CBR recently sat down with DC’s Geoff Johns to discuss a range of topics from the recently announced Star-Girl live action series to his ongoing work on Doomsday Clock.
One of the more interesting topics discussed was Johns upcoming project: Three Jokers, a three-issue miniseries to be released under DC’s new Black Label imprint.
The Black Label imprint will showcase more “edgy” story lines which will exist outside of the ongoing DC Universe continuity. This may not always be the case however as Black Label has been likened to stories such as The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns stories which originally were not intended to exist in continuity, but overtime have become so popular they find themselves merged into the larger picture.
When Johns was asked if Three Jokers fits into the mold of Killing Joke and Dark Knight Returns in terms of continuity, Johns stated outright “For [Jason Fabok] and I, this is continuity”
“Three Jokers is an in-continuity story. It really focuses on Bruce, Barbara and Jason and the pain that the Joker’s inflicted on them as individuals. It’s a mystery about the three Jokers operating at the same time and what that means. It’s an exploration on healing and pain and healing right versus healing wrong. I think there’s a lot of different ways to heal […] Since The Killing Joke was published, there’s been so much expansion in the Batfamily and so much that’s happened, so [Fabok] and I really wanted too — If we’re going to tell a Batman story and a Joker story, we decided we needed to tell the best most emotional story we could possibly tell. It’s going to change their relationship with the Joker and how you see the Joker forever.”
When asked whether the continuity aspect of Three Jokers would have any after effects on the larger Rebirth DCU or remain focussed more on Batman’s world, Johns confirmed it would be the latter.
“It’s going to be introspective, sure, but I think in a way that changes these characters emotionally […] but we’re really, [Fabok] and I are really just focused on these three issues and this story.”
The first of Three Jokers’ fortyeight page prestige format issues is set to hit shelves later this year.