Batman The Killing Joke
One of the most famous Batman stories of all time is offered for the first time in hardcover in this special twentieth-anniversary edition.
This is the unforgettable that forever changed Batman’s world, adding a new element of darkness with its unflinching portrayal of The Joker’s twisted psyche.
Writer Alan Moore, acclaimed author of WATCHMEN and V FOR VENDETTA, offers his take on the disturbing relationship between The Dark Knight and his greatest foe. The Clown Prince of Crime has never been more ruthless than in this brutal tale.
This special new edition also includes a story written and exquisitely illustrated by Brian Bolland.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great story!!
First off, Amazon did a great job with speed and care of the delivery. The Killing joke has to be one of my favorite graphic novels and I am happy I was able to add it to my collection with the help of Amazon.
5 Stars All-time favorite
After forgetting comics from my youth, this was forced on me in college, and I was resistant. I remember my friend saying “Just read the first couple of pages”. I did, and I was astounded. This was like nothing I had ever seen. The art was incredible. The story was gripping. This short graphic novel showed me why comics aren’t just for kids.
5 Stars SMILE!
An incredibly intense graphic novel that was originally published in 1988, writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland delve into the criminal mind through flashbacks on the “birth” of the Joker and a look at his sickening work to destroy Police Commissioner James Gordon and to bring Batman to his knees through a manipulative psychological battle.
Commissioner Gordon is kidnapped by the Joker and taken to a dilapidated amusement park. There, he is forced to watch the heinous brutality administered to his daughter, Barbara, and forced to ride a gauntlet of terror which rips the heart to shreds.
How the one-shot story ends is a classic gaze at the fine-line between good and evil, justice and revenge, sanity and insanity. The original artwork is bolstered by new coloring by Bolland.
The story is a roller-coaster ride in emotions and is a powerful gaze at the shadows that haunt the soul of everyman.
5 Stars A definitive Batman title
Take one of the most compelling villains of all time - the Joker - and one of the undisputed gods of the comics world - Alan Moore - and put them together: you get one giant piece of awesome.
Brian Bolland went back and redid the colors for this edition, which make the exemplary artwork stand out even more. Alternating between an origin story and an unforgettable confrontation between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of crime that shows both how utterly alone they are (think the interrogation scene in the movie “The Dark Knight” but friendlier), “The Killing Joke” pulls you in and never lets go, leaving you with a satisfying but inexplicably (but purposefully) troubling ending.
This deluxe edition also contains an original graphical afterword by Bolland, which is a nice extra but ultimately forgettable. “The Killing Joke” may be two decades old but is no less a classic now as it was then.
5 Stars Batman The Killing Joke
This book shows not only the origins of the Joker but also sheds some light on the unusual relationship between the Joker and Batman that they are similar in some facets but different in how they view the world. This book is well written and well drawn and does a better job at depicting the sinister tendencies of the Joker than both movie and any TV incarnation of him ever did in overall a five star ratting highly recommended for fans of Batman or anyone who enjoys reading stories with a character who is truly off the wall.
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