Nope, just very formulaic, by-the-numbers, forgettable. The Joker kills some people. The Joker tells some jokes. The Joker does both, simultaneously. The Joker is defeated, gets away in the end. The only innovation is that he does it in a car, wearing a Santa hat at Christmas. What was interesting and intelligent about the treatment of the Joker by Morrison, as well as Christopher Nolan and the Azarello/Bermejo OGN, is that all of them get right the aspect of the character that that essay you link to gets wrong. The Joker is not funny. The Joker is not meant to entertain anyone but himself. The things he does are horrible, horrible things, and he does them not for an audience but entirely for his own amusement, while we - the reader - look on with horror. An affable, cheery clown who builds giant deathtraps and rides a giant helicopter shaped like his own face doesn't a scary character make, especially in this age where crazed maniac killers haunt every medium.
Oh, please. Firstly, trying to absolve Dini of any blame at all due to it being a collaborative effort is just as bad as blaming him for the whole thing. I don't think he was entirely responsible for it, but he made a contribution to it as much as any of the other hacks - most especially in those cringe-worthy sections featuring Harley Quinn and Harley Robinson. Secondly, it is impossible to make an accurate guess about what is and is not editorially dictated unless it is mind-numbingly obvious, e.g. One More Day. To say 'It Was All Editorially Dictated' based on one anecdote by Mark Waid that might or might not be true is at the same level as claiming Michael Jackson's death was a tax-deductible coverup conspiracy.
Ah, then we have common ground. I was more referring to the gimmicky dualism wherein he kidnaps twins and demands $20,000; an exploration of the good/evil sides ala Morrison's Arkham Asylum would be nice. But I also like this because I want to see how Dent would go about trying to be Batman, how it expresses itself in the red/black pattern. It has potential.
Okay, you're right there. My issue is with Gotham City Sirens where a character clearly walks past the protagonists while arranging that Jervis be near a girl's school so that he could exercise his perverted lusts...and no-one does a thing about it, or even talks about it.
And, again, I'm complaining about GCS. Catwoman has no real place in the book other than that she's a woman that gets wanked over by fanboys and Dini likes her. Her motivation is that she's less self-confident due to a moron cutting out her heart. And this is the only reason? Not the myriad tragedies that have been dealt to her over and over and over during her entire existence as a character?