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Batman: Elseworlds
Batman: Yo, Joker
A futuristic Gotham City is led by a cult that follows Batman's descendant, a self-proclaimed god known only as The Bruce. The current Joker must find a way to survive long enough to face his nemesis and free Gotham from his influence.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1998
7 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Bob Hall
335 books6 followersRobert "Bob" Hall is an American comics artist and writer as well as a playwright and theatre director. He is the co-creator of the West Coast Avengers for Marvel Comics and has worked on such series as Armed and Dangerous and Shadowman, which he both drew and wrote for Valiant Comics.
According to his personal webpage:
BOB HALL: WRITER, ARTIST, AND COMIC CREATOR
I’ve worked in the comics industry for more than forty-five years, starting at Charlton Comics in 1974, illustrating horror stories and drawing covers. That same year I took a course in creating comics taught by the legendary John Buscema and at the end of the class, Buscema recommended me to Archie Goodwin, Editor-In-Chief at Marvel, as a penciler.
I was immediately thrown into drawing a group book, The Champions, written by Bill Mantlo, who graciously mentored me through my first jobs.
Over the next fifteen years, I drew most of Marvel’s Major books and characters, The Champions, Doctor Doom, the Red Skull, The Avengers, The West Coast Avengers, The Squadron Supreme, Spider-man, including Spider-Man meeting the original Saturday Night Live cast, Thor, Nick Fury, Moon Knight, one issue of The New Mutants, and What If Conan Were Trapped In the Twentieth Century, Part 2. I also did a slew of Movie adaptations including Willow, Dark Man, and arguably the worst superhero movie ever, the 1980s Captain America. On the other hand, check out the graphic novel, Emperor Doom, probably my best work for Marvel.
In 1977, Jim Shooter, the new Editor-In Chief, offered me a job as one of a new group of sub-editors. I signed on for a six-month tenure since a stage adaptation I had co-authored, The Passion of Dracula, then running Off Broadway, was due to receive a West End production in London.
There was no question that was going to be there for that.
Those six months in the bullpen gave me opportunity of working with some of the most talented people in the comics field, Shooter, Stern, Salicrup, Giacoia, both Buscema’s, Colan, Janson, Rubenstein, Layton, Marie Severin, Byrne, Jo Duffy, Claremont, others too many to list. I learned more about making comics than any time before or since.
Then in the 1990s, Jim Shooter started a new company, Valiant. Having seen a plays I had authored, he invited me to write and asked me to choose one of four different titles. For me, Shadowman had the most potential, set in New Orleans, featuring a musician and involving voodoo, all stuff I could dig into. I wrote and eventually drew the book for thirty-five issues. It was very successful but was eventually rebooted to support a video game while moved on to I create Armed and Dangerous, a crime series and probably my finest work in comics. It’s hard to find copies but well worth the effort.
Then, in the late 1990s, the comics industry went to hell.
According to his personal webpage:
BOB HALL: WRITER, ARTIST, AND COMIC CREATOR
I’ve worked in the comics industry for more than forty-five years, starting at Charlton Comics in 1974, illustrating horror stories and drawing covers. That same year I took a course in creating comics taught by the legendary John Buscema and at the end of the class, Buscema recommended me to Archie Goodwin, Editor-In-Chief at Marvel, as a penciler.
I was immediately thrown into drawing a group book, The Champions, written by Bill Mantlo, who graciously mentored me through my first jobs.
Over the next fifteen years, I drew most of Marvel’s Major books and characters, The Champions, Doctor Doom, the Red Skull, The Avengers, The West Coast Avengers, The Squadron Supreme, Spider-man, including Spider-Man meeting the original Saturday Night Live cast, Thor, Nick Fury, Moon Knight, one issue of The New Mutants, and What If Conan Were Trapped In the Twentieth Century, Part 2. I also did a slew of Movie adaptations including Willow, Dark Man, and arguably the worst superhero movie ever, the 1980s Captain America. On the other hand, check out the graphic novel, Emperor Doom, probably my best work for Marvel.
In 1977, Jim Shooter, the new Editor-In Chief, offered me a job as one of a new group of sub-editors. I signed on for a six-month tenure since a stage adaptation I had co-authored, The Passion of Dracula, then running Off Broadway, was due to receive a West End production in London.
