With Gotham reeling from the anarchy caused by The Joker and his subsequent death, Batman has his work cut out for him. The Last Laughs, a gang previously led by the Clown Prince of Crime are taking odd jobs acting as firebugs in dilapidated buildings. But who is bankrolling the arson? Just when Batman seems to be making headway in his investigation, The Joker inexplicably returns. But how? Is Batman destined to face off with his greatest enemy yet again?

About two years ago, I came across a copy of Sam Hamm’s graphic novel, BATMAN ‘89. At the time, that was marketed as the official sequel to Tim Burton’s BATMAN. I thought it was fun, but felt more like a stronger concept than it came across in execution. When I heard that someone was dipping their toes back into the Burton lore, and that the reviews were mostly positive, I thought I would try it out. I’m glad I did.

John Jackson Miller really nailed the feel and the atmosphere of Burton’s original movie. I liked it better than BATMAN RETURNS, but if they had tried to turn this novel into a movie at the time, I’m not sure it would have worked as well as it did in print. There is a great amount of body horror here, and I think the movie makers of the time would have struggled to effectively portray it; at least with how I pictured it in my head. It would have worked a lot better as an animated film in the vein of THE MASK OF THE PHANTASM.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and the narrator, Will Damron, is tremendous. One of the novel’s main characters, Hugh Auslander, is of German descent and Damron’s work in applying the appropriate accent was fantastic. His distinction between Batman and Bruce Wayne was perfect (it’s a lot harder than it sounds) and his approach to various other characters such as Alfred, Vicki Vale and a few of the brainless henchmen had me smiling from ear to ear. I don’t read a lot of fiction audiobooks (I mainly stick to non-fiction), but if I see his name pop up again attached to a book I’m interested in, it’s likely I’ll listen rather than read the physical book.

This was a lot of fun, even if it is a bit cartoonish near the story’s climax. I’m looking forward to John Jackson Miller’s second entry into this series with BATMAN: REVOLUTION this October. Hopefully the publisher sticks with Damron again as the narrator