The Batman: The Killing Joke

[Bullseye]

Mark Hamill to return as Joker
http://nerdist.com/mark-hamill-confi...-killing-joke/

[MrYac]

Luke Skywalker is the only Joker that will ever really matter.

[JP Sarri]

Originally Posted by MrYac

Luke Skywalker is the only Joker that will ever really matter.

True.

Sadly, the Killing Joke is the most overrated Batman and Alan Moore story ever.

[CessnaDriver]

Originally Posted by JP Sarri

True.

Sadly, the Killing Joke is the most overrated Batman and Alan Moore story ever.

I dunno man, back in the day I turned many people into The Batman fans because of this book. It was self contained, it totally destroyed the "Biff Bam Pow" Adam West silly era that almost everyone invoked when you mentioned Batman. I'm becoming an old guy and yes the giggle factor was very high once when you talked Batman with ordinary people. I love the very ending that despite all these two "crazies" could share a laugh.

I think the book still holds up incredible well.

[SONICobra]

im pretty excited for this, been a little let down by some of the more recent movies

[JP Sarri]

Originally Posted by CessnaDriver

I dunno man, back in the day I turned many people into The Batman fans because of this book. It was self contained, it totally destroyed the "Biff Bam Pow" Adam West silly era that almost everyone invoked when you mentioned Batman. I'm becoming an old guy and yes the giggle factor was very high once when you talked Batman with ordinary people. I love the very ending that despite all these two "crazies" could share a laugh.

I think the book still holds up incredible well.

That's my point of objection. Batman stories always had a dark tone back in the day and not thanks to Alan Moore. You have too look beyond the classic 70's show and into the comics of that era.

In my view, The Killing Joke presents a Batman that is weak. A batman that tries to rationalize Joker's behavior. A batman that empathizes with evil at the end because he feels attracted to it. This graphic novel is just an exegesis of Alan Moore's view of the world. It presents the case that a bad day can turn anyone into a psychopath and it is justifiable. The responses of each character, like Gordon's request for Batman to spare Joker's life after being subjected to sodomy and the brutal rape (yes, rape) of his daughter are so far fetched and unrealistic. Humans do not act self controlled in moments of heavy emotional and physical trauma. Any respectable psychologist would agree with this view.

All in all, this story is one of the less compelling and admirable pieces of work from Moore. I don't undertand all the adulation it gets.

[VaultMan]

Originally Posted by JP Sarri

That's my point of objection. Batman stories always had a dark tone back in the day and not thanks to Alan Moore. You have too look beyond the classic 70's show and into the comics of that era.

In my view, The Killing Joke presents a Batman that is weak. A batman that tries to rationalize Joker's behavior. A batman that empathizes with evil at the end because he feels attracted to it. This graphic novel is just an exegesis of Alan Moore's view of the world. It presents the case that a bad day can turn anyone into a psychopath and it is justifiable. The responses of each character, like Gordon's request for Batman to spare Joker's life after being subjected to sodomy and the brutal rape (yes, rape) of his daughter are so far fetched and unrealistic. Humans do not act self controlled in moments of heavy emotional and physical trauma. Any respectable psychologist would agree with this view.

All in all, this story is one of the less compelling and admirable pieces of work from Moore. I don't undertand all the adulation it gets.

Now THATS an editorial!

[Matches Malone]

Originally Posted by JP Sarri

That's my point of objection. Batman stories always had a dark tone back in the day and not thanks to Alan Moore. You have too look beyond the classic 70's show and into the comics of that era.

In my view, The Killing Joke presents a Batman that is weak. A batman that tries to rationalize Joker's behavior. A batman that empathizes with evil at the end because he feels attracted to it. This graphic novel is just an exegesis of Alan Moore's view of the world. It presents the case that a bad day can turn anyone into a psychopath and it is justifiable. The responses of each character, like Gordon's request for Batman to spare Joker's life after being subjected to sodomy and the brutal rape (yes, rape) of his daughter are so far fetched and unrealistic. Humans do not act self controlled in moments of heavy emotional and physical trauma. Any respectable psychologist would agree with this view.

All in all, this story is one of the less compelling and admirable pieces of work from Moore. I don't undertand all the adulation it gets.

A great assessment of the work (as always) JP. Having said that there is a school of thought, one casually endorsed at times by Moore himself, that Batman actually kills the Joker at the end of the book, snapping his neck out of frame hence the hand on the shoulder and abrupt ending of the laughing. Moore states that the book was initially conceived as a one off "Elseworlds" tale that DC editors decided to adopt into continuity.

[JP Sarri]

Originally Posted by VaultMan

Now THATS an editorial!

thanks, my friend.

[JP Sarri]

Originally Posted by Matches Malone

A great assessment of the work (as always) JP. Having said that there is a school of thought, one casually endorsed at times by Moore himself, that Batman actually kills the Joker at the end of the book, snapping his neck out of frame hence the hand on the shoulder and abrupt ending of the laughing. Moore states that the book was initially conceived as a one off "Elseworlds" tale that DC editors decided to adopt into continuity.

It is one of those instances where Moore loves to disdain his own handy work. Sometimes I wonder if it is his innate arrogance or just plain British stoicism (no offense to fellow Brits). But the truth is that it is always easy to play Devil's advocate to simply keep the conversation going.

With that being said, it is important to note that "The Killing Joke" is not without its literary merits. For once, it is a piece of postmodern literature that plays as a farce with its mostly improbable and absurd line of events; and also as a satire full of sarcasm and bitter irony. At the center of the story, there is a critical view of society's moral values and its code of conduct. It expresses that we are all slaves to morality whether we like to abide by it or not. That at the play of life, heroes and villains share the same tragic outcome. Therefore we should all accept it, "share a laugh" so to speak, and go along with it.

Truthfully, it is an interesting point of view if you see it from Joker's perspective, but it is not a Batman story or one of the Best Batman stories of all times, as some money driven executive at DC or some misguided hipster blogger would like us to believe. The only redeeming factor of the book is that it gave us a stronger Barbara Gordon at the end, but that took years and countless turns along the way to finally happen. Hopefully, DC editors do not come up with more bright ideas like this, but I highly doubt it.