There was no question that was going to be there for that.
Those six months in the bullpen gave me opportunity of working with some of the most talented people in the comics field, Shooter, Stern, Salicrup, Giacoia, both Buscema’s, Colan, Janson, Rubenstein, Layton, Marie Severin, Byrne, Jo Duffy, Claremont, others too many to list. I learned more about making comics than any time before or since.
Then in the 1990s, Jim Shooter started a new company, Valiant. Having seen a plays I had authored, he invited me to write and asked me to choose one of four different titles. For me, Shadowman had the most potential, set in New Orleans, featuring a musician and involving voodoo, all stuff I could dig into. I wrote and eventually drew the book for thirty-five issues. It was very successful but was eventually rebooted to support a video game while moved on to I create Armed and Dangerous, a crime series and probably my finest work in comics. It’s hard to find copies but well worth the effort.
Then, in the late 1990s, the comics industry went to hell.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Want to read
May 26, 2023I want you to divide yourselves into groups, and one of you remind me daily to read this.
It's really short, i like the idea of it!
and these days my Novel reading rate went down to 30 pages, and comics even worse, and i end up reading children books while talking to my new friends who occupy most of my time lol
It's really short, i like the idea of it!
and these days my Novel reading rate went down to 30 pages, and comics even worse, and i end up reading children books while talking to my new friends who occupy most of my time lol
December 31, 2016
What if Batman was the bad guy and Joker was the good guy?
That simple idea is the basis for this short graphic novel, an idea that evolves into this fascinating concept about a dystopian future version of Gotham City, ruled by a religious cult that worships the supposed descendant of Batman as a god. This man, called The Bruce, holds gladiator-style combat shows every year that involves the brainwashing of innocent civilians, surgically altering them to look like Batman's villains of legend, so that followers can hunt them down and kill them for sport, get the chance to challenge The Bruce, and become a god themselves. But this year's Joker is a bit different, and he has to survive the night and try to stop The Bruce once and for all.
Great idea right? And there are some truly cool moments in this one that I would've loved to see fleshed out more. But many aspects of the story are rushed over or the writer took cheap shortcuts getting to certain plot points. And the artwork leaves much to be desired, with some of the action being a bit hard to follow. But the final image is pretty great and it's only about 50 pages long so it's a quick read to at least just see where they go with the concept.
That simple idea is the basis for this short graphic novel, an idea that evolves into this fascinating concept about a dystopian future version of Gotham City, ruled by a religious cult that worships the supposed descendant of Batman as a god. This man, called The Bruce, holds gladiator-style combat shows every year that involves the brainwashing of innocent civilians, surgically altering them to look like Batman's villains of legend, so that followers can hunt them down and kill them for sport, get the chance to challenge The Bruce, and become a god themselves. But this year's Joker is a bit different, and he has to survive the night and try to stop The Bruce once and for all.
Great idea right? And there are some truly cool moments in this one that I would've loved to see fleshed out more. But many aspects of the story are rushed over or the writer took cheap shortcuts getting to certain plot points. And the artwork leaves much to be desired, with some of the action being a bit hard to follow. But the final image is pretty great and it's only about 50 pages long so it's a quick read to at least just see where they go with the concept.
March 25, 2020
I was sure I had read this before. And I was equally sure I had reviewed it. With neither logged in on this GR account a reread was truly merited. And was this read-over just as minty fresh as the first? For the most part, yes.
Forging a unique path that uniquely balances clever modulations with its own bevy of unexpected hat tricks, it almost feels that all the lost time generated from the rest of the Elseworlds imprimatur of crap has been made up here. Truly. With enough known-knowns to link us immediately to the present, fierce tints and tones layering well proven forerunners (Escape from New York most notably here) the levels of creativity here have been seamlessly stitched to superb effect within the matrix of the Batman Mythos. Yet thoughtfully steering clear of anything approach excess nor blasphemy in many respects this ought to have been the correct harbinger for the Elseworld’s imprimatur as its standard bearing exemplar, instead of its current designation of an exception to the sad rule that exists henceforth.
All in all are there things to nitpick? Plenty. Is this an example of unvarnished perfection? Hardly. But for an imprimatur that promised so much more and fell so utterly short, this stab at something so fecund with such a degree of promised potential should be a must read for all those who have trudged into this contextualized dusty muck.
