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

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

[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).