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Batman: The Killing Joke is a 1988 American comic book written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. The 48-page one-shot graphic novel was published by DC Comics as part of its adult comics line in May 1988. The Killing Joke was Moore's penultimate work for DC Comics before his split from the company in 1989, and has since been reprinted on numerous occasions in collections and special editions.

Development began in 1984, when editor Dick Giordano told Bolland that he could do any project he wanted. Bolland, who had recently seen the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs, requested to produce a one-off story featuring Batman and the Joker with Moore. Moore decided to present a take on the Joker's origin story, based on the 1951 story "The Man Behind the Red Hood!". Although Moore's Watchmen (1986–1987) was released before The Killing Joke, he actually finished writing The Killing Joke first. Bolland worked slowly, and the comic subsequently spent four years in production before it was finally published in 1988. John Higgins handled coloring duties, although Bolland provided colors for a later edition released in 2008.

The Killing Joke is divided into two parts. The first, told via flashbacks, provides a possible origin story for the Joker, depicting him as a failed comedian who goes insane following a single day of unfortunate events. The second, set in the present day, begins when the Joker's initiates a scheme to drive James Gordon insane—which includes shooting his daughter Barbara in the stomach—and follows Batman's desperate attempt to stop him. Thematically, The Killing Joke explores the nature of insanity and what Moore saw as similarities between Batman and the Joker.

Many critics consider The Killing Joke the definitive Joker story and one of the greatest Batman stories of all time. Acclaimed for its writing and artwork, it won the Eisner Award for "Best Graphic Album" in 1989 and appeared on The New York Times Best Seller List in May 2009. It had a profound impact on future Batman stories and is considered a seminal work of the Modern Age of Comic Books. However, both Moore and Bolland have expressed dissatisfaction with the final product, and it has faced increasing criticism in recent years for its treatment of Barbara Gordon, which some writers consider mysoginistic. Elements from The Killing Joke have inspired or been incorporated into Batman adaptations, including the films Batman (1989), The Dark Knight (2008), and Joker (2019) and the Batman: Arkham video game series. An animated adaptation of the comic was released in 2016.

Publication history

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Development

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Batman: The Killing Joke writer Alan Moore (left) and illustrator Brian Bolland (right)

The idea for Batman: The Killing Joke came from artist Brian Bolland, known for his 12-issue maxiseries Camelot 3000 (1982–1985). In 1984, editor Dick Giordano told him he could do any project for DC Comics he wanted.[1] Bolland, who had just seen the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs (which was the inspiration for the Joker character),[2] requested to create a prestige format comic about Batman and the Joker with Swamp Thing writer Alan Moore.[1] Bolland recounted: "I thought about it in terms of who's my favorite writer at the moment, what hero I would really love to do, and which villain? I basically came up with Alan, Batman and the Joker."[3]

With The Killing Joke, Bolland wanted to create a one-off Batman story that focused on the Joker, with Batman more of an incidental character.[1] Moore decided to focus on an origin story for the Joker told via flashbacks.[4] The origin presented in The Killing Joke is based on the 1951 story "The Man Behind the Red Hood!", which established that the Joker was once the criminal Red Hood and jumped in chemical waste to escape Batman. Moore did not contradict the existing Joker origin because he "believe[s] in working by the rules of the material as it already exists", but presented it in his own way.[5] He decided to explain who the Joker was and why he became the Red Hood. Moore's goal with The Killing Joke was to contrast Batman and the Joker and demonstrate the similarities between their psychoses.[4]

The Joker's shooting of Barbara Gordon, then Batman's sidekick Batgirl, had to be specially approved by editor Len Wein, as she was a staple of the Batman franchise.[6] Moore recalled that he "asked DC if they had any problem with me crippling Barbara", and following a discussion with Giordano, "Len got back onto the phone and said, 'Yeah, okay, cripple the bitch.'"[7] There has been speculation as to whether editors intended to have the character's paralysis become canon in the DC Universe, but comics historian Brian Cronin wrote that DC hired Barbara Kesel to write Batgirl Special #1 (July 1988)—which features Barbara retiring—specifically to set her in place for The Killing Joke. Moore has expressed regret over the plot element, calling it "shallow and ill-conceived" and "probably one of the areas where [DC] should've reined me in, but they didn't."[7]

