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Rating:  -
Batman: The Killing Joke is by far one of the greatest one-shot graphic novels ever written, Moore is fortunate that it was of such caliber as to deserve inclusion in the mainstream Batman canon.
The Joker is the single most evil non-superpowered being in the DC universe, and almost nothing is known about who he was before becoming the arch-nemesis of Batman. While curiosity abounds for fans, even more prefer that he maintain this aura of mystery since it is believed that his pre-villain life was not one that would have been considered anything worth writing about; it is because of he IS the Joker that he means anything in the DCU at all.
All that aside, Alan Moore - the creative genius behind such works as V for Vendetta, Watchmen, From Hell, Swamp Thing , The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and many others - took a chance and in 1988 presented the comic community with what DC has accepted as the official Joker origin story.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
The Killing Joke is about madness. The Joker has escaped from Arkham Asylum and is setting about a new and truly evil scheme; unrivaled since he murdered Jason Todd/Robin #2 in Batman: A Death in the Family. While Batman is frantically trying to track him down, the Joker has purchased a dilapidated carnival (like something you'd expect to find in a 21st century teen slasher flick, but in his hands is decidedly worse) and is now off to secure his "main attraction". Later at the home of Commissioner Gordon, Barbara answers the door to find a sick fixed smile shooting her through her spine, crippling her; after several off-color disabled jokes, Gordon is kidnapped and spirited away to the the Joker's carnival of horrors. (Moore and DC received a hailstorm of praise and criticism for rendering Batgirl a parapellegic, but the decision stuck and arguably many good, if not great, stories came from it.) Gordon regains consciousness to find himself being stripped down by a host of sideshow freaks and lead at the Joker's behest to a House of Horrors ride filled with the Joker's own snap-shots of Barbara fully undressed and in pain and filled with the Joker and his cronies singing a sardonic song about lunacy (GOD I WISH I KNEW THE TUNE!!!); all of this intended to drive Gordon insane.
Batman uncovers the Joker's plot and rushes to the carnival to stop him; a chase ensues through a booby-trap-laden house of mirrors in which the Joker states that he's proven his point with Gordon's unquestionable descent into madness: "All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy!" The joker goes on in his analysis with Batman, stating that he too is crazy, but won't admit it and tries to get him to accept it. The final confrontation between them is left a mystery, but it is clear that the Joker - after decades of campy portrayals - has most definitely re-earned the title of most evil comic book villain.
Throughout the story, the Joker offers flashbacks to his life before becoming the monster he is today. He was once a technician at the ACE Chemical Plant who quit his job to become a stand-up comedian. Unfortunately he fails miserably and worries about how he's going to support his very pregnant-in-the-late-trimester wife and soon-to-arrive baby. He decides to make fast, easy money by throwing in his lot with criminals looking to rip off a playing card company next door to the chemical plant and he offers his services to get through unnoticed. So as to protect his own identity, the gangsters present him with his disguise: The Red Hood. While in discussion for the crime, a couple of cops show up to tell him that his wife has died while operating a defunct bottle heater. In his shock, he tries to back out of the crime since he no longer has a reason to go through with it; but the gangsters hold him to it. Later on, they break into the plant, but everything goes wrong as the cops show up and take down the gangsters and that Batman appears to apprehend who he believes to be the Red Hood. Whether he jumped, fell or was pushed is unclear, but the man landed in a vat of chemicals that washed him out of the factory. When he reaches shore and removes his disguise and sees his reflection in a puddle of rainwater, he begins to laugh, turns and reveals himself as the Joker.
At the end of this story follows another one from the mini-series Batman: Black & White called here "An Innocent Guy" about a man - clearly disturbed, making the judgment that if anyone is to truly live a life devoted to good, then they must commit an act of evil to know that that is what they really want. After laying out his basic concept, he arrives at the conclusion that he must kill Batman. He lays out his plan in disturbing detail and closes with the a that after this one act of evil, he can go on to live a thoroughly good life and go to heaven when he dies.
Masterfully written by Alan Moore and beautifully illustrated by Brian Bolland, Batman: The Killing Joke is a must have for all comic collectors.
Rating: -
This Batman story is really messed up. Give it a try if you're any kind of fan of Batman.
Rating:  -
I hemmed and hawed over giving this 4 or 5 stars. If Amazon allowed it, I'd have selected 4 1/2. In roughly 48 pages, the story takes you through the Joker's origin (told in flashbacks) and the evil clown's present-day kidnap and torture of comissioner Gordon.
The artwork is drop dead amazing. I can't even describe it. It's as if the pages are animated, somehow. They're that vivid. Some old school fans hate how DC let Brian Bolland go back and re-color the latest edition. Me, I love the juxtaposition of the rich present-day colors against the dull monochromes of the flashbacks.
Seeing how "one bad day" transformed an otherwise regular Joe into the evil maniac known as the Joker is poignant (really!). And I can't tell you how tense I felt watching the Joker attempt to do the same thing to Gordon.
My only complaint, and the one reason why I can't give this book 5 stars, is that the Joker's torture of Gordon felt rushed. The story sets all of this ground work to prepare you to see one man go through a day of hell. And just when the Joker gets going, he stops! If the Joker had drawn out his torture a bit more, it would've made Gordon's situation seem more dire. I also think it would've helped the conclusion hit with a greater impact than it did.
Still, for all that the story does to paint the many facets of the Joker, The Killing Joke is a masterpiece. And since the art is good enough to frame, that pretty much makes The Killing Joke a win-win.
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This comic is one of the shortest stories that I have ever read, but one of the greatest. Any fan of the Joker needs to own this 46 page piece of art. It's wonderful.
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gotta say one of the best things i've read about batman...got me back into batman...it showed the bond that batman and the joker has, and you can see where Christopher Nolan got influence for "The Dark Knight"
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