Batman: The Killing Joke (1988)

Batman: The Killing Joke Review

Batman: The Killing Joke is a DC Comics one-shot graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. It was first published in 1988.

After shooting and permanently paralyzing his daughter Barbara, the Joker kidnaps the commissioner and attacks his mind in hopes of breaking the man. But refusing to give up, Gordon maintains his sanity with the help of Batman in an effort to beset the madman. This graphic novel is usually regarded as one of the best Batman stories and I completely agree with that assessment. It’s a masterpiece.

This book is at its best when it’s focusing on the complicated, fascinating relationship between Batman and the Joker. Both men are defined by tragedy. One day is what altered their lives forever. But their paths diverged, so the comic explores how each person is different and how not everybody will response to grief in the same way. One finds meaning and wants to change the world for the better after that tragedy while the other goes insane as he cannot escape the feeling of injustice and absurdity of life.

While the origin story trappings of this book are definitely there, Alan Moore’s masterful writing transcended those limitations effectively. This is the ultimate origin story for the Joker. Although I would have preferred more emphasis on the central relationship and less on those flashbacks, they were still so well executed and rendered in beautiful black-and-white with sporadic color red being symbolic and quite powerful.

This story hints at Joker’s mental health issues, showcasing the importance of psychiatry or support from friends and family, which clearly this villain did not have. His origin story made sense for the character and it explained his rationale beautifully. There is also a fantastic arc that Moore gave to Commissioner Gordon. He could have been broken, but he remained sane and firm in his beliefs that order will prevail over chaos. Yes, the treatment of Barbara was horrendous, but it was necessary for the overall story and the imagery of those evil dwarfs as they continued to torture Gordon is unforgettably dark and disturbing.

The highlight was the ending as it was pleasantly ambiguous and open-ended. I personally don’t think that Batman would kill his nemesis, so either they both stayed alive or they jumped to their death together, which is also a possibility that most do not mention. Either way, it’s a tremendously artistic and powerful ending that really sticks with you. Brian Bolland’s artwork is beautiful and striking as he has a knack at creating memorable, creepy imagery and strong juxtapositions of characters’ poses, stares etc. Alan Moore wrote superb dialogue for this story and his characterization is top-notch. It’s a graphic novel that is surprisingly light on action, but the action that we got was terrific.

Batman: The Killing Joke is one of the best Batman stories of all time. This graphic novel forsakes action in favor of characterization and dialogue. The result is a sophisticated take on the Joker’s origin story and the complicated, fascinating relationship between Batman and his nemesis. It’s a psychologically complex story that is also gorgeously illustrated and striking in some of its disturbing imagery.

My Rating – 4.7