The 48-page prestige format one-shot comic took a considerable amount of time—four years—to produce. Moore and Bolland were known for their meticulous, time-consuming work; both creators' then-recently finished 12-issue maxiseries—Moore's Watchmen (1986–1987) and Bolland's Camelot 3000—had seen delays.[8] Moore wrote Watchmen and The Killing Joke around the same time,[5] and finished The Killing Joke first. Bolland worked slowly and was aided by the laid-back attitude taken by DC, which "seemed prepared to let me do it at my own pace."[3] When Wein left DC, he was replaced by Dennis O'Neil, a "very hands-off sort of guy"; Bolland recalled having only one conversation about The Killing Joke with him.[3] Bolland said he saw his work on the Judge Death character "[as] almost a dry run for drawing the Joker." Some elements of the script made Bolland uncomfortable, such as Moore's decision to reveal the Joker's origin and Barbara's paralysis. The Joker's appearance on the cover was based on an image of Bolland holding a camera in front of a mirror; Bolland has called this illustration his most detailed cover.

Both Moore and Bolland expressed dissatisfaction with the final product. Moore disowned The Killing Joke three months after its release,[9] saying in 2000 that while he thought Bolland did a fine job illustrating, "I don't think it's a very good book. It's not saying anything very interesting."[5] In 2003, he elaborated that because it was about two unrealistic, licensed characters, "it isn't about anything that you're ever going to encounter in real life [...] it was something that I thought was clumsy, misjudged and had no real human importance." Moore also grew to find the comic too violent and "nasty", especially for a character like Batman.[10] For his part, Bolland regretted that the impending schedule for release meant he could not color the book himself.[1] Instead, John Higgins handled coloring duties. Bolland instructed Higgins to use "muted November colors" for the flashback sequences (which Bolland envisaged in black and white), and was upset when he saw the finished comic had "garish ... hideous glowing purples and pinks ... and my precious Eraserhead-esque flashback sequences swamped in orange."[2]

Publication

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The Killing Joke was published as a graphic novel in May 1988,[11] with a cover date of July 1988. The comic carried DC's "Suggested for Mature Readers" label, joining a growing line of adult comics that at the time included Swamp Thing, Green Arrow, and Hellblazer. In an editorial dated June 1988, O'Neil warned that The Killing Joke contained graphic violence and some nudity, and cautioned parents to consider reading the comic themselves before deciding whether it was appropriate for their children.[12] One page that featured sexually explicit, full frontal nudity had to be censored for publication; the uncensored artwork—which Bolland confirmed was authentic—was leaked in 2013.[13]

The Killing Joke was Moore's penultimate work for DC Comics, as he had a falling out with DC during the production of Watchmen over the issues of creator's rights and merchandising. He only continued to commit to The Killing Joke as a favor for Bolland.[3] After he finished V for Vendetta in 1989, he departed DC to work independently. It was also one of Bolland's last major works as an interior artist before he shifted almost exclusively to cover art. The Killing Joke proved so popular that it received 14 printings,[14] and it was included in DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore, a collection released in January 2006.[15]

For the graphic novel's 20th anniversary, on March 19, 2008, DC published a deluxe edition of The Killing Joke featuring a colored version of Bolland's "An Innocent Guy" (originally published in Batman Black and White #4 in March 1996), an introduction by Tim Sale, and an afterword by Bolland. The deluxe edition features recoloring by Bolland to restore his original vision. Bolland recolored the art after Bob Harras informed him of the deluxe edition in February 2007. To recolor the book, editor Jeb Woodard used a computer to isolate the printed comic's line art from the colors, as the original, uncolored artwork had since fallen into the hands of collectors. Bolland redid the colors with a Macintosh, and made several changes to the line art during the process. He estimated that every page has at least one minor difference, ranging from added detail to redrawn characters.

