Batman: The Killing Joke

Rating:
Summary: This book was AWESOME!!!
Review: This book was awesome!! Featuring one of the coolest villains out there, this book has the perfect personality for the Joker. The is for very mature readers because it may disturb some. In the Jokers most brutal campaign of horror he shoots Barbara Gordon, paralyzing her waist down, in three panels with no word balloons or sounds. It was completely unexpected and Alan Moore made it even more disturbing with what he did to Commissioner Gordon afterword when he tried to make Gordon go insane. The only bad thing is the Jokers origin. It's not that good, well at least I was expecting a little more story than that. Overall, a really enjoyable book!!!

Rating:
Summary: Beginning & the end of two characters in the Batman mythos
Review: This chilling book displays the believable origin of the sinister Joker, and in the meantime interweaves it with a story of the Clown Prince of Crime's grisly mutilation of Barbara Gordon, once known as Batgirl. So realistic, yet capable of delving into the fantastic, the Killing Joke shows that despite the garish faces that both the Batman and the Joker wear, that these two enemies are human. The last page is cryptic and might leave the reader with unanswered questions.

Rating:
Summary: A possible origin of Batman's greatest enemy is revealed.
Review: This book finally attempts to give a history to one of comicdom's most famous, yet most engimatic, villians. The two parallel plots in the book of the Joker attempting to drive Commisioner Gordon insane in a manner similar to how he had, as displayed in the parallel plot. This book manages to convey a true humanity to this character as a man who had a real life and family and how it utter collapses around him. This culminates in the desperate crime that lead to his chemical scarring that marked his descent into madness. You will be left with a very different impression of the Joker as you finish one of the finest superhero stories ever written.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest Joker story ever!
Review: Moore and Bolland did such a stellar job, esp. with the flashbacks (when Joker is remember reaching his hand out to his former wife and cutting to him doing the same thing in the present is POWERFUL).

Insane, crazed, dark...It's gotta be Moore!

Rating:
Summary: Eh... Pretty weird
Review: Yesterday I gave this trade paperback a second read, and I can't say it changed my first impressions. As a Bat-fan, I picked up the book because it contains an important moment in Bat history, central to the story of a character I care about. /Batman: The Killing Joke/ is the storyline in which the Joker paralyzed Barbara Gordon, former Batgirl -- a constraint that eventually led to her becoming überdecker to the hero world, Oracle.

I've bought some fairly cheesy trade paperbacks in the name of Bat history lessons -- /Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying/, for example, is the story of how Tim Drake becomes Robin, and it's dripping with cheese and earnestness. I can cope with cheese (see my enjoyment of 70's X-Men) but there's something about /The Killing Joke/ that really rubs me the wrong way. It was written by Alan Moore, one of the two "dark" writers of the 80's, who shocked the comics world out of its idyllic 70's fluff and into grittiness. The other was Frank Miller. And while it's obvious that Frank Miller has dark thoughts and muses far too much on sex with Wonder Woman, it's equally obvious that Frank Miller loves superhero comics. Alan Moore, I have read and I now believe, hates superhero comics.

I omit my summary of the plot of the book, out of respect for Amazon's no-spoiler guidlines, but you aren't missing much; a linear plot with no real twists or surprises, or acts of astounding intelligence or fortitude by our hero. The only thing that enlivens the very twistless story is the counterpoint of a possible creation story for the Joker, where he's a loser stand-up artist who can't get a gig, tries one night of crime to support his pregnant wife, etc. The creation story is a little more interesting than the rest of it, but it's a little more set in stone, a little more definitive, then I've ever seen DC let anyone do for a Joker story. He's SUPPOSED to be mysterious -- an image of the madness that can be birthed without reason from man. Except for "he fell in a chemical vat", there is no bottom line on this man, and this weak explanatory backstory detracts from the Joker mythos, it doesn't add to it.

The story lacks emotional punch where it needs it -- the crippling of a major ongoing character, for heaven's sake, and Gordon finding the resolve not to snap in the face of this 'sophisticated' psychological torture -- and, in fact, seems emotionally illogical. Gordon doesn't ask Batman whether Babs is ALIVE when he's rescued. The fiercely protective Batman, after never laughing at a single thing the Joker has ever said (I mean, that's part of why Mr. J hates him!), laughs at a mediocre joke he tells after nearly killing Batgirl. Are these human beings? Flatly, no they aren't. They're mouthpieces for Moore's shallow conceits -- "one bad day makes people insane, in different ways," and "the world is so awful you just have to laugh" -- and the only thing they show any commitment to is disputing those overblown theories.

