Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Batman: Killing Joke Deluxe Edition

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Batman: Killing Joke Deluxe Edition by Alan Moore, Brian Bolland

5 reviews

supeskenobi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Alan Moore's seminal 1988 graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke, has gone down in history as being one of the greatest comic books of all time. Despite clocking in at a relatively low 50 pages, it packs one hell of a cerebral punch and offers up a compelling, dark, grotesque look into comic books most iconic villains; The Joker. So impactful was this, that within a year it served as the origin story for The Joker in Tim Burton's 1989 movie 'Batman'. The origin story told here, has also gone down as essentially the de-facto origin story for the 'Clown Prince of Crime.' Is it his true origin story? Who knows. He doesn't, but it does do one thing that should've been impossible; it makes you feel sorry for the Joker (well the man he was before he became the Joker mainly).

The battle between Batman and the Joker, is perhaps at its most cerebral here as Joker desperately, frantically tries to get Batman to see the world like here does; as one big joke. Further adding to this, I personally feel that their rivalry was brought to quite possibly its most personal level, until 'A Death in the Family' later that same year. Here we see the Joker slip into depths of depravity I don't think he has ever, or really should ever sink to ever again.

It's hard to give any level of serious critique of this seminal story (and it is seminal for its massive status quo change) without talking about the most controversial aspect of this story. Here we see the Joker shooting Barbara Gordon through the stomach, shattering her spine and leaving unable to use her legs ever again. During this, the Joker undresses Barbara and takes perverse photos of her naked, bleeding corpse. These photos are later shown to her father, James Gordon (and us the reader though we don't see anything too explicit and graphic), as a way to torment him and drive him into insanity.

This is where I find the story goes too far in highlighting Joker's depravity and even Alan Moore agrees that he went too far and that DC should've reigned him in. The Joker is a sick and twisted monster, degenerate and disgusting, but would he go this far? He can make jokes about the dark things that happen in the world, but to show him perversely revelling in this...it goes too far. Joker is psychotic, yes, but this just doesn't feel right.

On a more positive note, the artwork by Brian Bolland is stunning and perhaps one of my favourite drawn graphic novels. The colouring and attention to detail really is second to none, and I actually prefer the black and white flashback sequences as opposed to the colour versions from the original 1988 version.

Overall, Batman: The Killing Joke is perhaps one of the best comics ever written. It explores the dynamic between Batman and Joker in a way that I don't think has ever really been explored before or done since, or if it has then it hasn't been done as well. Despite Alan Moore's less than stellar thoughts on the comic now, and the really bizarre mini story at the end of this edition which doesn't really go anywhere (though the artwork is stunning), this still is a good little read. Moore did for Joker what Miller did for Batman, in giving us a compelling and long lasting origin for one of the most iconic characters of the last one hundred years.

This was my first ever graphic novel. I bought it back in 2012 when I was around 13/14 and getting into Batman and Superheroes for the first time, and for the longest time this was the only graphic novel I owned. Whilst my own knowledge of comic books and the genre as a whole is limited, I no longer hold this story in as high regards as I once did. Perhaps it's age, perhaps it simply due to reading other stories I have enjoyed better, or maybe it's because some of the criticism levied at this story have finally sunk in; but I wouldn't really count it in my top ten Superhero/Batman stories anymore. I can appreciate it for what it did for the genre, its impact on these characters and the wider DC Universe as a whole, but alas; I don't get the same level of enjoyment as I used to get out of it these days. Still the artwork is bloody phenomenal.

Content Warnings

ayoung720's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bella_mckinnon's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Great, a classic.

Content Warnings

kaipitain's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The Killing Joke was the first full comic that I ever read.
It's a classic Batman story and probably the best starting point for people who want to get into reading Batman because it's not too complex in plot and character, but gives a good understanding of the gist of these comics.
Depending on your interpretation this story is also quite important to the chronology of Batman and has major effects on Batman comics for decades after this.

From the perspective of a comic fan it feels blasphemous to rate The Killing Joke only 3/5. But it's just too simple to give much more and it's far from being the best Batman book I've read. But through it's simple core it is an absolutely perfect starting point to read Batman, best followed up with Frank Miller's Year One.

Content Warnings

jmcordero's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

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