Simone Bianchi's cover sans titles and lettering

As Detective Comics #826 (“Slayride”) opens Robin, once the hunter, is now being hunted by gun-dealing gang bangers.  He takes refuge in a Good Samaritan’s car and discovers that the passerby who came to his rescue is the Joker.  Now, bound and gag, Robin is an unwilling witness to Joker’s joyride from hell.

THE LOWDOWN:  Maybe I shouldn’t call Paul Dini, an Emmy-winning TV writer and member of the writing staff of the smash TV hit, “Lost,” overrated, but when it comes to writing comics, he’s too hit or miss to be such an acclaimed darling.  Let’s face it: those DC treasury comics he did with Alex Ross are good (to the extent they actually are good) because of Ross.

The story here is hackwork, something practically any professional comic book writer could have hacked out in a day.  That includes those writers from the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, who can no longer get a job writing comics.  In fact, this little story, which is just another spin on the Joker-as-homicidal-maniac, is practically fan fiction.  Owww-weee!  Let’s see just how wacky murderous the Joker can be.

FOR READERS OF: Detective Comics #826 is for collectors who want a complete run of one kind or another.

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