Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, Brian Bolland Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Batman: The Killing Joke
Book Review: A beautifully drawn, but very dark, tale.
Summary: 5 Stars
This was my first introduction to more "adult orientated" graphic novels (as opposed to comics). I bought it on a whim after seeing the cover featured in a TV programme hyping the 1989 Tim Burton Batman movie, and it was a real eye-opener. The tone is certainly much darker than the image of Batman which I'd grown up with (ie Adam West in all his campness) and provides a fascinating origin for the Joker. He comes across as an ordinary man driven beyond his capacity for reason, instead of the stereotypical insane clown of lazier Batman stories. (In fact the entire story is based around his "one bad day is all it takes" philosophy...)
The story itself is short but all the more effective for it, with some beautifully - if chillingly - drawn characters. The Joker is especially well rendered, with several large and extremely detailed frames - which is hardly surprising given that much of the book focuses on him and his "past life".
All in all, "A Killing Joke" is a worthy complement to "Batman: Year One" and "Dark Knight Returns", as it gives the reader a solid - and believable - origin to Batman's most enigmatic adversary. Highly recommended.