A NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller!Presented for the first time with stark, stunning new coloring by Brian Bolland, BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE is Alan Moore’s unforgettable meditation on the razor-thin line between sanity and insanity, heroism and villainy, comedy and tragedy. According to the grinning engine of madness and mayhem known as the Joker, that’s all that separates the sane from the psychotic. … from the psychotic. Freed once again from the confines of Arkham Asylum, he’s out to prove his deranged point. And he’s going to use Gotham City’s top cop, Commissioner Jim Gordon, and the Commissioner’s brilliant and beautiful daughter Barbara to do it.
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Classic Batman story, the one I instantly think of when I consider Batman stories, or preferably Joker stories, as this is his story principally.
A different take on Jokers origins, one that makes us feel like it could happen to any of us (almost) and then we compare that to the raw brutality he claims is the humour of the Joker himself.
Joker lives for Batman, Batman lives for Joker, the brutality of the dance is chronicled in this legendary volume.
The story is, if you consider it, rather basic, and yet you do not notice it with the flood of emotion and brilliance, and Alan Moore brings to it helped along by Brian Bolland’s wonderful drawings.
The Joker escapes, he takes off to the old fairground, collects up a vagabond collection of freaks and proceeds to torture Batmans friends/allies. All Batman has to do is stop him and NOT kill him, easy, really.
This is a small tale on an epic scale!!
The Joker is one of the greatest villains of all time, if not the number one of them all. A back story is something that can be hard to come by and also to have fans of the character accept one. DC Comics made a classic and a legendary volume with The Killing Joke. It is one story that I cannot recommend enough. It is sad, disturbing, twisted and finally…strangely satisfying. I guess you have to discover the Joker for yourself in this one.
This review MAY contain spoilers.
This is one of my favorite Batman stories. I think that most notable thing about this piece is that it includes the Joker’s origin story. The past that made him who he is. One bad day transformed him into The Joker. We get a small glimpse of what he was like before that transformation.
I love how dark the story is. It’s gritty, intense, unexpected, unsettling, and really quite tragic in Barbara Gordon’s case. I think that the darker aspect makes this Batman read extremely memorable. In the end, Batman and the Joker share a laugh and it just sets a certain ambiance to the overall story. It’s great.
I can’t express how much I loved this! Alan Moore is brilliant and Brian Bolland knows exactly how to set the mood with his gorgeous illustrations. This is a must-read for all Batman fans!
Ladies and gentlemen, madness at its finest.
Now THIS is why people are afraid of clowns. And circuses. I was warned that this would be dark and was still surprised. But hey, the Joker’s a pretty twisted dude.
The dialogue was spot on. The drawing style is perfect, with little details and stylistic decisions that go a long way.
Highly recommended. My only qualm is that I wish it was longer, because the story wasn’t as fleshed out as it could have been. Even with the flashbacks, it felt a bit too one-dimensional.
I’m curious to see the film. I’m glad they didn’t turn this into a live-action one because I’d probably never sleep again if I watched it.
“… so when you find yourself locked onto an unpleasant train of thought, heading for the places in your past where the screaming is unbearable, remember there’s always MADNESS. Madness is the emergency exit.”
Quite the ride, Mister J.
This is the work that showed me how much potency a comic can have. Excellent, gripping story.