that many considered Batman to be, but at the heart of the character, he very much is and this issue does a great job of capturing that feeling.
Outside of Batman’s mind though, Harley gets her rematch with Punchline after getting her throat slit. This very much could have been a simple fight scene between the two and, because it’s drawn by Jorge Jimenez, it would’ve been great. But this issue also looks at the dichotomy between Harley and Punchline in a not exactly nuanced way, but in a way that is beneficial in differentiating the two. They both have filled the same position for the Joker, but they are definitely not the same type of person.
And hey, it’s nice to see Catwoman back in the picture after she hasn’t appeared since issue #94. She’s exactly where you’d think she’d be which is in Penguin’s stronghold, being forced to wait out the chaos. Really, that’s where this issue could have left her, and it would have been completely fine. However, it’s nice to see her being the hero that she truly even before she leaves the compound to go out and help Batman.
As mentioned above, Jorge Jimenez and Tomeu absolutely kill it once again in the art department on this issue. No matter what is needed on the page, whether it is a quiet moment that needs convey an emotion or a kinetic action sequence, they nail nearly every moment in this issue. This is no surprise as they’ve been superb for the past several issues, so it would honestly be more shocking if this issue didn’t look phenomenal.