DC Finest: The Joker: The Last Ha Ha

by Dennis O'Neil, Denny O'Neil, David Reed

YOU'LL DIE LAUGHING AT THE JOKER'S GREATEST CAPERS! After taking a cartoonish turn in the Silver Age, The Joker returned to his darker, more homicidal roots in the Bronze Age, staging capers that were twistedly humorous but still had lethal consequences. This collection showcases the Clown Prince of Crime back in deadly form against his archnemesis, Batman, in classic tales by Dennis O?Neil, Neal Adams, Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, Terry Austin, and more. Collects stories published between December 1969 and September 1981 from BATMAN #251, #260, #286, #291-294, and #321; THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #111, #118, #129-130, and #141; DETECTIVE COMICS #475-476 and #504; THE JOKER #1-10; JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #77; and backup tales from WONDER WOMAN #280-283.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics

552 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2026

About the author

Dennis "Denny" O'Neil was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.

His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always thought the Joker was the perfect villain for Batman, they are such polar opposites. Batman is a calculating and logical character and the Joker is insanity personified. Nice collection of stories. Recommended

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those DC Finest volumes that I almost regret buying, even though I did enjoy it. The reason is it’ll probably end up being one of the volumes that has stories included in other volumes, especially Batman and Team-ups. The timeline on this book stretches all the way from 1969 through 1981, and it includes Batman 251, 260, 286, 291-294, and 321; The Brave and the Bold 111, 118, 129-130, and 141; Detective Comics 475-476 and 504; The Joker 1-10 (issue 10 was never actually published; the title was cancelled with 9, but it did previously appear in the recent Bronze Age Joker Omnibus); Justice League of America 77; and Huntress back-up stories in Wonder Woman 280-283. But I was seduced by that Neal Adams cover, and hey … it’s also purple, which was always DC editorial director Irwin Donefeld’s favorite cover color; he thought it sold books, so I guess it worked on me! Most of the O’Neil stories are entertaining, but Martin Pasko and Elliott S! Maggin’s Joker series stories are a little too much like the Batman TV shows. The bulk of the book is edited by Julius Schwartz, and the highlight is the Adams stories and the two Joker stories by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers from Detective Comics, all of which will appear in a Batman volume in the near future, since the DC Finest series seems to be very Batman-heavy (five volumes alone this year, not counting this Joker one or the second Team-ups one).

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Joker book, but I do feel like I’m being a little bit generous awarding it 4 stars.
A set of some great and some okay stories mostly centred on The Joker ranging from 1969-1981.
There’s a quite a few shared stories in this collection, for example Joker appearing in the “Brave and the Bold” series with Green Arrow etc, other short stories with Huntress and also some with Wonder Woman. But the real highlight in this book is the actual Batman and Detective Comics issues.
Obviously the story Batman #251 is a classic Joker tale, and I’m really glad they used that cover for the main book cover! The actual Joker comic issues (1-10) are fairly good, but could have been better and more serious in my opinion. Considering the various different avenues this comic series could have taken (Joker’s outside activities or other enemies besides Batman) I think it was a missed opportunity.
Later in the book, there is a multi-part story about the supposed “death” of Batman, that was not only quite boring/dull but also hardly involved Joker whatsoever. So I’m not entirely sure why it was included in this Joker collection. It was about a bunch of villains (Riddler, Catwoman, Lex Luthor) trying to prove they killed Batman, with Two-Face disproving them. The final fourth issue was “Testimony of the Joker” and even Joker’s story wasn’t that interesting either. This was definitely the weakest part of the book for me. They should have left it out!
Thankfully the next 2 part story is the well known and great “The Laughing Fish” and “Sign of the Joker”. I’ve read this before, but it was nice reading it again. It has some really fantastic drawings of Joker!
The book ends with some pretty average stories unfortunately, but overall I think the book is pretty good.
I’d only recommend to a hardcore Joker or Batman fan.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Joker stories, from 1969-1981.
Included is the classic 1973 Batman # 251 The Joker's Five-Way Revenge written by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams. This story brought The Joker back to his dark roots...
Also here is the entire run of The Joker comic, issues 1-10. It's an interesting run of stories.
Also included are some of my favorite stories from when I was growing up...
The 4 part "Where Were You The Night Batman Was Killed?"
A beautifully drawn two part story The Laughing Fish and The Sign Of The Joker (drawn by Marshall Rogers)
And a story I remember reading in the summer of 81...The Joker's Rumpus Room Revenge.
All in all a good collection!

[Greg L Goldstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice trip down memory lane. This is the Joker of the 1970s, after Neal Adams helped revitalize the character, and includes his brief—and fairly lightweight—solo series.

The real draw for me is the gorgeous Marshall Rogers material. But realistically, those stories are going to show up in other collections, and probably better ones.

So: a fun package if you have a particular affection for this era of the Joker, but not exactly essential.

[Matt Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers the entirety of Joker’s appearances in the 70s and even though it jumps around series a lot it does include the short lived Joker comic series which was really fun. 1969-1981. 8/10

[Hyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2

[Wombo Combo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun, silly stuff.