DC published a DC Comics Absolute Edition of The Killing Joke to commemorate its 30th anniversary on September 11, 2018. The absolute edition comes in a slipcase and includes both the Higgins- and Bolland-colored versions of the comic; stories from Who's Who in the DC Universe #13 (October 1991), Batman Black and White #4, and Countdown #31 (September 2007); Moore's original 128-page script; and previously unreleased art by Bolland.[16]

Synopsis

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In Gotham City, an engineer quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife Jeannie, he agrees to guide two criminals through the chemical plant where he previously worked so that they can rob the playing card company next to it. As the trio finishes planning, the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) informs the engineer that his wife has died in a household accident. The grieving engineer tries to withdraw, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment. At the plant, the criminals make the engineer don a special mask to become the Red Hood; this disguise implicates the criminals' accomplice as the mastermind, diverting attention away from themselves. Once inside, they encounter security personnel, a shootout ensues, and the two criminals are killed. Batman, who is investigating the disturbance, confronts the engineer. Terrified, he jumps into the chemical plant's waste pound lock to escape and is swept outside. The chemicals bleach his skin, stain his lips red, and dye his hair green. The engineer—transformed into the Joker—stumbles away, laughing.

In the present day, Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to talk with the Joker about ending their years-long feud, only to discover that the Joker has escaped and left a decoy in his place. After killing the owner of a run-down amusement park and claiming it as his own, the Joker initiates a plan to drive GCPD commissioner James Gordon insane. He shoots his daughter Barbara in the stomach, before kidnapping Gordon and imprisoning him in the amusement park. The Joker's henchmen strip Gordon, beat him, and chain him to one of the park's rides, forcing him to view blown-up photos of a nude and bloodied Barbara, who was paralyzed from the waist down. Gordon is placed on display in the park's freak show, where the Joker ridicules him as "the average man", a naïve weakling doomed to insanity.

Batman's attempts to locate Gordon are unsuccessful until the Joker sends him a ticket to the amusement park. Batman rescues Gordon and, after a brief confrontation, the Joker retreats into a funhouse. Though traumatized by the ordeal, Gordon retains his sanity and moral code, and he orders Batman to capture the Joker in strict adherence to their principles. Batman enters the funhouse and dodges traps while the Joker taunts him, gloating that the world is a "black, awful joke" not worth fighting for, and that it only takes "one bad day" to drive an ordinary man insane. Batman subdues the Joker, retorts that Gordon remained sane, and suggests that the Joker is alone in his madness. The Joker, realizing defeat, gives up; feeling pity, Batman offers to help the Joker through psychiatric rehabilitation and end their everlasting war, which he fears may one day result in a fight to the death. The Joker declines, telling Batman it is too late. The Joker then says that the situation reminds him of a joke about two inmates in a lunatic asylum who try to escape. Batman chuckles, and the two laugh as the police arrive.

Thematic analysis

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The joke that the Joker tells at the end has been interpreted as a metaphor about Batman and the Joker's relationship.[17][18]

Violence against women

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This is going to be fun. /s

Ending

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The ambiguity of The Killing Joke's ending has provoked significant discussion, interpretation, and debate. In the final panels of the comic, Batman and the Joker laugh together, and Batman places his arms on the Joker. Their laughter is then drowned out by police car sirens, and the focus of the panels shifts to the rain hitting the ground as the car headlights shut off, mirroring the comic's opening panels. The meaning of the ending has long been debated, and multiple interpretations exist. In 2008, Bolland acknowledged the ending's ambiguity but declined to provide an explanation.[17]

A prominent theory, which Scottish comic book writer Grant Morrison popularized in 2013, argues that Batman kills the Joker after he tells his joke, hence the title The Killing Joke. Morrison—who argues that Batman reaches to the Joker to snap his neck—believes that The Killing Joke was intended to be Moore's take on the final Batman story, similar to how "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" was his take on the final Superman story.[17]

