MR. J

Mr. J

Im completely fascinated by the joker i think he is the ultimate bad guy.

The credit for creation of the Joker is disputed. Kane responded in a 1994 interview to claims that Jerry Robinson created the concept of the character:

“Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a playing card of the Joker. That's the way I sum it up. [The Joker] looks like

Conrad Veidt — you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs, [the 1928 movie based on the novel] by Victor Hugo. [...] Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's the Joker'. Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it, but he'll always say he created it till he dies. He brought in a playing card, which we used for a couple of issues for him [the Joker] to use as his playing card.”

From: "Frank Lovece official site: Web Exclusives — Bob Kane interview"

Every other villain or “baddie” i have come across needs the hero to be relevant. Every one may disagree with me here, but lets b

e honest you cant have lex luthor without superman. There’s no Doc Oc with Spiderman. Grendel with out Beowulf. All other heros and villains need there advisory.

It's in this respect The Joker stands alone. The graphic novel Arkham Asylum shows the joker at his most sinister. The book dose not feature “the caped crusader” Ozzy (young penguin) only makes reference to him once. The book is the jokers own “comic” it gives us a look at the mind set of the joker. It could be argued it is where Nolan got the idea for the scars in the movie. He narrates the novel from the start almost like this all seeing all knowing (omniscient) narrator.

The book, the killing joke tell us the story of the origins of the Joker. There are many different tails of how the joker came in to being as Christopher Nolan pointed out in the film “the dark night” with The Joker giving a different story about how he “got these scars”. I would argue that although the Killing joke tells us the most well known story of the joker the fact that we do not know what really is the truth effects our view of the joker. Also because DC do not tell us for cretin what his background is or pins us to one story; the joker remains a mystery to everyone, most other antiheroes begin there stories with how they came to be we know that Magneto in a mutant and suffered because of it we see in the taín that medbh is a bad queen we know where the “baddies” come from and why for the most part. But when it comes to the joker you deiced what story you want to believe. As dose the joker himself

"Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice! Ha ha ha!" - the Killing joke.

When Batman and joker meet alone in the book they are speaking to each other as if they are just at another day at work the book even closes with a joke.

“Easily the greatest Joker story ever told, Batman the killing Joke is also one of Alan Moore's finest works. Originally released in 1988, The Killing Joke tells the origin of the Joker -- or at least one version of the origin. The Clown Prince of Crime himself admits even he can't be sure which version of his beginnings is true. The origin is the underpinning for the psychological drama, rather than being mere filler. True to his psychosis, the Joker doesn't want to accept responsibility for his actions and goes about attempting to prove that any man put under proper duress would go bonkers.

The Joker's experiment leads to one of the most shocking moment's in DC history, an event that affects Batman continuity for the next 15 years and it's done as casually as a Joker killing spree.

Those who focus on the Joker's origin are missing the point. The Killing Joke isn't about how the Joker came to be, it's an examination of human nature. If Joker can turn his captive, Commissioner James Gordon, into a raving lunatic, then it's proof that any man in Joe Kerr's position would have gone a little nutty. However, should Gordon survive with sanity intact, it serves as proof that there is something buried deep within each lunatic, a nugget of insanity, that is simply waiting for the right moment to spring forth. Is it the horrors of a particular event that make a man insane or is it something deep within the man himself?

Outside of the psychological and sociological undertones, The Killing Joke is a masterfully told story. Each scene features perfect transitions, allowing the story to easily weave between present and past as the Joker attempts to force his insanity on James Gordon. Brian Bolland's art is a rarity for comics. It features no set-ups, no heavily-reused poses. Everyone's face is full of expression, no muscle is left unused throughout the short tale. Together Moore's rhythmic dialogue and Bolland's organic art create a unique story often mimicked but never matched.

What Moore understands that so many writers seem to overlook is that clowns are inevitably pitiable people. Behind every clown's smile is a sad story, they say and the Joker is no different. Though an unforgiving and brutal mass-murderer, the Joker is shown as a vulnerable and pathetic figure, trapped in a cycle of violence just like Batman.

If you haven't read The Killing Joke, you have no right to call yourself a Batman fan. You may not find it to be the greatest Batman story of all time, but you'll be hard-pressed not to laugh at the end. Re-printed more times than almost any other comic in history, The Killing Joke is still readily available, meaning you have no excuse. If you've read it before, go back and read it again. You owe it to yourself.”

Review by Ign.com