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Batman: The Killing Joke | |||||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: DC Comics Catalog: Book Release date: 2008-03-19 Media: Hardcover Number of pages: 64 Ean: 9781401216672 Book Isbn: 1401216676  Tip: compare prices with similar booksAuthors:
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 Written on November 17, 2008 Summary: A bit overpriced I payed for it of course, but I still find it be a bit overpriced. It's one of the greatest Joker tales ever told, and an important one for any collector to have. Yet, for the sheer depth of the story arch and the amount that I was charged... It was just a bit pricey.  Written on November 11, 2008 Summary: Alan Moore Does it Right, and Bolland Art Revision is Amazing The Killing Joke was a comic spawned shortly after the work of Frank Miller, and is probably the comic that established The Joker as one of the most important fictional villains of the 20th century. Batman had become a well thought out, complex character in recent years, primarily due to the work of skilled writer Frank Miller. Batman had been brought into a gritty, modern world of comic books, but I always felt that Miller's The Dark Knight Returns failed to bring the antagonistic Joker into a new light...well it did, but not in the way the character was meant to be. Alan Moore, with the help of Brian Bolland's stunning artwork helped bring to life what is widely accepted as today's standard for the famous Harlequin of Hate. He's crazy, he kills people simply for his own twisted sense of humor, but always has a very zany, cartoonish attitude, which I felt was lacking in Miller's interpretation, where Joker seemed much too serious in appearance, dialogue, and action. The Joker presented in this graphic novel truly is a fiendish jester of fate, who for the most part is truly frightening, but never really acts like anything more than a loon. Bolland's art is very helpful in this aspect, not only bringing the Joker's exaggerated, skeletal body to life, but making it perhaps the most anatomically correct Joker ever seen, while still following the style of the 1970s Joker appearances. The story revolves around the long struggle between Batman and his foe, and their never ending conflict. Joker, having escaped from Arkham Asylum (again), has decided to prove that one bad day can transform any sane man into a monster, such as himself. Taking possession of an old carnival he's ready to do whatever it takes to prove his point, with the assistance of a circus freak show. Meanwhile The Dark Knight questions himself on how this fight will end; coming to the realization that sooner or later one of them would kill the other, unless they tried to reason it out. A hopeless plan by our hero, but he has to at least try a single time to reason with his arch-nemesis, just so he can say he tried. While Batman leads the hunt for the psychotic clown, Joker decides to prove his theory, kidnapping Commissioner Gordon, and shooting Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) through the spine (she never walks again). This is one of the most villainous acts in the history of comics; simply because of how pointless the shooting was, considering Barbara wasn't even in the character of Batgirl. She was just a bystander who Joker decided to use as a tool for his plot. Everyone is a puppet, or tool in his mind. He does this act all of this while wearing a stereotypical beach-going tourist's attire, complete with a large camera, the only exception being his wide-brimmed, purple hat, which conceal his eyes. These are the eyes of a madman, and in one of the comic's final pages his eyes are concealed in shadow once again, before they come out and you see him for the hopeless case he truly is. The story sets the stage for the most widely accepted Joker back-story through a series of flashbacks, showing him as a failed comedian with a pregnant wife, and soon winds up assisting criminals, and falling victim to tragedy. The character is shown to have had one bad day and that is how he ended up as the smiling super villain who has plagued Gotham City for decades. Of course this back-story isn't necessarily true, being that it comes from flashbacks spawned from Joker's mind, and as he famously states in his confrontation with Batman "If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!" Gordon's capture and torture leads to a fight between these two iconic characters, where Batman tries to see if it is possible to reason with Joker logically, but the villain doesn't even try to lie about what is obviously in store for them. He can never be reasoned with, and won't stop until he's dead, and Batman refuses to kill him so it's a sick cycle that goes round and round. In the end of The Killing Joke the roller coaster has only been reset and it will only be a matter of time before Joker is back on the streets, killing again with some new, random scheme which will only make sense to him alone, depending on the mood he's in at the time, or which version of his past he remembers. Alan Moore's story is sick, it's disturbing, and doesn't fail to leave the reader in a state of awe. The only problem is that by the end you crave for more! The story practically brings you to the point of begging for a sequel, or expansion which will probably never come. This is a one-shot story, and should remain that way, or else the original's impact may be lost. I don't have a single friend who doesn't think The Killing Joke is one of the most twisted, sick, most perfect stories of the comic medium. It's short, but it delivers a powerful punch! Brian Bolland's art makes this short graphic novel a masterpiece, providing some of the best art ever seen in the characters' long history, only rivaled (in my opinion) by the art of Alex Ross. Joker really is frightening to look at here, because he doesn't look like a real person in most aspects, but Bolland manages to make this character incredibly believable in appearance, without taking any liberties of changing the body type into something more universal. The tall, skeletal body of the 1970s comics is preserved for the most part, except for the narrowing of the chin, which improves the look even further (hence why it's universally used in today's comics). Recently I got the hardcover anniversary edition of The Killing Joke, with the artwork being edited by Brian Bolland, and re-colored by Bolland personally the way he intended it to be seen. I must say that I love the changes to the colors, more so than the cheery, bright colors of the original, which I felt distracted from Bolland's line-art, because the colors were way too