Well that was lousy. A laughably uninspired backstory and a plot that just falters over and over. Most of this was just shock value artwork and fake-deep Joker drabble. Like am I supposed to be impressed by ANY of this? Lol because I’m not. ( )

The Killing Joke is a 1988 DC Comics one-shot graphic novel featuring the characters Batman and the Joker written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. The Killing Joke provides an origin story for the supervillain the Joker, loosely adapted from the 1951 story arc "The Man Behind the Red Hood!". The Joker's origin is presented via flashback, while simultaneously depicting his attempt to drive Jim Gordon insane and Batman's desperate attempt to stop him.

Created by Moore and Bolland as their own take on the Joker's source and psychology, the story became famous for its origin of the Joker as a tragic character; a family man and failed comedian who suffered "one bad day" that finally drove him insane. Moore stated that he attempted to show the similarities and contrasts between Batman and the Joker. The story's effects on the mainstream Batman continuity also included the shooting and paralysis of Barbara Gordon (a.k.a. Batgirl), an event that laid the groundwork for her to develop the identity of Oracle.

While this comic remains influential, I personally did not care for the Joker's back story as it takes away from his menace and allure. However, this comic greatly influenced Tim Burton's take on the character as well as the upcoming film The Joker. ( )

This is by far the best Batman graphic novel ever written. It captures the essence of Joker perfectly without being watered down to sell toys and merchandise, and explores the complicated relationship of Joker and Batman in a borderline X-rated fashion.

This book gives us Joker's backstory, which is kind of odd. In this he's an engineer who works at a chemical plant but quits his gig to be a comic. Of course he sucks harder than Fozzie Bear at it. That's how he as a square got into the criminal life, trying to make money for his wife and kid. Then they both die accidentally and he goes nuts. One thing leads to another and Bats is on his tail. Trying to dodge him Joker jumps into the chemical vat and becomes, well, Joker.

Fast forward to the present - he's really nuts. He escapes Arkham Asylum while Bats is trying to visit to bury the hatchet. Joker, however, is busy kidnapping Commisioner Gordon, and messing with Barbara Gordon, his daughter (and on the side Batgirl) by breaking into her apartment, shooting her intentionally in the spine to paralyze her, then strips her naked and takes pictures of her in pain, bleeding, and paralyzed. He takes Gordon to the funhouse while Bats is in pursuit as usual, and tortures Gordon with pictures of what he did to Barbara. Essentially, he's trying to make him go crazy.

All of it culminates with the side of good trying to show the side of evil that good works even if evil don't believe it. The ending's kind of open ended, so if you're a Batman stan you either love it or hate it.

This is LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than that crappy animation adaptation DC slung out there.

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Batman: The Killing Joke is an excellent graphic novel following two of comics leading stars: Batman and the Joker.

Introduction: I have always loved superheroes - Adam West's Batman was a key staple of my childhood. Slowly as I got older and Marvel and DC were the beckoning lights at the movie theaters, I became totally obsessed with everything superheroes, super villains and comic books. I began collecting them, reading them, and trying to get my hands on every adaption possible. So, I decided to watch The Killing Joke animated movie. I was so enchanted and enthralled with the film that I had to see the famous comic/graphic novel it was based on. It was a short search - a local store had it in stock the first time I went to look for it, and the rest is history.

Review:

This comic is so simple in theory, but so complex in art. A joker origin (of sorts), a splash of James and Barbara Gordon, some tragic ultimatums, Batman, and beautiful art.

The introduction to the Joker's "back story" is so interesting. The Joker has always been this mysterious character, and the reader is welcomed into one theory of how the joker came to be. But the joker says it himself - he prefers his past as multiple choice. So is anything he tells us actually true? That's up to you to decide.

The Joker is cunning and intelligent, as well as insane and wild. The reader gets to see his thought pattern and how truly manipulative he is when he takes control of the plot and causes his destruction. But then, he makes it worse by not only physically torturing his victim, but try to mentally destroy him as well. How can someone be to cruel yet so smart? It's an incredible reading experience for fans of the Joker.

