Review: "Heads or Tails," the Two-Face segment from Walt Simonson's "The Judas Coin" (2012)

[about_faces]

Four months have passed since the release of Walt Simonson's excellent new graphic novel, The Judas Coin, so I think it's finally time for me to examine the story's Two-Face segment, Heads or Tails, in full, exhaustive, spoilery, scan-heavy detail.

Comments

[lego_joker]

Honest to God, this is the most terrifying Two-Face I've ever seen. Screw "realism".

I admit, I was kind of underwhelmed - this story looks decidedly low-stakes, and pretty short, to boot. "The Shiv" also came across as one of those Hush-esque OCs that we're supposed to instantly accept as a super-badass power on Gotham's criminal scene. The usage of the newspaper clippings is pretty sweet, though, and the Bruce/Harvey interaction was a real kick to the gut.

Also, that panel of Batman right after Harvey's "I'm sorry"? Someone make a(n) icon or meme out of that, STAT!

And now for some things that have absolutely nothing to do with this story:

I've recently been sucked onto the "Mark Hamill for TKJ adaptation" bandwagon - though I really, really hope that such an adaptation won't be layered with the bland-ass animesque art that's so popular nowadays. The animation from those old Zeller Batman commercials would be the way to go - though, obviously, with better production values.

I've also come up with the dream of having EVERY character in from the comic (aside from Batman, Barbara, and Joker's (imaginary?) wife) be voiced by someone who's played the Joker in the past. Let's see... there's Kevin Michael Richardson, Jeff Bennett, Richard Epcar, Brent Spiner, Steve Blum, Corey Burton, John DiMaggio, and Michael Emerson.

(Jack Nicholson, obviously, is out of the question. It would jar with the rest, with him being the only live-action Joker; but more than that, the price tag would be beyond human comprehension.)

The corresponding character line-up would be... Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Guy Who Sold the Carnival to the Joker, Flashback Mobster #1, Flashback Mobster #2, Flashback Factory Guard, the three creepy dwarf things... anyone else?

Which character would correspond with who, though, I'll leave to someone older and wiser to figure out. It would be a very nice meta-reference to the idea that maybe, just maybe, the entire story is taking place in the Joker's head...

The TLH mass review has also started re-rearing its persistent head in my brain as of late. I know that the Hefner household is insanely busy right now, but can I just take a quick inventory of who's interested? If there aren't enough, I promise I'll give up on the idea.

And one last thing... I'll just save the Guest Post thing for next Christmas. It'll be a nice surprise for all.

Cheers!

[psychopathicus]

Personally, Shiv just struck me as a garden-variety crime boss, not a supercrook. After all, she doesn't do anything particularly remarkable; someone new takes over the Gotham rackets every year or so.

[about_faces]

I admit, I was kind of underwhelmed - this story looks decidedly low-stakes, and pretty short, to boot.

Well, yeah, what did you expect? It's one of six short stories from a hundred-or-so page graphic novel. If you ever get the chance to read it in full, go in expecting a Batman: Black and White story, that kinda thing.

As for the all-Joker cast, it could certainly work, and it would help give validity to the existence of such an adaptation, but I'm not sure who would be who. Except for Hamill, I can totally already hear him as the dwarfs. Or are they midgets? Eh, little people. Maybe Hamill should actually be Batman in this one, if he could pull it off! What better way to show how these characters are mirrored than by having the definitive Joker play Batman? As for Barbara and the wife, how about Arleen Sorkin, Tara Strong, and/or Hynden Walch? If you're gonna have this all play with the subtext of it being just in the Joker's head, then go all the way with the metaness!