The Killing Joke Written by Alan Moore. Art by Brian Bolland. Characters created by Bob Kane.
When Bob Kane created The Batman in 1939 Organized Crime was still a focus of the American Psyche. Al Capone was in prison, John Dillinger dead, but bank robbers and mafia men were still real threats that made the newspapers. The Batman was a hero designed to fight that type of criminal.
As comics changed, so did the Bat. When Dr. Fredrick Wertham's book,
Seduction of the Innocent sparked a nationwide controversy, and the Senate Subcommittee Hearings on Juvenile Delinquency got into full swing, the comic industry folded under the pressure and began adhering to very strict guidelines. Batman went from Dark Avenger to Caped Crusader, from creature of the night, to the second greatest Boy Scout. (Behind Superman). This is where the campy element entered Batman comics, and the Joker was the biggest camp magnet of them all. The battles were funny, but not dangerous. I remember a hammer that opened and shot out a boxing glove.
Then, in 1985, Frank Miller wrote
The Dark Knight Returns. And it was a return to the dark and brooding figure designed to strike terror into the hearts of criminals. Shortly after that, there were a series of books that revolutionized comics. Swamp Thing, Batman, Year One, The Watchmen, and The Killing Joke. These were comics that were written for adults, with grown up sensibilities, with real world considerations, and consequences.
Recently, DC put out an updated deluxe edition of The Killing Joke. Not only is the story expanded to include flashback sequences that tell the story of the Joker's origin, Ballard has taken over the coloring, redoing it in his signature restrained palettes of pastels. The flash backs in particular are sepia coloured with a stand out colour, red, that grows progressively stronger until it reaches its richest shade in the Red Hood, a gimmick that few remember was The Joker's start. It really enriches the story.
The Story Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to try to speak to the Joker, one last time. He sees their insane relationship spiraling out of control until it inevitably ends with one of them killing the other. The Joker is uncharacteristically unresponsive, and when Batman grabs his hand, trying to catch his attention, it comes away smeared in white. The Joker is some deuce in make up. The real Joker has escaped yet again, and g*d alone knows how long ago.
In the meantime, the Joker "buys" an old amusement park, and sets up a little lesson for an old friend. He wants someone to get the punch line to the Joke that is reality. And the person he has chosen is…Commissioner Gordon.
The Joker arrives at the Gordon home and shoots Barbara through the stomach, mid line, damaging the spine. His goons take Gordon, while Joker takes pictures of Barbara as she is stripped and turned so the full extent of her injuries can be documented.
These photos are incorporated into a "Tunnel of Love" ride, and Gordon, naked, on a dog collar, corralled by three midgets in costumes, is taken through it, forced to see what has been done to his daughter while Joker expounds on his own Nihilistic/Anarchistic philosophies. His purpose is to drive Gordon as mad as he.
While this goes on, we see the events that lead to his transmogrification from failed comedian and failed provider to his family, to the Clowned Prince of Crime. The gang that utilized the Red Hood persona needed a fall guy, and this time, it was to be the young man that became Joker. Tragedy strikes, but that does not stop their plan, and the events that lead to his immersion in the vat of chemicals continues in sepia coloured flashbacks.
The Analysis This murderous, anarchist incarnation of the Joker is the one chosen by director Christopher Nolan for the Dark Knight movie. This is one of the comics chosen for Heath Ledger to read in preparing the character of the Joker.
This moved the Joker from comic relief, to serious threat, perhaps the most serious that Batman faces. Because the Joker is one of the few people in the world as committed to their world view as the Batman.
Moore's writing is the finest in the industry. He is the only person to win the Hugo Award for a graphic novel (The Watchmen). His plots are multilayered, interwoven, and tight, a literary macrame. He comes at them from the deep motivations of the characters, and moves out from there. His sense of pacing is superb, and when you couple his writing with good art, the results are always impressive.
Brian Ballard has a realistic style. It is excellent in anatomy and portraiture, and provides rich backgrounds. He is fond of shadows and silhouettes and the shapes the characters make. He also uses the same sort of "theme objects" that mark Moore's writing, recurring themes, played off again and again. In these stories, it is freaks, and the freakish in the "normal" population, the trappings of the carnival, and reflections. In the flashback, it is the colour red, used as an accent like in an M. Night Shyamalan movie.
Together, these two have created a masterpiece that has redefined a character in a way that has never been done before. The Joker was created in 1940 as a trickster thief, but was born in this comic as the most dangerous villain Batman faces.
If you really want to appreciate the true depth of Heath Ledger's performance, then a read of this book is in order.
Batman on the screen.
The Dark Knight Batman Begins The (Very) Graphic Novels:
The Killing Joke
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