The ending leaves viewers with many questions - one that we may never know the true answer to. This cliff hanger wasn't as troubling as other cliffhangers have been for me in the past. It leaves it off at the perfect ending - the reader questioning the events that happened. This leaves the reader to interpret the ending in their own way. What truly happened and what are we to believe?

Brutal is one word to describe this novel - there are graphic scenes, ones that changed DC comics dramatically - and it's not for the lighthearted.

Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It changed my views on the Joker and Batman, and I really appreciated the little splash of Barbara Gordon (one of my personal favourite characters DC has ever created).

For those who are fans of the film / want to watch The Killing Joke animated film: The plot is very similar, but there are a few changes. These changes don't impact the end of the story, but it may change some of your personal feelings/understandings of the characters.

Five out of five stars. ( )

What can I say about this that hasn't already been said? I recommend 100% if you enjoy a good Batman / Joker story, amazing artwork that is vibrant, and some controversy. ( )

Just one bad day, that's the premise of Batman: The Killing Joke. Our maverick Englishauthor Alan Moore reimagines the Joker in all his sadistic glory revealing him to be the stuff of our deepest, darkest nightmares.

To avenge his continuing humiliations at Commissioner Gordon's hands, the Joker targets his family and finally his mind to annihilate him. On the other hand the Batman battles to rein in the sadistic clown while preserving Gordon's last shreds of sanity.

A graphic rendition of the powers of darkness in all of us The Killing Joke will stay with you forever. After all, there is a reason as to why it is said to have augmented the already burgeoning strength of the Batverse. ( )

I think I'm suffering from a bit of hype backlash over this one. What's there is good, as one would expect from Alan Moore, but I kept hoping he would go even further with it. Make the Joker's multiple choice past even more bizarre (and give more possible back-stories), push the unreliable narrator to its limits. It felt too short and needed more depth.

Overall, I think Christopher Nolan did better things with this idea. Though I am glad this story was already here to inspire him. ( )

Un buen libro para fans de Joker.
Batman esta por estar, la estrella sin duda es Joker ( )

Short and satisfying.

Alan Moore isn't my favorite comics writer but this take on the Joker was really good for a short comic: brutal, shocking and twisted; which are the same words I use for describing the Joker aka The Best Villain Ever Written.


( )

The art is the best of any Batman comic I've seen, the ending is darkly sweet, and the message is something that's stuck with me for years. ( )

I started reading DC comics a couple of years ago and this Graphic Novel I have always seen on on any list I've seen. This is my first time I've read it today and I'm wondering why I didn't pick it up sooner. I had some New 52 titles on my list, since I was a newbie to this world and wanted to understand the players first and to the read older titles later.

This book is a masterpiece with the writing and the art, everything about it is perfect. There's no need to put off reading this. All you need to understand, and this is true for anybody who's every heard about batman, is that Batman and Joker have been doing the same dance for years. With Joker being his crazy self and Batman catching him after all the destruction and throwing him back in jail.

Batgirl is one of my favorites and now I'm on the hunt to find me some Oracle stories, since I know her future. I want to see the Oracle years and her struggles.

If you can find this book anywhere. Get it and read it. ( )

Fantastic. I could hear the song in my head and feel myself there. Truly a classic. ( )

The coolest thing I read in a long time.
The fact that Joker was supposedly killed here by batman (and which was later confirmed to be the intention later by someone official) makes it even greater. The tension between Batman and Joker, and despite all that, their affinity - is portrayed here quite gracefully by Alan Moore.
Loved it. ( )

Wow. Although I read quite a few comics there are only a handful I can say I really love: Jimmy Corrigan, Fatale, maybe a few later Grant Morrison works. I can honestly say The Killing Joke is the most impressive Batman comic I have ever read. More interesting than The Dark Knight Returns and somehow more violent than Year One - I'm not sure how it manages this. The art is unbelievably good and the writing is able to balance subtext with organic story development. ( )

Wow. Although I read quite a few comics there are only a handful I can say I really love: Jimmy Corrigan, Fatale, maybe a few later Grant Morrison works. I can honestly say The Killing Joke is the most impressive Batman comic I have ever read. More interesting than The Dark Knight Returns and somehow more violent than Year One - I'm not sure how it manages this. The art is unbelievably good and the writing is able to balance subtext with organic story development. ( )

Batman: The Killing Joke, is an interesting comic in the Batman universe the creates a lot of thought from the reader ( )

Background: I'm not much a reader of American comics, though I wish I were. Though being a fan of Batman as I am, I was excited to read a rather stand-alone installment of a singular story, instead of trying to jump into the serialized issues.

