Joker: Killer Smile #1 uses the mature rating of Black Label to its disturbing advantage. I could go on for much longer, but I’ll wrap it up here and let you read it for yourself. They are evocative and striking, with a subtle variety of palette that walks the line between gritty and surreal. Jordie Bellaire’s colours perfectly compliment Sorrentino’s work. The inks are moody, with shadows cast over most of the panels, but without being overdone. The pencils are strong and emotive, with close-ups displaying the turmoil of the characters, particularly highlighting the Joker’s menacing eyes and teeth. His penchant for clever layouts is on full display on the fourth-last page (I say this so you can see it for yourself without me spoiling it). Sorrentino is at his best, with his art both grounded and hyperreal. He even subtly acknowledges it, with the famous butterfly Rorschach pattern popping up a couple of times throughout this issue. Taking this conceit and applying it to one of DC’s most iconic villains is an inspired stroke on Lemire’s part. Malcolm Long in Watchmen clearly inspired the doctor-patient relationship here. This choice pays off as we see how Arnell’s desperation to cure the “Clown Prince of Crime” is leaking madness into every facet of his psyche. I won’t spoil the story too much, but essentially he brings us into the story near the end of Arnell’s sessions with the Joker.
Lemire’s sense of psychological horror is pitch-perfect. Their work on this story combines writing and art in the symbiotic way that the very best comics do. There are some creative teams that just work with beautiful synchronicity, and Lemire and Sorrentino are absolutely one of them. And Sorrentino isn’t far behind as an artist, somehow juggling this with Gideon Falls despite the density of his style. In my humble opinion, Jeff Lemire is one of, if not the best writers working in comics today. This is to the book’s strength and helps distinguish it from other Joker stories. It depicts a good man being drawn ever further into the creeping horror of the Joker’s world. Killer Smile focuses on the Joker, but rather than delving into his point-of-view, it puts him in a Silence of the Lambs-esque situation by viewing him through psychoanalyst Dr. After reading #1, I’ll tell you that this book is worth the $5.99 price point.
I couldn’t pass up on one of the best creative teams in comics. I admit, if the creative team wasn’t Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino (with colours by Jordie Bellaire, no less), I probably wouldn’t have been keen to pick it up. So far the majority of DC’s Black Label books have been Batman or Harley/Joker focused, and Joker: Killer Smile is no different. Joker: Killer Smile #1 DC Comics Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
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