Forging a unique path that uniquely balances clever modulations with its own bevy of unexpected hat tricks, it almost feels that all the lost time generated from the rest of the Elseworlds imprimatur of crap has been made up here. Truly. With enough known-knowns to link us immediately to the present, fierce tints and tones layering well proven forerunners (Escape from New York most notably here) the levels of creativity here have been seamlessly stitched to superb effect within the matrix of the Batman Mythos. Yet thoughtfully steering clear of anything approach excess nor blasphemy in many respects this ought to have been the correct harbinger for the Elseworld’s imprimatur as its standard bearing exemplar, instead of its current designation of an exception to the sad rule that exists henceforth.
All in all are there things to nitpick? Plenty. Is this an example of unvarnished perfection? Hardly. But for an imprimatur that promised so much more and fell so utterly short, this stab at something so fecund with such a degree of promised potential should be a must read for all those who have trudged into this contextualized dusty muck.
April 5, 2021
Batman: I, Joker is an Elseworlds graphic novel published by DC Comics in 1998, written and penciled by Bob Hall. It takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk future.
It takes place in an alternate future where the legacy of the Batman has been perverted into a Running Man-type annual television event, where innocents are given plastic surgery to look like Batman's old foe and then set out to be destroyed, in gladiatorial combat with the current Batman – a mantle of the bat now belongs to whoever can take it.
Bob Hall penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Hall has created an interesting dystopian world. However, he offers no explanations for how the world became so twisted or gives any sense about the world outside of the televised spectacle. At first it is confusing, but slowly the story begins to take shape.
Doing double duty, Bob Hall also penciled the entire trade paperback. Since he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, Hall's penciling is serviceable, a little heavily inked, but done rather well nevertheless.
All in all, Batman: I, Joker is an interesting narrative about how legacies could become twisted, but moderately executed.
It takes place in an alternate future where the legacy of the Batman has been perverted into a Running Man-type annual television event, where innocents are given plastic surgery to look like Batman's old foe and then set out to be destroyed, in gladiatorial combat with the current Batman – a mantle of the bat now belongs to whoever can take it.
Bob Hall penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Hall has created an interesting dystopian world. However, he offers no explanations for how the world became so twisted or gives any sense about the world outside of the televised spectacle. At first it is confusing, but slowly the story begins to take shape.
Doing double duty, Bob Hall also penciled the entire trade paperback. Since he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, Hall's penciling is serviceable, a little heavily inked, but done rather well nevertheless.
All in all, Batman: I, Joker is an interesting narrative about how legacies could become twisted, but moderately executed.
July 1, 2012
Intriguing concept (what with the elements of techno-dystopia, fascist theocracy, superhero-as-false-idol, nihilistic eternal struggle and clashing ideas of immortality), but the execution leaves much to be desired: the story isn't particularly well-organized and doesn't delve deeply enough into the comic's world and how it came to be, the ending is tidy in an empty and lacking way and the art style, oddly enough, is pretty ho-hum...which is both a bit surprising and quite disappointing given the unique nature of the concept.
On the whole, should've been longer, clearer and more involved with world-building and presentation.
On the whole, should've been longer, clearer and more involved with world-building and presentation.
June 14, 2015
I liked the general plot of this, But I don't think it was well written. Spoiler Alert. The idea of doing a story where a "Joker" becomes Batman is a really interesting concept. Which was by far the best thing about this.. I didn't really care for the whole "Batman/The Bruce is a God-King". Way too cult like and honestly, just poorly done. Artwork was okay. That Idea of Joker becoming Batman though..... That's interesting
December 1, 2012
For a book of merely 52 pages, this graphic novel proved to be completely engrossing and intense. Couldn't leave until I read till the very end.
July 17, 2016
Intense. Amazing. Gripping. One-sit read.
August 24, 2025
A very well written commentary on how fanaticism and Religion can twist once great ideas and how we can set things right.
August 21, 2020
It started as it does every year -- at the citadel --
ALL HAIL THE BAT.
-- The ebony-winged cathedral of the BRUCE.
December 21 is the longest night of the year... Night of the chase and the challenge. Night of bloody cleansing when the great villains are resurrected -- only to be slain by the bat. World without end. Amen.
