308 IMAGE COMICS
taste for blood.” Joe and some companions, including a beautiful girl named Maya, are
seen investigating the original Batcave. Th e group is soon captured by armed guards
and a menacing Batman, who describes himself as a god. Joe is forced into a disturbing
medical device where the truth is fi nally revealed: his missing friends have been physi-
cally altered to replicate the original enemies of Batman. Th e resurrected villains have
been created so that they may be destroyed in the bloody sacrifi ce to “Th e Bruce” god
seen at the beginning of the text. Th e purpose of the gladiatorial combat is to pass the
mantle of the Bat to the contest’s winner. Joe’s fate is that he is to be transformed into
the new Joker. After the procedure, Hall depicts a scene in which this new “Harlequin
of Hate” discovers an ancient video recording from Bruce Wayne, who states that he
wishes his future followers will shun meaningless vengeance and fi ght for what is right.
A sequence featuring the fi nal confrontation between this reality’s Batman and Joker
(who is also now dressed in Batman’s costume) follows. Maya, who is now dressed in a
version of Robin’s uniform, shoots the Dark Knight, who falls to his death. In an ironic
twist ending, this new Joker (still dressed as Batman) has become the hero who brings
down the Batman cult.
I, Joker is an often confusing story that is both written and illustrated somewhat
crudely. It seems to relish in its over-the-top violence rather than condemn it. Th ere
does not appear to be any overt political meaning other than “tyrants are bad.” It off ers
no interesting or lasting perspective on either Gotham’s heroes or villains.
Charles Coletta
IMAGE COMICS was founded in 1992 by seven high-profi le illustrators who defected
from the far larger publisher Marvel Comics , starting a new company with the goal
of allowing artist-creators to retain ownership and control of their titles. Fresh off of
his success with the new Spider-Man title, To d d M c F a r l a n e formed Todd McFarlane
Productions (TMP), and Marc Silvestri of Uncanny X-Men fame started his Top Cow
Productions, both partner studios of the wider Image Central. Along with McFarlane
and Silvestri came Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Jim Valentino, and Jim Lee , though Lee’s
own Wildstorm Productions would align with DC Comics in 1998. Artist Whilce
Portacio also accompanied the group but was not considered a full partner in the
enterprise. In 2008, writer Robert Kirkman would also become a partner, with Lee and
Liefeld having previously departed.
Much of Image’s early success came at the height of the comic book industry’s 1990s
heydays. Liefeld’s Extreme Studios —later rebranded as Awesome Comics, Awesome
Entertainment, and Awesome-Hyperwerks —premiered Image’s fi rst book, Yo u n g b l o o d ,
and Valentino’s Shadowhawk character debuted in issue #2 of that series. McFarlane
launched the hugely popular Spawn , the story of a dead mercenary returned to life with
demonic powers. Larsen repurposed one of his older characters to headline the epon-
ymous Savage Dragon miniseries, eventually leading to an ongoing monthly title. Lee
eventually released WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams in August of 1992, and Silvestri
produced CyberForce that October. Portacio had to withdraw his participation in order
