Batman Confidential #10

One-sentence summary: The newest edition of the Joker's origin nears its conclusion in this darkly drawn tale from early in Batman's life.

Now, I'm not entirely certain that I support a new origin to the Joker, but at least I can lay back safe in the knowledge they'll never give him an absolute origin, just a variety of possible origins. However, this one's not been bad, though with some elements that are a bit off (Batman ordering a death?).

The story is fittingly dark and does a good job of establishing the Joker's physical abilities, as well as setting up the irony of Batman creating his own worst enemy, and, for that matter, the presence of superheroes creating the supervillain in general. For that, this is a pretty interesting comic.

The story is generally good, but the dialogue simply serves to get the job done. Nothing strikingly bad, but I can't imagine these lines being quoted. I actually like the art; heavily penciled, it manages to give a dark feel to the story without diminishing the brightness or contrast used with the colors.

Not too bad. I see that this story has several more issues left, which seems like a bit much, but this issue wraps up the first half of it very well and, including the last two issues, could serve as a good self-contained 3-part story.