Cover: Guillem March

Batman #96

Oct 2020 · DC · 3.99 USD

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“The Joker War Part Two”

★ 1st appearance — Clownhunter

About this Issue

Batman #96 is the true first appearance of Clownhunter (Bao Pham), a lo-fi, lethally willing street vigilante who represented a deliberate expansion of the Bat-mythos beyond the traditional Arkham rogues and Bat-Family orbit. Writer James Tynion IV designed him as the ground-level conscience of the 'Joker War' crossover — the face of ordinary Gothamites crushed between two titans — giving the event a street-level emotional anchor that distinguished it from prior city-siege storylines. The issue also marks the narrative pivot of 'Joker War' where the Joker's total conquest of Gotham is made viscerally real: Batman wakes after three days unconscious to a city he no longer recognizes, with the Monarch Theater — site of his parents' murder — weaponized against his psyche. Together with Clownhunter's debut, that sequence locked in Tynion and Jorge Jiménez's vision of a 'bold new Gotham City' that would reshape the Batman title's supporting cast for years.

In "The Joker War Part Two," Batman, drenched in Punchline’s toxin, spirals through a fractured vision of hope that twists into something far darker. As Gotham burns under the chaos of Joker’s gangs, Harley Quinn fights to pull him back from the brink—just as the Joker himself issues a chilling invitation to a twisted premiere at the Monarch Theater, now his own bloody stage. Written by James Tynion IV and brought to life with striking precision by Jorge Jiménez, this issue pulses with dread and defiance, while Guillem March’s cover captures the eerie spectacle of the Joker’s grand design.

writer James Tynion IV · artist, inker Jorge Jiménez · colorist Tomeu Morey · letterer Clayton Cowles · cover Guillem March

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $3

CGC 9.8 · 1763 in census $28

CGC 9.6 · 63 in census $20

CGC 9.4 · 14 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 5 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 1 in census $20

CGC 8.5 · 2 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The issue was written by James Tynion IV with interior art by Jorge Jiménez, colored by Tomeu Morey, and lettered by Clayton Cowles, under editors Ben Abernathy (editor) and Dave Wielgosz (associate editor). Clownhunter was co-created by Tynion and Jiménez: Tynion had originally reserved the name 'Clownhunter' for a post-Joker War story that was later abandoned, and when he recognized that 'Joker War' lacked a ground-level POV character, he repurposed the concept, wrote a quick scene into issue #96, and then collaboratively fleshed out the full character design and background with Jiménez before announcing him publicly via his newsletter in March 2020. The cover (Cover A) was painted by Guillem March; a 1:25 retailer incentive variant by Jiménez depicted Clownhunter's design and became the primary collectible variant associated with his debut.

Trivia · 8 facts

First full appearance of Clownhunter (Bao Pham) — confirmed by Tynion himself as a '100% first appearance, no minor appearances in the background of a previous issue.'
Serves as Part Two of the 'Joker War' storyline, running through Batman (Vol. 3) #95–100 (2020); the issue was published on August 4, 2020, with a cover date of October 2020.
Written by James Tynion IV; interior art by Jorge Jiménez; cover art by Guillem March; colors by Tomeu Morey; letters by Clayton Cowles.
Clownhunter's weapon of choice — a baseball bat with a Batarang hammered into the top — is introduced here; the character's backstory (parents killed by the Joker, saved as a child by Batman) is established in this issue.
The story features Batman still incapacitated by Punchline's modified Joker Toxin from Batman #95; he wakes after three days unconscious under Harley Quinn's care, and the issue explicitly confirms Harley survived Punchline's attack.
The Joker's psychological trap — a restored Monarch Theater (Crime Alley) filled with reanimated corpses of his Gotham victims, used to torment Bruce Wayne about his parents' deaths — is set up and partially revealed in this issue.
Three covers were published: Cover A (Guillem March), Cover B (Francesco Mattina cardstock variant), and a 1:25 retailer incentive cardstock variant by Jorge Jiménez featuring Clownhunter's character design.
The issue is collected in Batman Vol. 2: The Joker War (DC, 2021, ISBN 978-1779507907, collecting Batman #95–100) and in the expanded The Joker War Saga hardcover (collecting Batman #95–100 plus tie-ins from Batgirl, Red Hood: Outlaw, Nightwing, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Detective Comics, and the Joker War Zone special).