The art in The Killing Joke is gorgeous. The detail is intricately beautiful and a treat for the eyes. However, I can't say as much for the story. I enjoyed the Killing Joke, and I would read it many times more, but the Joker was never much of a villain as in other storylines in either the printed form, animated, or film. His backstory and conversion to villanhood is unbelievable at best and lackluster overall.

Artistically, I enjoyed the parallels of the twin plotlines. I enjoyed the setups between the present and the past, but as far as the content of such, I can't say much more than I already have. ( )

The Killing Joke me encantó; me agarró desde la primera página gracias al exquisito talento del artista y su sencilla -pero hábil- forma de narrar. Es un relato que fácilmente volvería a leer y que me ha abierto el apetito de más proyectos de este tipo.

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The Killing Joke narra varias historias paralelas pero enlazadas por un hilo invisible. Batman piensa en llegar a un acuerdo con The Joker para poner las cosas en orden y que su enemistad no acabe con la muerte de alguno -o ambos-.
Con esos pensamientos ingenuos en la cabeza, nuestro héroe encapuchado se dirige al Arkham Asylum para descubrir que The Joker ha escapado.

The Joker, por su lado, planea un tipo de venganza bastante inusual contra James Gordon, una venganza que involucra a su hija Bárbara y cuyos detalles no desvelaré por obvias razones.

Mientras se desarrollan los hechos que les he resumido, nos encontraremos viendo matices de la vida pasada del villano de cabellos verdes. Pero ojo, si recuerdan la película más reciente en la que el personaje hace aparición, él hace muchas historias distintas acerca de su pasado… Es más, en este mismo proyecto dice algo como: “Si es necesario que yo tenga un pasado, prefiero que sea de elección múltiple”.

Hago la aclaración ya que leí muchas quejas en los medios sobre el background de The Joker que nos presentan aquí.

Pero bien, es una historia corta y que fácilmente se puede digerir en menos de una hora (tiene un aproximado de 50 páginas).

Para muchos el final parecerá ambiguo, pero si han prestado atención a lo escrito se darán cuenta que no lo es… ¿o quizás si? Bueno, tendrán que sacar sus propias conclusiones. El final ha sido algo controversial y muy abierto a discusiones que, con el paso del tiempo, se han vuelto sumamente interesantes.

Traten de dar con este cómic (se puede encontrar en formato digital), si aman este universo amarán este relato. ( )

A nice, short Batman story by Alan Moore. It gives a story of The Joker's origin - not THE story since The Joker himself isn't sure. A bit too short for Moore to fully stretch out, but very readable. ( )

If I could have given 4.5 stars on this, I would have.

This was the very first graphic novel I bought. I have fond memories (which is disturbing considering the topic matter). I read the 25 year deluxe edition this time and couldn't really tell you the difference (25 years is a long time). It's still a good story, but I wonder how it would have been written now? Would DC have run it in their more adult-oriented Vertigo line? Interesting to think about. ( )

Readathon read. Review to come. ( )

Excellent.

Awesome.

I love the art, the story. Everything. I have read this a million times. It is just so good. ( )

El legendario escritor Alan Moore redefinio la figura del superheroe con Watchmen y V de Vendetta. En batman la broma asesina, aborda los orígenes del mejor supervillano del cómic, el Joker... y con ello cambia el mundo del hombre murciélago para siempre. ( )

A crazy tale of utmost importance in the Batman universe! The Joker's origin is revealed, to a certain extent. And Commissioner Gordon's daughter suffers mightily. But, as always, Batman toes the line. Though, I didn't understand the last panel. ( )

A classic tale told by the brilliant Alan Moore, this story delves into the origin of the Joker. A must read for any fan. ( )