traditional comic book, not fitting the intensity of the art. These colors are dark, gritty, and really captures to mood of the story more effectively than the bright colors of the original release. I especially love the flashbacks being in black and white, except for concentrating on objects that reflect the color red, which leads up to him taking on the garb of The Red Hood, before his first confrontation, leading to his ultimate disfigurement and insanity. This is a seriously talented artist and I only wish he was presented with more opportunities to draw these characters. Batman and Joker look their very best in these images, and I'd be hard pressed to find a comic with better consistency of art quality. The Killing Joke is one, if not THE best story in the history of Batman comics, and rightfully earns my rating of 10/10 stars. Written on November 5, 2008 Summary: Not a bad comic exactly.... ...however I did find it very hard to enjoy. I really like the artwork and I like that Alan Moore tried to take the Joker in a more psychological direction than was popular at the time (though it should be noted that Moore himself admits this wasn't his finest work). I even liked the origin of the Joker himself (a nice nod to Bob Kane's original origin story). My complaint with the comic is that it's VERY disturbing.... at least for my taste. I don't like that a character is shot, stripped naked, and photographed. That's just not what I LIKE to read about, especially in a superhero story. It made it hard for me to enjoy the rest of the comic. Also, Batman's out-of-character reaction to the Joker's....well "joke" in the end was kinda hard ta swallow. Especially after what he just put Jim and Barbara through. Like I said, this is just my taste in comics and not nessessarily a flaw in the comic itself. If you can look past the brutality (or maybe you feel it adds to the story) you'll probably enjoy this comic. But if your like me and prefer a darker superhero story WITHOUT it sucker-punching you with it's disturbia, probably best to look else-where. Written on October 30, 2008 Summary: Great Book I received the book on time and in perfect conditions as stated by the seller. Written on October 30, 2008 Summary: The Joker's Origin Revealed... Or is it? Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's one shot graphic novel The Killing Joke is often regarded as not only the best Joker tale ever, but possibly even the greatest Batman story in general. The story is very simple, The Joker has escaped Arkham Asylum yet again but this time is out to prove that any man can be driven insane after having "one bad day". Joker continues by kidnapping Gordon and tortures him by putting him in the ultimate carnival ride from hell, all the while we are treated to a flashback story of how an ordinary man ultimately became the psychotic maniac we now know as the Joker. Meanwhile our hero Batman is on the search for Joker while contemplating the Jokers motives as well as questioning why they continue their never ending antagonistic relationship. One of the best themes in this book is that the book questions whether Batman himself is insane. The story even points out how Batman also had "a bad day" and even how silly it must be for a grown man to be dressing like a giant bat. Possibly the most notable aspect of this story is that it is often cited as the definitive origin of the Joker, but the truth is that the origin presented here is really ambiguous. The Joker recounts his tragic past about loosing his wife and his ultimate plunge into the vat of chemicals. However, by the end of the story he then says that he can't quite remember exactly what happened as he often remembers it differently which ends up being the biggest slap in the face for readers. It just shows how manipulative the Joker can be into tricking the reader that there is deep down something redeemable in him but we were naive to think so. The art by Brian Bolland is absolutely gorgeous. The artwork is highly detailed giving the book a very realistic and at times creepy look. Bolland is truly a master of his craft and is unsurpassed. Not only does Bolland draw one of the best Batman's but he definitely draws the best Joker by far. Having Alan Moore in the credits alone will probably convince many that this story is pure gold but even Moore has admitted being dissatisfied with this work as he wrote while he was working on Watchmen and clearly that is where his head is at. I feel the story goes too far in trying to be "grim n gritty" at times, especially what Joker does to Barbara Gordon felt very out of character even for someone as evil as the Joker. I completely agree with Moore in that he felt that what he should have done instead was to write this story after he completed Watchmen. But overall this is a solid story with interesting themes and beautiful art. One last thing worth mentioning, having owned the original pressing of this book for years I never understood why Bolland was disapointed with the coloring. Having recently flipped through the new 20th anniversary with redone coloring, I feel the original coloring was superior as the colors stood out more than the muted colors in the anniversary. The new colors obviously have more shading and subtlety which gives the book a modern look but this takes away the nostalgic appearance from the earlier edition. So my best advice would be to pay the extra cash for a copy of the original pressing of The Killing Joke. |
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 Batman: The Killing Joke |
 Watchmen |
 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns |
 Batman: Year One |
 Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition) |
 Batman: The Long Halloween |
| Our price | $12.23 | $11.99 | $10.19 | $10.19 | $12.23 | $13.59 |
| List price | $17.99 | $19.99 | $14.99 | $14.99 | $17.99 | $19.99 |
| Lowest used price | $9.95 | $11.33 | $7.91 | $7.95 | $9.35 | $10.30 |
| Lowest new price | $9.95 | $11.33 | $7.92 | $7.95 | $9.35 | $10.30 |
| Collectible price | - | $24.99 | $15.00 | - | - | $19.99 |
| Catalog | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book |
| Release date | 2008-03-19 | 1995-04-01 | 1997-05-01 | 2007-01-10 | 2005-11-01 | 1999-11-01 |
| Media | Hardcover | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback |
| Number of pages | 64 | 416 | 224 | 144 | 216 | 368 |
| Ean | 9781401216672 | 9780930289232 | 9781563893421 | 9781401207526 | 9781401204259 | 9781563894695 |
| Book Isbn | 1401216676 | 0930289234 | 1563893428 | 1401207529 | 1401204252 | 1563894696 |
| Reading level | - | - | - | - | - | Young Adult |
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