On top of that, the story makes no LOGICAL sense, something I am more than happy to overlook in a comic book, provided something else -- emotional punch or comedic value -- fills the void. Who was the guy in the Joker suit in Arkham? Where did the Joker get the money to buy the amusement park, or, for that matter, to outfit it with vast flat-screen displays and deadly traps within a few days? Where did the Joker find so many sideshow freaks who like to hurt people? And finally, when did bondage dwarf minions become part of Joker's schtick? Joker is, Jack Nicholson aside, an asexual villain (please see Harley Quinn's sexual frustration for details.) Stripping Babs for the pictures, naked Gordon leashed by bondage minions, et cetera, are Alan Moore saying, "Ooh, I'm so BAD!" NOT anything the Joker would do.

In short, I do believe Alan Moore hates superhero comics. And as Lana said on Smallville once, "If you hate your job so much, why don't you just quit?"

Bottom line:
Pretentiously "meaningful" and pretentiously dark, not to mention painfully 80's. Characterization shallow and perfunctory, story trite and unexciting. Pictures okay -- a few very good Joker portraits.

Rating:
Summary: As good as they come....
Review: Broke down and bought a (nother) graphic novel with some Xmas gift certificate money. I haven't been much of a Batman fan overall, but since I enjoyed _The Dark Knight Returns_ ( I remember reading my friend's copy decades ago and being impressed by the "pinched" nature of the art - on the other hand _The Killing Joke_'s art reminds me of _The Watchmen_ - in a good way) and think Moore was really one of the best writers working in the 1980s in any genre picked up this classic Batman/Joker tale that explores their symbiosis and dichotomy - their madness and how, at this point, tightly entwined it has become in the pantheon.

The spur story of Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon getting shot and paralyzed by the Joker plays out here too (as far as the controversy - I don't believe that the Joker raped her after shooting her, but death of the author and all that and Moore does leave some ambiguity...) and although it's rough to see her treated like this, some solace is had by realize in that she will overcome the obstacle and become the much more interesting, nuanced and obsessed character, Oracle....


Rating:
Summary: Disturbing, nasty, mad, but okay.
Review: This is Moore's worst work. It's alright, but is basically graphic horror, shocks and violence packed into a very short graphic novel. The shootout in the chemical plant was unnecesarily bloody, the crippling of Barbara Gordon was disturbing and shocking, and despite the thrilling atmosphere of the fairground battle, I can't believe it ends with Batman and Joker-- a crimefighter and his twisted nemesis--laughing in the rain. I dont get it. It's almost like Batman has just realized the Joker's twisted motives and gone mad himself.

If you're going to read this odd book, I recommend it only for readers over 15. I read it when I was about 12, and was pretty disgusted and freaked out. Still, if you like the Joker then give it a go.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!!!!
Review: This is only for true fans......
It is a shocking graphic novel but it shows us the origins of the Joker and just how evil he is and has become. This is my favorite of all the Joker stories. I think the plot and the origins of the Joker are very clever and well done. The Batman is just as intense.
I think I will re-read it when I get home. A great buy!!!

Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: We all know that Frank Miller's classic Dark Knight Returns is the definitive Batman story, but it's also known that the Killing Joke is just as essential. Written by the masterful Alan Moore (Watchmen, V For Vendetta, From Hell, you know the rest...), we are given a re-imagination of the origin of the Joker, and we witness him pointlessly and brutally shoot Barbara Gordon, permanently crippling her. This is followed by her father, Commissioner Gordon, being pushed to the brink of his sanity with the Dark Knight in hot pursuit. Moore's look into the absurdity and cynicism of fate make the Joker more terrifying than he had ever been, and Brian Bolland's art became the defining look of the character. All in all, this is a must for everyone's collection, whether you are a Bat-fan or Moore fan.

Rating:
Summary: I don't understand why people are rating this low?
Review: This was one of the most twisted Batman comics to date. The story was excellent and the drawings were superb.

A dark and disturbing comic they are still trying to duplicte till this day.

Batman was portrayed for too long in a overly simplistic manner, sort of wimpy and shallow. This story brought out a more mature read and made Batman a real hero. It also finally portrayed the Joker as the sick (...)he really is.

This is one read for any comic or Batman lover out there.

Pick it up, it is one of the best Batman stories to date!