Sequart Organization founder Julian Darius endorses the argument that Batman kills the Joker, but argues that Batman uses the Joker's needle—which paralyzes its victims, explaining why the Joker's body does not fall upon death—instead of breaking his neck, which he feels there is little textual evidence to support. Instead, Darius writes that hands are recurring imagery throughout The Killing Joke, foreshadowing when Batman attempts to reach out to the Joker. He notes a panel during Batman's final fight with the Joker, in which he stares at his hand. Darius believes that Batman is looking at the needle, writing that "there's poetry in the idea of the Joker dying from his own device, which expresses how Batman's been provoked by the Joker's actions, including his assault on Barbara".

Opponents of the theory that Batman kills the Joker typically point to the fact that the actual script does not indicate this is the case, and that it runs contrary to Batman's strict no-kill rule. Joseph Hughes of ComicsAlliance argues that Batman killing the Joker undermines the point of the story, which is that the Joker is wrong in believing he can break anyone psychologically. Hughes writes that the way Batman honors Gordon's request to capture the Joker "is wholly antithetical to the idea of Batman suddenly choking the Joker to death, especially after they've just had the closest thing they'll ever get to a real conversation."[17]

Reception

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Contemporary

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The Killing Joke received widespread critical acclaim.

Retrospective

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The Killing Joke is frequently described as one of the most controversial comics ever released.

In 2013, the Columbus Public Library in Columbus, Nebraska declined to remove The Killing Joke from its shelves after a challenge from a patron, who complained that the comic promoted rape and violence.[19]

Legacy

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According to Time film critic Stephanie Zacharek, The Killing Joke originated a trend, later popularized by films such as Joker (2019) and Cruella (2021), in which media attempts to humanize villains and provide understanding to their motivations.[20]

Effect on future stories

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Adaptations and other media

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Main article: Batman: The Killing Joke (film)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Bolland 2006b, p. 256.
  2. ^ a b Bolland 2006a, p. 195–197.
  3. ^ a b c d Salisbury 2000, p. 19.
  4. ^ a b Moore 2004, p. 62.
  5. ^ a b c Kavanaugh, Barry (October 17, 2000). "The Killing Joke And Brought To Light". Blather.net. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  6. ^ Bolland 2006, p. 195–197.
  7. ^ a b Moore 2004, p. 62–64.
  8. ^ Brooker 2001, p. 268–272.
  9. ^ Grater, Tom (October 9, 2020). "Alan Moore Gives Rare Interview: 'Watchmen' Creator Talks New Project 'The Show', How Superhero Movies Have "Blighted Culture" & Why He Wants Nothing To Do With Comics". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Wilbur, Brock (April 28, 2016). "Alan Moore Has A Lot To Say About 'The Killing Joke'". Inverse. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  11. ^ Cronin, Brian (February 15, 2007). "A (Perhaps Unnecessary) Guide to Oracle's Formative Years". CBR.com. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Chudolinski, Michal (July 7, 2016). "'Batman: The Killing Joke' is the darkest superhero story there is". Business Insider. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Means-Shannon, Hannah (December 1, 2013). "Does Original Killing Joke Artwork Reveal Greater Sexual Intent For Batgirl?". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Matiasevich, Greg (May 10, 2016). "Stop Me If You've Heard This One: Thoughts on "The Killing Joke"". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  15. ^ "DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore". DC Comics. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  16. ^ Johnston, Rich (March 15, 2018). "The Killing Joke Gets a Sideways View for Absolute Killing Joke + Full Script". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d Hughes, Joseph (August 19, 2013). "So What Really Happened At The End Of 'The Killing Joke'?". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  18. ^ Abdulbaki, Mae (October 29, 2020). "'Killing Joke' ending explained: Theory solves a longrunning Batman debate". Inverse. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  19. ^ Melrose, Kevin (May 14, 2013). "Nebraska library refuses to pull 'Batman: The Killing Joke'". CBR.com. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  20. ^ Zacharek 2021, p. 100.

Bibliography

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