A perfect Elseworlds story. Maniac Batman is the eternal leader of the religious cult, kept alive by the wonders of biotechnology. Each year the villains of the past are mysteriously resurrected and set free on the Cyber-Gotham to wreak havoc and be ritually murdered either by the Bat or by the crowd. The ones that manage to do that, get into a combat with the Bat for the chance to become the next one. Dammit, DC, why haven't you made it into an animation movie yet?
ALL HAIL THE BAT.
-- The ebony-winged cathedral of the BRUCE.
December 21 is the longest night of the year... Night of the chase and the challenge. Night of bloody cleansing when the great villains are resurrected -- only to be slain by the bat. World without end. Amen.
A perfect Elseworlds story. Maniac Batman is the eternal leader of the religious cult, kept alive by the wonders of biotechnology. Each year the villains of the past are mysteriously resurrected and set free on the Cyber-Gotham to wreak havoc and be ritually murdered either by the Bat or by the crowd. The ones that manage to do that, get into a combat with the Bat for the chance to become the next one. Dammit, DC, why haven't you made it into an animation movie yet?
February 5, 2023
I loved this comic 🤪!!!
Sure it's a hot mess, at points nonsensical, completely cray cray, and yet sooo gloriously bad it becomes good. It's only 50 pages so I won't spoil it for y'all but imagine a Dystopian future with a perverted Batman Beyond, crossed with a mix of the Running Man and Death Race 2000...
I, Joker is either genius or completly mad. Either way it's an appropriate tribute to it's source material.
Sure it's a hot mess, at points nonsensical, completely cray cray, and yet sooo gloriously bad it becomes good. It's only 50 pages so I won't spoil it for y'all but imagine a Dystopian future with a perverted Batman Beyond, crossed with a mix of the Running Man and Death Race 2000...
I, Joker is either genius or completly mad. Either way it's an appropriate tribute to it's source material.
June 22, 2025
Un entretenido divertimento. Historias locas que ponen al Joker en el epicentro. La primera narrativa plantea un escenario interesante en el que el encontramos a Batman como una especie de dictador divino de una sociedad podrida con un Joker escapando porque va a ser sacrificado. El tono de este trabajo mola bastante. No obstante, lo que más ha suscitado mi interés ha sido ese segundo arco argumental en un contexto televisivo corrupto, inhumano e implacable. Una sátira más que interesante.
July 31, 2020
Really dark elseworlds story, I think it fits well as a distant AU finale to the Dark Knight Returns, because of its similar tone and art reminiscent of early Frank Miller. The art is really interesting, while not technically amazing it feels alive and in motion. I recommend this, even if it’s conclusion is a bit rushed.
April 6, 2025
It’s short and sweet. I like the idea that the legend of Batman becomes the key focus of a cult that overrides all of Gotham, and that Batman in this case is the villain. It’s a fun story. Maybe it’s too short and could use some fleshing out.
May 4, 2018
Awful. Couldn't even finish it. Batman is legit torturing people. Wtf?
August 29, 2018
Wasn't impressed. Didn't like it at all.
October 27, 2018
De los elseworlds de Batman más extravagantes, estrambóticos y estrafalarios jamás hechos. Una joyita freak del caballero oscuro
September 8, 2019
i love elseworlds stories -- this one was OTT and wonderful
January 29, 2020
Batman meets “The Running Man.” A fun, weird Elseworlds read. I miss Elseworlds (even though DC is kind of still doing it with their Black Label titles).
November 26, 2022
Crazy and fun. Would love to see it animated by Madhouse who did Redline with an expanded villain roster.
September 6, 2024
2024 - Year of The Bat (366 Days of Batman)
Day 250: I honestly have no idea what I just read. Very strange.
Day 250: I honestly have no idea what I just read. Very strange.
December 24, 2024
In this send up of "The Running Man" set within a futuristic alternate universe, Batman is a nefarious agent of the state that conducts televised ritual killings of undesirables in order to satisfy the voyeuristic bloodlust of Gotham's disillusioned populous. The Joker serves as an improperly sentenced hero who must evade traps set by the bat to earn his freedom while his actions help to expose the injustices of those in power.
