He’s a...performer. He’s got to get out of L.A. as quickly as possible. A few of his colleagues have picked him up. Traffic is incredibly sluggish on the 710. He would have suggested the 110, but there was a bomb on the 110. Literally. His colleague threw it. Figured it wouldn’t have been a problem getting to the airport in a stolen police car, but things just got a lot more complicated in The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #7. Writer Matthew Rosenberg hits a nice rhythm of humor and action on the highway in southern California with the aid of artist Carmine Di Giandomenico and colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr.

It was a mess on the highway. And then there was a mess all over the highway. It really looked like the police had finally tracked down the Joker until he saw Waffles behind the wheel. So they stole a police squad car. All the more likely that they would make it to LAX in time for their flight back to Gotham City...were it not for a superhero. (In L.A., though? There aren’t supposed to be superheroes in L.A. That was the Joker’s whole reason for going out there in the first place.)

Rosenberg has been striking out with much of the series thus far. The idea of placing the Joker in southern California is...well...any writer could place an ongoing series with the Joker there. The chief export of that area of the country is its culture. The Joker could do a HELL of a lot there, but Rosenberg has been fairly successful at avoiding any of the potential of the Joker in L.A...until now. Put him on the highway and point him in the direction of the airport and watch it happen. The series certainly picks up speed in its seventh issue, even as the Joker is stuck on the 710 with the Manhunter on his trail. 

Carmine Di Giandomenico delivers the action with a steady hand. Even at night during a chase, the highway is a tragically boring place visually. The art team manages to find the right momentum to make it feel absolutely breathtaking. Romulo Fajardo Jr.’s colors give the night its proper radiance along the highway and allow for the proper glow to the headlights and explosions that typically seem to follow the Joker around for some reason.

Recent depictions of DC’s most popular villain have been pretty dull. They’ve been moving away from the strength of his insanity and making him a pale shadow of Travis Bickle. At its best, Rosenberg’s series has harnessed some of the stronger madness of the psychotic clown and pushed him in a direction with more than enough power to tap into his real potential. It’s just too bad that Rosenberg hasn’t managed to find the right synthesis between the killing joke and L.A. until now...seven issues into the series on the 710 to LAX. The series is only starting to get going 7 issues in.

Grade: A-