Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9781845767723
Edition: De Luxe Ed
Format: Special Edition
ISBN: 1845767721
Label: Titan Books Ltd
Manufacturer: Titan Books Ltd
Number Of Pages: 64
Publication Date: April 25, 2008
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd
Studio: Titan Books Ltd

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- It was OK.
I was really looking forward to this, having heard so much praise. I guess I missed something, but I was expecting a really deep, complex story, like so many reviews and articles had described, and didn't find anything of the sort. The artwork's flawless, but the story really did nothing for me, especially the Joker's back story, which seems to be the most raved about part. I felt no attachment to any characters, and having only recently read Watchmen for the first time, and being so blown away by that, I couldn't see how this was the same writer. I also found it shockingly short, which I don't expect from a graphic novel. As I said before though, awesome artwork. I still love that cover!

Rating:

- A Feast for the Eyes; A Drain On the Mind
Okay, let's keep this brief and informal lest I start taking myself far too seriously. After all, it is only a comic book to which I am referring regardless of how good or bad this particular one may be.
As an addition to the Batman Legend, 'The Killing Joke' is something of a let down, and not least due to the 1980's "think outside of the box" storyline. In my opinion it will warp your perception of the Caped Crusader and Smiles-McGee as it did mine with it's painting of the pair as something of an old married couple who may fight but deep down are the best of friends (and thankfully like an old married couple they are not sexually attracted to each other either). It has to be said though that The Joker's crimes depicted here are less master-criminal and more sick-bastard. Whilst inventive, they lack the subtlety and genius you'd expect from the character. It would be far too easy to confuse his antics with that of 'Lord Pumpkin' in his origin one-shot as the freaky carnival setting and deformed minions are not Joker-like in my mind. I'd also suggest that the "definitive origin story" for the Joker is an ideal that should have died long ago, way before the 80's ever hit, and it's inclusion here makes the Joker seem weak and unjustified (in some senses) in his madness. Basically, as in the short version, Alan Moore's story is cleverly gimmicky at best with scripting that is just plain awful. Sorry to all the fans of the piece out there, but it reads more like a romance comic with Batman being the hysterical woman moreover Dark Knight.
What you will take away from reading this (and despite what I just said, you must buy and read this!) is that Brian Bolland is highly revered for a reason. The artwork is simply phenomenal, and the newly revamped colouring is stunning. You may never see a depiction of classic Batman or Joker looking this good anywhere else again. With the added bonus of Bolland's 'Innocent Man' (which he also wrote) sitting quietly at the back, this package must adorn your bookcase. I would recommend this to anyone.

Rating:

- "I know you're a mass murderer, but can't we be friends?"
Alan Moore provides the reader with plenty motivation for us to hate the Joker in this short story; so much in fact that it make's Commisioner Gordon's response largely unbelievable, and Batman's 'let's be friends, I can help you' reaction somehow cowardly. The villain is elevated to such a level of cruelty and malice that Batman's idealistic moral outlook has no counter. The result is Batman comes off as a wimp.

The artwork by Boland is wonderful, but probably the worst story I've read of Moore's.

Rating:

- A short story, short on story
This graphic novel has been given a massive amount of praise and to be honest, I'm not sure why. Perhaps because it's Alan Moore, perhaps because it is Batman vs Joker, perhaps because it has a Joker origin. I'm not sure.

I read it in one sitting, it's a very short and at £10 is a bit expensive. As it's so short there's not really a story. None at all. Batman turns up at the begining and the end, the middle is mainly flashbacks to the Joker origin. Which is campy and somewhat uninteresting.

The end is somewhat ambiguous following on the unexplored idea of should Batman kill the joker and why.

Really, the problem is not bad writing, just that it's too short and doesn't really explore the relationship at all.

There are better graphic novels, there are better batman novels. I wouldn't recommend this.

Rating:

- Not as great as it's made out to be....
I must admit to having had a copy of this book for quite a while now, and having read and re-read it a number of times, still cannot see why it is so lauded. Okay, the artwork IS wonderful (though Brian Bolland didn't like the colour much, apparently), and there are elements within the story which have subsequently proven pivotal within the DC Universe, but that's not really enough to explain it's status. I think that after an excellent set up, the ending is rather flat. I'd always assumed that I'd "missed the point" somewhere ... now I'm not so sure. It's quite interesting to review "The Killing Joke" in the context of the rest of Alan Moore's work at DC (and, as all but his "Swamp Thing" stuff is now collected in a single trade paperback, that's relatively easy to do). It's certainly not his most interesting or most imaginative during this period (his two comparable Superman stories are probably superior, whilst his Omega Men and Green Lantern Corps tales are better still) and I suspect much of the status comes from the general Batman "thing" that ran from Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" to the Burton's two movies.
A good book, but not the great one everyone seems to think.

Try searching the Internet for "Batman: The Killing Joke (Deluxe Edition)" or Ebay for "Batman: The Killing Joke (Deluxe Edition)".

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