Customer Reviews
One of the greatest Batman stories - By: T. R. Alexander, 09 Jul 2008 
The Killing Joke, written by the great Alan Moore is considered by some to be one of the best Batman stories ever put to paper & although I cannot comment on that, having not read many Batman stories as yet, I would have to agree that this story is brilliant. This story sees the Joker, having escaped from Arkham Asylum, attempting to prove his theory that the only thing that separates the sane from the insane is one bad day & to this end the Joker sets his sights on breaking Commissioner Gordon. The action is also interspersed with flashbacks to the Joker's own bad day that mad him the villain he is today.
This story is an excellent read with Alan Moore creating a brilliantly sinister plot. The art is fantastic & this Deluxe Edition of the story has been re-coloured by the artist Brian Bolland himself. This story does give a good incite into the Jokers fractured psyche & the back-story presented here, does make the Joker seem slightly more sympathetic. If there is a problem with this story it is that the ending is rather ambiguous but despite this is does seem somewhat apt. Overalll Batman: The Killing Joke is definitely a must read for any Batman fan.
When comics grew up (before they reverted back to little brats). - By: Moonchief, 08 Jul 2008 Im sure everybody is now aware that 'comics' are no longer the sole preserve of the pre-adolescent. Comics grew up & stretched beyond their previous confines of being monthly escapist fantasies by adopting the sophistications that literature & film enjoy (if not on a regular basis.)
It would be almost impossible to have any knowledge of the mainstream superhero genre & not be aware of Alan Moore. Although Moore does'nt rate this highly in his own ouvre, this is an excellent & taut Batman tale that invests the Joker with a little more humanity than your average funny book.
This is an incredibly brutal tale which prefigured(famously alongside Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns & Year One Batman titles) the glut of gritty & 'realistic' titles that currently swamps the form. However, it is handled a lot more deftly than the current vogue , which after taking near enough ten years to catch up, have remained ploughing a golden rut ever since. This is where Moore is approximately in the region of a million miles away from his peers.
Moore's dialogue is pitch perfect(and not filled with gratuitous language to let you know you're reading a grown-up comic, like so many lesser writers) & his working knowledege of the form is up there with the Kirbys & Eisners. More importantly, his understanding of the human condition helps to create vivid & sympathetic characters, which in essence, marks his work out from the rest of the pack.
There have'nt been many Batman titles before or after that have juxaposed the insane villainy of the Joker with the trauamtic & tender reasons for his career in super-criminality. The Killing Joke is effectively an origin story of the Joker & how after losing everything that matters to him, wheels are set in motion that create an iconic comic character. Let's just say that the Joker's genesis perhaps rings a little truer than the Batman's, who seemed to deal with the presumably devastating trauma of the murder of his parents by dressing up as a bat (after an ominous rodent flew through his window) & ridding Gotham City of crime.
If you are unaware of Alan Moore's work, then this would be a nice, gentle introduction into his often vertiginous & cosmic writing. However, until you read The Watchmen, From Hell, V For Vendetta, or more recently, Promothea, you will have yet to fully taste the strange fruits that grow out of his brain-grove.
Awesome! - By: Ms. S. M. D. Pego, 02 Jul 2008 What a fantastic edition. Literallly got delivered to my work this morning & i've already read most of it. I love the artwork, totallly stunning, the vivid colours of the Joker are fantastic, it is also great having a story telling the Jokers background. I may not be a graphic novel expert but I do know that I loved this, & would highly reccommend it to anyone looking for a story that reallly gives an insight into what pushed one of the most easily recognisable villains to the edge & made him what he is.
not as good as I remembered - By: titch, 01 Jul 2008 
Not as good as I remembered, I bought this the other day there when it came out as a re-issue as I remember reading it when I was younger, the art is excellent but the story is too short & the ending isn't great, I think I thought the killing joke story was death in the family which I had read about the same time.
This comic is in the DC Alan Moore compilation - By: Count B'lah, 17 Dec 2007 If you want to read this story, it is currently available in DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore.
Great story of the creation of the Joker with stunning artwork.
