The Joker by Brian Azzarello Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Joker
Book Review: the dark clown
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is very interesting. It tells a story from the eyes a henchman named Jonny Frost, in his service to the joker through a somewhat normal: turf war gang story, However, the characters, dialogue, and the writing are heavily psychological and gripping. It almost asks the question "what if the joker was real? Instead of being some cool villain people want to relate too. It paints a picture of this disturbing, scary character that I found fascinating. The art is a bit varied, mostly because of coloring but I found most of the pictures to be expressive and beautifully gritty and very fitting to the book. If you want a dark psychological story centered on a realistic joker, set in a gritty realistic Gotham City and some intelligent writing, this is definitely worth a read.Book Review: Not my Joker!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is one of the best Joker stories ever written. Period.
If there was a homicidal maniac roaming around town charge of organized crime, this is what it would be like to be his driver. Azzarello's writing is fantastic, Bermejos art is phenomenal.
That said, the reason I subtract a star is for personal bias and that alone. I love my Joker more theatrical and this one is too real. A truly tiny quibble.
Enjoy!
Book Review: he final scenes of the book are some of the best seen in the comics medium
Summary: 5 Stars
Two recent films by Christopher Nolan may have all but washed the memories from mainstream audiences, but it wasn't long ago that Batman and his cadre of allies and villains were better known for campy superhero comics and even campier films. But as graphic novels have matured with their audiences, so too have Gotham and its characters.
And while Nolan deserves credit for redeeming the Batman film franchise of the bitter taste left by Joel Schumacher, the transfiguration of Gotham started back in the comics realm by authors like Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) and Alan Moore (Batman: The Killing Joke).
Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) is one of the latest to offer his mature take on the franchise with the simply titled Joker, a book noticeably mostly absent of the Batman. Instead, readers follow one night in the close company of Batman's arch-nemesis.
"I don't know the particulars...but...the Joker was being released from Arkham Asylum," Azzarello writes in the first several pages, setting up the scene.
Lee Bermejo (Lex Luthor: Man of Steel) does the art and the book's cover, which features a close-up of the Joker's demented smile. His teeth are decaying and his crimson lipstick could just as easily be blood as makeup. It's a strong indicator of the extremely dark character Azzarello and Bermejo have created together for this book.
The Joker's appearance is eerily similar to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the character in The Dark Knight, with scar tissue running up each side of his face to form a disturbing smile. And the same anarchistic tendencies are evident when we see the Joker willing to place a revolver in his own mouth and pull the trigger in a self-imposed game of Russian roulette.
But that's where the comparisons end. Azzarello's Joker isn't a character pulling childish tricks out of his sleeves, nor is he a psychological mastermind, playing head games with his targets. He is instead a true maniac whom readers find laughing during the most disturbing of moments and crying at the knees of an apparent lover. He is a lord of the criminal underbelly of Gotham looking to get back his piece of the pie, and he's not the kind of guy who thinks twice about skinning a person alive or putting a bullet through someone's head to get it.
The story is narrated by Jonny Frost, a wannabe thug who thinks getting in as one of the Joker's underlings will catapult him to the top of the criminal ranks, but he soon begins to realize the Joker is a man he does not/cannot fully comprehend. Azzarello is clearly using Frost as a conduit for the tale--which sees the Joker running into the likes of the Penguin, Two-Face, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, and the Riddler--and a catalyst, but it's a shame Frost isn't fully fleshed out as a character with a bit more personality.
And though it can be inconsistent at times, most of Bermejo's panels present richly detailed images with remarkable lighting with colors by Patricia Mulvihill. The final scenes of the book are some of the best seen in the comics medium.
-- William Jones
Book Review: A nice surprise
Summary: 4 Stars
Although the story itself is a bit simple, what really shines in this book is the way Joker interacts with the rest of the characters and in specific with the narrator. I enjoyed how Frost was sucked into the black hole that is Joker and how at the end, his life seemed so irrelevant.
There are some nice lines along the way, that will echo in your mind for a couple of days.
Batman's part in this story is a small but powerful one, despite the fact the he only gets a few words.
To sum up, the main goal of this story is to show things through a Joker perspective. But don't fool yourself if you think you'll fall prey to the cliché compassion and empathy devices that most authors use in trying to redeem their villains. And of course, the artwork is top notch, but that you already knew just by looking at some pictures.
As a negative point, I would say the unrealistic power grip that Joker has on the rest of Gotham's city villains. I would have preferred a bit more balance.
Book Review: The best comic ive got
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best dc comic i have ever bought. the storyline is great and the pictures are truely amazing. i highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the joker.