When I picked up Batman Confidential Issue 10 I was very skeptical with DC retelling the first meeting between Batman and the Joker. Issue 10 also was not the greatest issue in my mind. Michael Green is on writing duties for this issue and I really didn’t have high hopes for the book after the last issue. But this time around the characters all seemed more Batman Universe oriented and I felt the issue as a whole was written very well.

The Joker after his meeting with Batman has become obsessed with the dark night. He goes on a rampage of murder and mayhem to try and get Bruce’s attention. We are first treated to Mr. J doing his patented blimp explosion high above the sky. Which had a different twist in this issue, he rained down not only Joker gas to make everyone smile but shards of glass with his image on it. A very fitting trick for the Joker, and something that has been missing from the character for a long time. After this plan does not garner attention from Batman, Joker moves into his next plan of being a clown at a kid’s party and this shows us exactly how devious the Joker can be as he even kills little children just to get Bruce’s attention. Meanwhile in the blimp attack one of Bruce’s friends were hurt and he feels it was his fault and won’t leave her side until she wakes up. He blames himself for creating the Joker and will not be drawn into a fight with him until his friend wakes up. This infuriates Alfred as he has seen Bruce live through a lot in his life. He tells Bruce that he has always been proud of him but at this moment in his life he is not proud of what Bruce has become. He believes that Batman is needed and without Batman the killing will not stop by the Joker. At that moment the Bat signal goes up and Bruce realizes that he needs to be Batman in order to stop this mess that he feels he started. And he heads out to find out what commissioner Gordan has for him. When Bruce gets there he sees that it’s the Joker who has summoned Batman and this sets up the cliff hanger of next issue we get our first battle between the two icons of DC Comics.

Denys Cowan is on art duties again, and the artwork is the reason I didn’t give this book 5 stars. It is scratchy and more or an independent style of drawing that suited for a mainstream comic. I feel it hurts the book more than it helps and if the right artist had been involved this storyline could have been even greater than it is.