Released back in 2008, 3-issue miniseries Batman Cacophony from writer Kevin Smith and Walt Flanagan certainly brought the noise — but are the echoes still being heard today?
While I was digging through a second-hand bookshop the other day, I came across Batman: Cacophony for the bargain price of £0.50. The trade paperback was beaten up. There were pages falling out. But for that price, you simply cannot go wrong right? Especially since, while I’d heard of Cacophony, I had never actually read it. When it comes to Cacophony, I know it’s a comic that’s inherently controversial — look no further than comments on Reddit. But as always, I wanted to judge it myself.
I read the entire 3-issue series in one sitting. Overall, I had fun with it, but I was not blown away. At its core, Smith weaves together a narrative that focuses on the conflict between Batman and the Joker. It tries to place mysterious killer Onomatopoeia as the looming presence throughout, who’s determined to kill Batman. But let’s not get this mixed up. It is absolutely a Batman-Joker saga. As the title cacophony suggests, there’s a scattering of other villains, including Deadshot, Maxie Zeus and Victor Zsasz. Zeus undoubtedly has the most story out of these three, after he utilises Joker’s ‘Chuckles’ poison, diluting it, mixing it with Ecstasy, and spreading it around Gotham.
The most commendable element of this graphic novel is not the action, nor is it the mystery. In fact, compared to other stories, this is not a tightly-woven mystery. However, I was impressed by how Smith examines the moral and philosophical implications of Batman’s core code. He does not, and will not kill. He ardently sticks to this moral code even in the face of Commissioner Gordon, who actually implores him to let a bleeding-out Joker die. The way Smith writes this is incredibly interesting and thought-provoking.
Cacophony explores the idea of Joker not being able to exist without Batman. This is not an original concept, far from it. And I think that Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, which came out around the same time as Cacophony, delved into the Batman-Joker dynamic on a deeper level.
Overall, Batman: Cacophony is a solid graphic novel. It brings good action, invites the reader to think, and has a totally satisfactory ending. It’s a comic that promises noise. It’s rowdy, but not resounding.
Pick up a copy of Batman: Cacophony here.
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