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The Joker, the world's most psychotic killer has been granted
parole. But after he commits a heinous crime, the madman cleverly
frames Batman in the court of public opinion. While the media
hover like vultures, ready to convict before all the facts
are in, the world's greatest detective is determined to clear
his name by proving the Joker's guilt. But his quest is made
even more difficult when the clown prince of crime threatens
someone from Bruce Wayne's past - bringing back tormented
memories that Batman has kept hidden for years. Will Batman
be able to discover the Joker's secret plans, or will he be
destroyed by his own demons?...
Secrets
sees the Joker yet again released into an unsuspecting
world. This time he hatches perhaps his most damaged plan
yet - to frame Batman for murder and for 'victimising' him,
with the help of a blackmailed journalist and DA-turned-bad
Terry Ammons. But what secrets are they hiding? And what darkest
of secrets still haunts Batman?
This
collection pits the Dark Knight against the Joker - all under
the unforgiving eye of the media. Their confrontation is caught
on film, and Gotham City's protector appears to pummel his
archenemy without mercy. The Joker uses this to frame Batman
in the court of public opinion while the media hover like
vultures, ready to convict before all the facts are in.
When
you break it down, Secrets is a pretty shallow offering.
There's nothing here that hasn't been done before, and much
better. It's another "Batman goes head to head with the
Joker" affair. The execution is pretty simplistic and
the conclusion is predictable. The fact that Sam Keith mucks
about with the narrative (possibly in a vain attempt to hide
the fact that there's not much story) ends up feeling a little
sloppy and Bruce Wayne's ghastly secret is a little laughable.
Was Keith attempting to give us a Citizen Kane moment,
I wonder?
There
are a few too many references to Alan Moore's The Killing
Joke - almost as if Keith's not really a Batman fan at
all and has only read the one book. Keith's
art is pretty impressive though (just ignore the fact that
he's nicked one image of the Joker from Grant Morrison's Arkham
Asylum).
At
the end of the day this is a collection that will have fans
divided. While I didn't much care for it, I'm sure that to
some this will be the collection they cherish. For me, though,
it was decidedly average.
Nick
Smithson
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