Punchline #1

It'd have been interesting to have read Punchline #1 in the wake of a Trump re-election but that's not reality. Instead, with President-elect Biden the reality, the comic is a clear exploration of the wake of the last four years and Trump's America. It also teases what those four years mean for the world as Punchline, much like Trump, has sold his brand to other countries. Punchline's "joke" is Trump's nationalism. They're both a cancer that threatens to engulf us, slowly killing society. Punchline #1 is one of the most intriguing comics to be released this year by the big two and shows that costumed superheroes can explore our society effectively. This is a comic that's not to be missed. Read Full Review

Tynion IV, Johns, and company do an impressive job of updating aspects of the hero/villain exploration of life in the amplified world of Gotham City. So much of the Batman/Joker dynamic has been pummeled to death. It's nice to see a fresh perspective on it. Between this and the work that Cecil Castellucci has done with Batgirl, there seems to be some refreshing life in a city that's been around since Bill Finger flipped through a New York City phone book and picked out a name for it back at the dawn of the 1940s.  Read Full Review

She might have started as a product of hype, but this issue indicates that she could wind up being the most important new Bat-villain in years"and that may be Tynion's legacy on this title. Read Full Review

As well done as the story is, the art from Mirka Andolfo is exactly what was needed to draw me in as a reader. Andolfo's style is amazing and the details as well as facial expressions and attention to character are visually engaging. This was a great looking issue from start to finish. Read Full Review

When all is said and done I am thoroughly impressed with what Punchline #1delivers. It provides a deep, dark look into a woman who has become obsessed with madness. It is at times uncomfortable, and at times disturbing. Perhaps mostly due to how easily people see tears and allow them to wash away what Punchline had a hand in doing. And how I cant shake the feeling their would be a lot of people that really could be manipulated so willingly. But, horror always hits best when it touches real life. And there is definitely a feeling of horror to be found here. Read Full Review

Punchline #1 does a lot right with trying to endear a new villain to us and I like the idea of her. She has every potential to be as terrifying as Joker is, but on a broader scale than Gotham City if she wanted, but her obsession with the Clown Prince of Crime hampers what could be a breakout role for herself. Tying her identity so close to such a prominent villain has a chance to overshadow her bright future, but James Tynion IV and whoever his team going forward with her will be has a chance to create a lasting character in Punchline. Read Full Review

Punchline #1 gives Gotham's newest villain the spotlight in a series that promises to have as many twists and turns as it does "WTF" moments. If you like podcasts, this one is for you. Read Full Review

Punchline #1 is a good setup issue that dives into Punchline's origins and motivations, but still enough to question her mentality. I appreciate the commentary she brings and how divisive she can be. Plus, getting to see Harper Row again is very exciting. Read Full Review

Tynion has fleshed out what will grow to become a strong presence in the DC Universe. Punchline's manipulation of both the system and the public proves that she can step out of the shadow of The Joker if she chooses. And based on her revelation to Leslie, that's what she fully intends on doing. The personal consequences her movement inflicts upon Bluebird's family will perhaps make a nemesis out of her moreso than Batman. Read Full Review

James Tynion, Sam Johns, and Mirka Andolfo deliver on all the potential that Punchline #1 had and more. The story not only provides us with the full origin of Punchline but also showcasing how she is a villain as dangers as Joker. In addition, this one-shot further sets the stage for where the Batman franchise will be when March 2021 rolls around. For Batman fans this is definitely a must-buy as we get more into where Gotham City is in the post-Joker War world. Read Full Review

Even though Tynion's job within this issue was to show just how far off the reservation Punchline has become, this issue fails to hit the mark with the overdone dialogue, excessive narration, and unneeded conversations that became a grudge. Read Full Review

This issue gave us more about this new and exciting character in a fun and unique way. Anyone interested in the current Batman run should pick it up. Read Full Review

Punchline's one-off story provides background for the character with great art but misses a great opportunity to tackle a societal topic. Read Full Review

While I found the story compelling, I wish it were a bit more exciting in its execution because the way it came off, even with the things that I enjoyed, is that it was a bit over-written, and reading excessive narration boxes throughout a book is a bit of a slog. Even with that though, I did enjoy this issue and loved the art in this book and look forward to diving in deeper with Punchline. Read Full Review

I am totally on the fence with this book. Whilst there are parts I like, there are more parts that I am uncertain about. I am also not particularly fond of DC's recent move to not supply an actual ending to this over sized issues, rather preferring to sow the seeds for next year. Read Full Review

Punchline is on the verge of becoming an overexposed character and its best if a few months before her next appearance. Read Full Review

Let's hope that whatever 2021 brings for the character delivers more than her premiere issue did, because as of right now, I hope the Gotham judiciary system finds her guilty and fries her. Read Full Review

Solid art and evocative writing lift this meandering prologue into an entertaining territory, but still leave the reader hungry for plot. Read Full Review

Point is, you can't copy a proven success. Punchline has no magic. I wish it did. Read Full Review

Punchline is definitely a James Tynion book. By that, I mean that it is a misguided, overwritten mess that continues to yell to readers that "Punchline is awesome," but we still haven't gotten anything to really support that argument. Alexis' origin as Punchline doesn't really hold-up, and the inclusion of Harper, Cullen, and Leslie Thompkins is" odd. I wanted to like this, and the premise itself is solid enough, but the execution leaves so much to be desired. Read Full Review

Punchline Special #1 may not be the origin story that readers expected but it's probably not one they'll be dying to see expanded on either. Read Full Review

Punchline's back story is horrifying, even in the context of Gotham City's caravan of horrors, but there's something that feels forced about the whole thing. Read Full Review

That its entire lead-in is buried in this one-shot that fails to justify itself is (as yet another Joker-got-away storyline) a massive headache. Read Full Review

NerdettesNewsStand

Nov 11, 2020

https://youtu.be/1RqfkuvG8Is

cincyfan

Nov 11, 2020

This was a fantastic book! It tells us more about punchline and her thought process. I am so intrigued by punchline I think she is on track to being one of the great villains in the bay books and has potential to go many different directions in the future all of which has potential to be great! Tynion is a fantastic writer one of my absolute favorite and he has created a fantastic new character!

c.oliv

Nov 13, 2020

SIMPLY PERFECT

M1sf1r3

Nov 10, 2020

Prelude: Well apparently DC decided to give us a Punchline one-shot for some reason with way too many variant covers. Makes me wonder which character is going to be thrusted onto us readers more? The Batman Who Laughs or Punchline. Anyway, let's get this over with. The Good: It's been a good while since we've seen Bluebird, feels good to have her back and looking to have more focus in 2021. I do like the podcast history and how Punchline's story started and continued. It's a very interesting direction for her character. The Bad: However, it's a very basic origin that really could've been guessed without this one-shot. Not a big fan of Harper and Cullen arguing with each other, especially with Cullen's points about Batman. I understand the story side of it, you need someone close-ish to the BatFam to support Punchline and Cullen fits that perfectly but it doesn't sit right with me. Conclusion: All in all, it's a decent enough story but the origin is very basic and cliché. It was the modern day scenes that made this enjoyable. more

EDiakota

Nov 18, 2020

NO ! No, dammit ! You're suppose to be laughing ! I said start laughing ! " - PUNCHELINE

雨人点雪

Nov 14, 2020

It's a little more entertaining than the boring Joker War, but not much convincing

Spacey Medicine

Nov 15, 2020

Honestly this was better than I expected, but I didn’t fully believe the story being told here.

Comics Code Authorities

Dec 12, 2020

The main impression I'm getting is that DC has big plans for another thing I'll likely pass on in 2021. Punchline is already wearing out her welcome by becoming yet another overused character that only will get less interesting as time passes. The end says "Continued in 2021." Well, not here, I doubt. They'll probably make a long slow maxi-series continuing this. I know little about Bluebird or her brother and what I do has led me to find them quite uninteresting and not worth following. This wasn't a bad book, but it paves the way for something I doubt I'll be following.

Nihilist

Nov 10, 2020

For all this hype regarding the titular character and her own solo book, her origin story is basically a simple tale of an edgy girl who started to watch PragerU and Breitbart, to inevitably lose her sanity. It's straight forward and simple, and alone wouldn't be a problem, but what makes this book fail to accomplish what tries to, is its lack of any actual story. I mean, yeah, okay, Punchline's genuine origin is revealed, but does it mean anthing in the larger scale, does it push the arc in any particular direction? I don't think so. Everything we've learned about her is just background - overall not bad, but ultimately pretty meaningless, since it doesn't flesh out anything established so far. It's just an extra layer worth of content you can skip and it won't make a difference. The rest of the book is dedicated to Harper Row and her brother Cullen, two of the most obnoxious and annoying additions to the Batman mythos from the infamous New-52 era, second only to the reinvented deadpoolesque non-blonde Harley Quinn. Honestly, they should have remained in the comic history's dumpster, never to be mentioned again. Like Lady Cop, New-52's Lobo or Shamrock. You know when's the time to bring Harper Row back from the depths of oblivion where she belongs? Never. Unless you want to kill her off for a cheap shock scene to pretend your comic has any stakes. Overall a really disappointing book with little to no actual plot going on, and characters you don't care about in the slightest. Clearly DC wanted to monetize on Punchline's newfound popularity and hype she generated in the community before the Joker War started. It feels more like an ad rather than a comic. more

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• TheKing

packtsardines - Nov 12, 2020

didn't expect to see someone talk about prageru on this site, but here we are lol

Batfan

Nov 10, 2020

This wasn’t as bad as what I thought it would be, but it still hasn’t convinced me Punchline is a character I want to read about anymore, even with all the pushing DC will be doing next year. I won’t be reading anything to do with the character and appreciate this comic for depicting her as she actually is. I recommend this to anyone who wants to get to know what the character’s about, she is not as cold or sadistic as DC made her out to be, rather she is someone who acts on emotion, kills mostly for the joker’s sake and has brainwashed herself into believing the joker is a figure who can show the world how corrupt it is, with her help. The back and forth of the past and present was ok, sometimes punchline’s podcast speech es had way too much dialogue I found myself really not caring. The highlight of the book was [spoiler] the kiss. The idea of a radicalised character sounds interesting, but her lack of a likeable personality really makes me wish they took her in another direction, maybe as a character who isn’t obsessed with the joker like his ex, since she’s supposed to be the ‘anti-harley’. more

Hellblazer

Nov 10, 2020

PUNCHLINE is basically a teenage version of Harley Quinn(a tab crazier though) who idolise anarchy. The good part of the story was definitely her blogs which gave a comprehensible insight on how she became enamoured with the Joker and above-all, that part of characterisation came in the first issue itself. However that was it as the story did not really got me interested. We could even find that they copied ideas from THE JOKER movie and simply replaced Arthur Fleck's character with Punchline especially at the part where she narrates how her voice reached the world to tell the joke, how society could not get the joke and also the clown mask. In the end, PUNCHLINE just seems to be another useless series from DC and a pale teenage boring ver sion of Harley. more

Psycamorean

Nov 12, 2020

I guess this idea that people are being radicalized to fringe ideologies is something that writers are going to be pumping out in the shadow of things like Trump, the alt-right, and... Pffft, Tankies, I guess. It's an interesting idea, and I think one that has potential, but this iteration of it isn't very interesting. I don't think it even captures the important aspects of how someone becomes indoctrinated. It's just the barest form of that, which I guess is realistic enough for the DC universe. Using the Joker as an analogous figure doesn't really work. You need someone who actually has a personality that people would latch onto. Joker isn't that. I don't know anything about Harper Row and her brother, but I have a friend who liked them b ack in the New 52... Gotta say, I don't really see why. Maybe they were written poorly, as with the rest of the issue. more

SenpaifenixJäger

Nov 16, 2020

A very common, simple story that I would accept if DC weren't canceling so many numbers to give rise to unattractive themes and characters and Puncheline is a very simple character.