As someone who loves cynical techno-dystopias with a bit of humor and action this was a lot of fun. It's nothing more than a fun romp but the role reversal of Batman and the Joker among a Dredd like Gotham setting was compelling to me and the narrative, while thin, was just serviceable enough to drive the action forward.
As someone who loves cynical techno-dystopias with a bit of humor and action this was a lot of fun. It's nothing more than a fun romp but the role reversal of Batman and the Joker among a Dredd like Gotham setting was compelling to me and the narrative, while thin, was just serviceable enough to drive the action forward.
September 13, 2012
Этот комикс не о том Бэтмене, которого вы знаете. Более того - это даже не назвать комиксом о Бэтмене. События тут разворачиваются в безумной альтернативной вселенной, где Бэтмена считают мессией и чуть ли не богом, а сам человек летучая мышь карает своих старых врагов, убивая их, а не сажая в тюрьму. Мрачная атмосфера царит на улицах этого города, хотя и практически все довольны своим богом, все, кроме загнанных преступников. Сам темный рыцарь показан в этом томе не с лучшей стороны. Он тут скорее играет роль злодея, а не героя. Безумный злодей из уст которого льется бред. Той же участи удостоились и многие другие потрясающие герои, над которыми просто надругались в этом комиксе.
Вся история максимально пропиатана каким то глупым фантастическим бредом, благодаря чему история напоминает какой то третийсортный треш. Тут изменили практически всю суть комиксов DC до неузнаваемости, очень многое изуродовали, плюс ко всему: сам рисунок тут одури ужасный. Этот комикс не стоит читать никому. Это просто какой то невероятный, шизофренический бред.
Вся история максимально пропиатана каким то глупым фантастическим бредом, благодаря чему история напоминает какой то третийсортный треш. Тут изменили практически всю суть комиксов DC до неузнаваемости, очень многое изуродовали, плюс ко всему: сам рисунок тут одури ужасный. Этот комикс не стоит читать никому. Это просто какой то невероятный, шизофренический бред.
August 24, 2013
The art is good, but I really didn't like the story, which is similar to the movie "The Running Man" with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Set in the future, where a leader of a Batman cult rules Gotham as a god and for religious reasons and crowd entertainment fights people surgically altered to look like Batman's villains, including the Joker. I can't really recommend this, unless you're interested Batman's Elseworlds stories, but even then there are better stories than this one.
January 4, 2016
It's not a bad option if you're in the mood for something unusual. The art is not bad, but it is not really my style. It had a few of those moments that you have to spend some time looking at a panel to be able to tell what is happening in it. The story could be really interesting, but it is incomplete. More world building would have been better. It is so short that you only get a few glimpses of what is happening.
March 27, 2016
It made a heap more sense once I read the blurb and got the concept and it ended up being a unexpectedly powerful take on the idea that the batman creates the joker- in this case how does the bat and authority create the joker. It felt a lot like it was set in the dark knight future, and although not attempting the same take on batman as miller, it used the violent artwork in a similarly effective way.
June 19, 2015
Personally I thought that I, Joker was a good read and a good story.
It took you into a future that could happen in the obsessed DC universe. I thought it took you into a place that had been so twisted by the legend of batman people will follow anybody in a batman suit.
All together I thought it was a good story.
It took you into a future that could happen in the obsessed DC universe. I thought it took you into a place that had been so twisted by the legend of batman people will follow anybody in a batman suit.
All together I thought it was a good story.
June 4, 2024
I thought I wasn't going to like this one, but this Elseworld is really fascinating: a future world where The Batman is the villain (albeit it's not Bruce Wayne) and our hero is not the Joker (hard to explain 🤣). One story that's worth reading.
I had to buy this on ebay as neither my local library or Marina had it in stock.
I had to buy this on ebay as neither my local library or Marina had it in stock.
April 7, 2012
I liked the concept but the story is so messy and it barely explains something of how the world ended up like that.
I think that with some development, the story could had been a really good one, but not like it's written.
I think that with some development, the story could had been a really good one, but not like it's written.
April 15, 2012
The concept was absolutely brilliant but unfortunately both the execution and artwork were sloppy. This graphic novel could have done with being twice as long, I'd love to know the build-up to this fanatical world.
3.5 Stars.
3.5 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews