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Title: Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore ISBN: 0-930289-45-5 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 December, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.58 (80 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Eerie and powerful
Comment: Batman's high-profile villains are actually Asylum inmates, and this should place them apart from most of comics' other foes; still, not all of those who wrote these characters have made the most out of this aspect. Alan Moore understood this: his Joker carries as much of a burden as does Bruce Wayne, even though both chose opposite ways to deal with the anger that resulted from it. But Moore plays down this opposition throughout the work, and not only in the conclusion. This is not a Batman readers are accustomed to, but there are two seemingly unrelated advantages to this: on one hand, Moore states explicitely many details that were mainly hinted at previously (especially concerning Batman's nature and motivations), so it's not as if he ignored what had been done before; on the other, this Batman is strange, peculiar enough to underline the fact that this book is the work of an outsider (or two, also counting Brian Bolland), of someone who has his own take on the eeriness of the characters and their milieu. Bolland's great work is in evidence everywhere, notably in the first few wordless pages featuring very evocative visual narration; and it's easy to understand why colorist John Higgins' name was included on the cover. In short, this is a Batman-Joker confrontation that feels fresh, inspired, dynamic and poetic at the same time.
Rating: 5
Summary: The finest of all Batman stories
Comment: Ironic that the best (by MILES) Batman story ever written was by Englishman Alan Moore, and that the wonderful artwork was by another Englishman, Brian Bolland both famous for the wonderful and original Judge Dredd comics. Reading the reviews, I was absolutely astonished at one of them who complained it was only interesting to Batman fans - then who is going to be buying it pray tell, if not Batman fans ? It is - believe it or not - a BATMAN book !
Its wonderful, and memorable. Not many in this genre can have that said about them !
Rating: 5
Summary: The Blood Feud Continues...
Comment: While this wonderful comic can be enjoyed by all audiences, even those who know little about Batman, for true fans this is one the best and most interesting Batman tales ever told. In these pages, expertly written by comic legend Alan Moore, the intriguing relationship between Batman and his arch-nemesis the Joker are explored in a deep psychological matter. The mysteries of the Joker are explored, which is a very rare occurrence in Batman books, having only been done only once before in the Jokers fifty year history. To defeat the Joker, Batman has to look deep into his own soul, and explore the demons that drive him in his own fight.
The beginning of the story finds Batman at his wits end, and understandably so. Fans of the comic know that the Joker is the Dark Knights ultimate foil, an ingenious psychopath who has killed thousands of innocent people. No matter how many times Batman brings him down, the Joker always returns. In confronting his enemy, Batman makes it clear that their dance isn't going to last forever, that one of them is going to die eventually. The Joker, in the midst of yet another prison escape, begins to remember fragments of his past, and the reader gets to enjoy all the irony and depression found in the dark mist of Joker history. In one of the more shocking moments in Batman comic history, the Joker commits a crime of unspeakable proportions, striking at someone very close to Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon. The Joker, in order to fuel his own megalomania, decides to torture Gordon, driving him insane, in order to prove to the outside world that he is just a normal result of modern society. Batman, in reaction, uses everything in his power to bring down the Clown Prince, at the same time wondering if he should just break his vow and end the Joker once and for all. For me, the most powerful part of this fascinating work is near the end, where the Joker and Batman actually have a short, meaningful conversation. In a wonderfully emotional moment, the Joker has self-doubt, and we get to see through the insanity and the murder for one fleeting second. Of course, however, the duel can never die, and the hatred resumes.
Alan Moore gives this book his own brand of advanced comic writing, where the story is dominant and the art follows. That is not to say that the art is not fantastic, with Brian Bolland and others giving the tale a vivid narrative style. The story is definitely for adults however, as the reader is faced with some of the more disturbing aspects of human debauchery and criminality, with its horrific crescendo represented by the fate of Barbara Gordon. The Killing Joke stands with Year One and the Dark Knight Returns as classic comics, instrumental to the understanding of Batman and the villains he faces.
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Title: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller ISBN: 1563893428 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 May, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller ISBN: 0930289331 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb ISBN: 1563894696 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons ISBN: 0930289234 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 April, 1995 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Batman: Death in the Family by Jim Starlin ISBN: 0930289447 Publisher: DC Comics Pub. Date: 01 December, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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