What happened to the Joker Mini?

[mosdef]

Does anyone know what happened to this Joker mini that Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo were going to do. It was announced sometime last year but I haven't heard anything about it since then.

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/rage/images/060604/jokercover.jpg

http://www.newsaramablog.com/2006/06/page/4/?p=1389

[brundlefly]

Man, I was stoked for this mini after the awesomeness that was Azzarello & Bermejo's LEX LUTHOR: MAN OF STEEL. I really hope this hasn't been shelved in favor of the upcoming Joker "origin" by that HEROES writer over in BATMAN: CONFIDENTIAL. Because the preview for that story looks dreadful.

[The Zapper]

the upcoming Joker "origin" by that HEROES writer over in BATMAN: CONFIDENTIAL.

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

[brundlefly]

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Yeah. That was my initial reaction, too.

I thumbed through the first issue of that CONFIDENTIAL Joker storyarc yesterday and it lived down to expectations. Ugh.

Found an update on the Azz/Bermejo Joker mini:

Dated May 23, 2007
http://www.batman-on-film.com/lee-bermejo_interview-2.html

"I've been hard at work for some time on this Joker graphic novel with Brian Azzarello. It's pretty big and meaty so it's taking forever but it's a dream job and I'm loving every minute of it. I've also been doing monthly covers for HELLBLAZER (another dream job for me) and some other cover jobs here and there.

The Joker project is basically an out of continuity story about The Joker and his relationship with the rest of the criminal underworld of Gotham. It's somewhat like the Lex Luthor story we did, but this one is different in the fact that the narrator isn't The Joker.

Brian and I are hoping we can do a fresh take on the character. I gotta say, I've NEVER read a Joker like this before. Brian is really on to something in the way he's characterized the villain. I feel like there has been a bit of a lull lately in the way he's been written. I think what Grant Morrisson did was so influential that it seems like that's The Joker we've been getting for the past few year. You know, the one that calls Batman “darling” and is always very... umm.... how can I say it... “sexually mysterious. “

In our book he's got a really different but really interesting personality. He's a lot of things at the same time Psycho, human, vicious, sensitive, hilarious, pitiable, sick -- all while still having a really clear sense of purpose. Plus, there will be almost all the major Batman villains in the book as well. It's just a blast to be drawing all the bad guys and getting to put my own spin on them visually."

[OverMaster]

In our book he's got a really different but really interesting personality. He's a lot of things at the same time Psycho, human, vicious, sensitive, hilarious, pitiable, sick -- all while still having a really clear sense of purpose. Plus, there will be almost all the major Batman villains in the book as well. It's just a blast to be drawing all the bad guys and getting to put my own spin on them visually."[/I]

Interesting. It's not often we get to see Joker as anything but a flat killing machine nowadays, and it takes a lot of talent to show him having any sort of human side without him losing his villainous bite, but I'll still trust Azzarello on this.