Tangent Comics: The Joker

Laugh 'till it hurts!

Released: 1997

Writer: Karl Kesel

Pencils: Matt Haley

Inks: Tom Simmons

Colours: Moose Bauman

This is an entry from the Tangent Universe - while not all of their issue hit the mark this Joker is one that I've always been a fan of.

It takes place in New Atlantis - 35 years after a nuclear exchange destroyed the original Atlanta and we're introduced to a police officer named Keel who is fairly new to town but recognises the colourful Joker when she appears.

The first part is mostly his monologue but the scene stealing is all courtesy of the Joker - who is very reminiscent of Harley Quinn but with a more political focus.

Joker is funny enough, but Keel's deadpan internal voice is hilarious too, noting that they didn't cover this sort of thing in the academy, and when Doll Man (AKA Scarface) is apprehended after being captured by Joker, he thinks that getting a statement won't be an issue but getting a word in edgewise could be.

This Joker is more vigilante than outright villain and there are constant references to the Cuban Missile Crisis and protest rallies.











There are a lot of similarities between this Joker and the one we're more familiar with though, and one of them is this clever reference to the multiple origin stories, including one that seems like a certain Bat character....

Keel and his partner follow the trail from Doll Man's capture across to an E-magazine called World's Finest, meeting Lori Lemaris who bears a bit of a resemblance to Lois Lane. The company is even going to offer more frequent downloads called the Daily Planet!

Outside, they come across the Joker again, and Keel is overwhelmed with continuity questions and also existential questions like the ever popular "why me??"

The cops (including the Rock and Captain Carrot) discuss how much they've been sassed by the Joker and how fast she gets around town to do said sassing.


   There are more sightings of Joker at the Higher Atlantis University so they go there and find nothing but further sass from the students.

Included in the scene is a character called Mary Marvel - who in turn cleverly sasses a punk girl called Harley Quinn (real name Heather)

Meanwhile the Joker appears elsewhere downtown at a rally of people in Joker facepaint led by a Brother Power. She throws a spanner in the works by making fun of the message 'she' is preparing to give the city by way of these protesters.

Brother Power thinks she's testing them, and rouses the crowd to attack Keel - the symbol of the oppressive and incompetent authorities. Joker acts quickly and takes down the Brother, leading the crowd on a wild goose chase.



Keel follows when the rally attendees baulk at the idea - and hey, Keel seems to be developing his previously unheard of sense of humour! He trails Joker into the pits of the city and is knocked out.

He awakens in a surreal version of the city he's in but on the day the Missile Crisis went horribly wrong. He's first in the command centre where he refuses to  launch the missiles and he runs out into the sun and humid air, realising something is terribly wrong and tries to warn everyone but only encounters people with Joker's visage, smiling blissfully as they are about to receive a horrifying 'Miami Sunburn' in the absolute worst way.

He awakes in a virtual reality centre and meets Madam Xanadu.

Something about this version of Xanadu reminds me of Cascade from the Sovereign Seven.

It's mostly the metallic looking outfit with the neck piece and head gear, and the same hair style (sans Cascade's long plait).

It's also funny that she's one of the richest people in the city, and kind of reminds me of Batman too, especially since she's got a servant called Alfred.

Keel questions Xanadu as to where Joker is but receives no real answer but that's okay because he's just remembered what was bugging him about the set of stairs he was on before Joker knocked him out - the survivor's memorial.





When Keel encounters Joker in the memorial, he realises why she's so fixated on him and also reveals enough truths about her to finally wipe the smile off her painted face.

It's all very emotional and cathartic until an alternate version of Big Barda who's a bit ticked that her main squeeze has been locked up (Doll Man, apparently. In this universe, she's moved on from Miracle Man and went on a quest to find someone even shorter) and wants to bring the pain.

Joker taunts her by calling her Barbie - which she hates, before blinding her and telling Keel to run for it.
Again more of Keel's hilarious commentary.

'Barda hits the stairs at about 4.7 on the Richter scale.'
'I decide my best option is to panic.'

Of course, Joker hasn't abandoned him but has skipped ahead to set up her punch line.

John Keel thinks he understands her at one stage but then realises that he don't get it at all.

He does learn a key lesson in the secret to good comedy though.

It's all in the timing!

 Bit of a poignant ending. We get a further glimpse into who Joker is or may be trying to be or honour in her quest for justice and we see John Keel finally having a laugh.

By contrast, while Keel's been able to release some of his own built up tension, Joker herself is last shown in a solemn, darkened panel in a bit of contemplation.








So there you have it. The Tangent universe is meant to be a bit different to Elseworlds. Elseworlds being Batman characters in different universes or settings and Tangent being a series where the characters are really only similar in name only. They try to build up an entirely different character that has no ties to the other DC properties but in their name.

Someone like the Joker for example, can be a funny vigilante instead of a clownish mass murderer and can in later issues work with the good guys instead of just setting elaborate death traps.

If you get a chance, check these comics out because they're well worth a read.
Especially if you're like me and enjoy stories involving alternate tales of real world crisis's that are handled sensitively enough but leave room for humour and a smart message.