The Killing Joke
If you ever want to get into Batman comics, then this is the place to start. I did, then went back to Year One and read in order from there as soon as I could get my hands on all the trades. Killing Joke is a classic and inspired Tim Burton to direct Batman.
The story is simple and colourful reflecting the Joker's personality, which is quite disturbing as he sees all the fun in killing. Again, I can't stress enough, the best stories emphasise on Batman's sanity, as does this at the end.
It is basically a story full of flash backs depicting Joker's SUPPOSED origin, not the real one, just one way in which the Joker himself imagines it. Nolan took that inspiration for 'The Dark Knight' and has Heath Ledger's Joker tell multiple stories of how he got his scars.
I'll have to be honest though, first time I read this, I thought it was too simple, and not as good as everyone said it was. Reading it a second time, I realised just how intense it is. The scene that everyone talks about where (SPOILER) Barbara Gordon gets shot, becomes a paraplegic (and later Oracle) and has her clothes stripped off (possibly sexually abused) needs to be looked at over and over, because it is very dramatic. Alan Moore must have big brass balls. What I found more disturbing was the way Gordon was treated, (SPOILER) kidnapped, put in bondage clothes and forced to watch pictures of a paralyzed Barbara naked and tortured. This is the Joker at his best worst, and the actual Joke he tells even makes the Batman laugh!
"See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum... and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide they're going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moon light... stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend didn't dare make the leap. Y'see... Y'see, he's afraid of falling. So then, the first guy has an idea... He says 'Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!' B-but the second guy just shakes his head. He suh-says... He says 'Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You'd turn it off when I was half way across!"
RATING:
Batman Story - 10/10
Art - 10/10
Continuity - 10/10
Coolness - 8/10
OVERALL - 9.5/10
Continuity Notes: (SPOILER)
The Killing Joke is now available with remastered art. Some don't like it. I loved it and I think the people who don't are older bat-fans who fear change, as all geeks do. Personally, I think it makes things stand out and makes the whole thing even dark whilst maintaining the colours of a Joker tale.
The story is simple and colourful reflecting the Joker's personality, which is quite disturbing as he sees all the fun in killing. Again, I can't stress enough, the best stories emphasise on Batman's sanity, as does this at the end.
It is basically a story full of flash backs depicting Joker's SUPPOSED origin, not the real one, just one way in which the Joker himself imagines it. Nolan took that inspiration for 'The Dark Knight' and has Heath Ledger's Joker tell multiple stories of how he got his scars.
I'll have to be honest though, first time I read this, I thought it was too simple, and not as good as everyone said it was. Reading it a second time, I realised just how intense it is. The scene that everyone talks about where (SPOILER) Barbara Gordon gets shot, becomes a paraplegic (and later Oracle) and has her clothes stripped off (possibly sexually abused) needs to be looked at over and over, because it is very dramatic. Alan Moore must have big brass balls. What I found more disturbing was the way Gordon was treated, (SPOILER) kidnapped, put in bondage clothes and forced to watch pictures of a paralyzed Barbara naked and tortured. This is the Joker at his best worst, and the actual Joke he tells even makes the Batman laugh!
"See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum... and one night, one night they decide they don't like living in an asylum any more. They decide they're going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moon light... stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend didn't dare make the leap. Y'see... Y'see, he's afraid of falling. So then, the first guy has an idea... He says 'Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I'll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!' B-but the second guy just shakes his head. He suh-says... He says 'Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You'd turn it off when I was half way across!"
RATING:
Batman Story - 10/10
Art - 10/10
Continuity - 10/10
Coolness - 8/10
OVERALL - 9.5/10
Continuity Notes: (SPOILER)
- Barbara is shot and becomes a paraplegic
The Killing Joke is now available with remastered art. Some don't like it. I loved it and I think the people who don't are older bat-fans who fear change, as all geeks do. Personally, I think it makes things stand out and makes the whole thing even dark whilst maintaining the colours of a Joker tale.