If you’ve read my reviews for a while, you might know that I have a thing for the Joker. And no, not simply because (as my friend Phil so delicately pIf you’ve read my reviews for a while, you might know that I have a thing for the Joker. And no, not simply because (as my friend Phil so delicately puts it) I have a Joker fetish (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) , but because he’s one of the most brilliant, layered and complicated comic book characters ever created. So obviously, I ferreted out a copy of this book almost as soon as I knew it existed.
Dr. Langley made a brave choice to have edited out this collection: didn’t the last shrink to try and analyse the Joker end up as his side-kick? Bad jokes aside, this is a fascinating little collection separated into 5 sections, one for each era of the character, and each section focuses on one specific psychological trait that defined it. It was written soon after Todd Philip’s “Joker” came out, so it doesn’t really use that version of the character it its analysis, nor does it look into the Valeska twins (should fellow “Gotham” fans out there be wondering) – which is kind of a shame, because I feel like there is a treasure trove of neurosis to look at there.
As much fun as it can be to speculate about the psychology of fictional characters, this book is actually quite academic, and it might be a struggle for people who are not used to the language of psychology. The first section is also a very deep dive into the creation of the character, which was interesting but drawn-out. I appreciate that the character of Harley Quinn is also explored and discussed, as is her relationship with Mister J – and whether or not either of them can hope to get “better”.
A really interesting study of two fascinating characters, but it’s a bit on the dry side....more
Scott Snyder wrote one dark, fucked up Joker story, and I loved it!
I’m not sure exactly how my Puddin lost his face, as I only read Batman cHoly. Cow.
Scott Snyder wrote one dark, fucked up Joker story, and I loved it!
I’m not sure exactly how my Puddin lost his face, as I only read Batman comics sporadically and out of sequence, but it happened, and he’s been off the grid ever since. But you can’t keep the Joker far from Gotham, and you can’t keep him from trying to drive Batman insane/kill him. In “Death of the Family”, he comes back with a vengeance, as maniacal as ever, but I must say Snyder definitely pushed the envelope and made him into a terrifying monster. He hasn’t lost his signature style of dark whimsy and psychological torture, but there’s an edge to this Joker that makes him downright chilling (the horse!!). And I liked the new outfit – less colorful, but more functional.
My favorite Joker stories are always about the ways he poisons the minds of Batman’s allies, by simply sowing seeds of doubt or mistrust before stepping back and watching it all blossom horribly (like he does with Catwoman in Tom King’s “The Wedding: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), and this is a great example of his evil manipulations, trying to turn the Bat-family against Batman by recreating some of his most famous... "jokes".
I do love the idea of the Joker being deeply convinced he is there to make Batman the best Batman he can be; I always saw them as two perfect opposites, two sides of the same coin (Heath Ledger’s amazing line: “I don’t want to kill you! What would I do without you? You complete me!” captures their relationship perfectly) and Snyder’s Joker plays with this symbiosis beautifully.
I imagine some will think this a sacrilege, but I enjoyed it more than “The Killing Joke” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)... In some ways, it's more burtal, the artwork is incredible (if occasionally disgusting) and creepy, the dialogue is solid - even when it falls into silly Bat-monologues. A truly excellent graphic novel....more
This book calls for a pros and cons list that I shall keep spoiler-free.
Pros: • Joker-centered story. Duh. This gal can’t get enough of her Puddin’, evThis book calls for a pros and cons list that I shall keep spoiler-free.
Pros: • Joker-centered story. Duh. This gal can’t get enough of her Puddin’, even Snyder’s particularly psychopathic version. He’s just a glorious character and I wuvs him!
• Amazing artwork. Capullo knows how to make a story like this one vivid, creepy and gritty and I love that so much. He created some truly haunting images, his battle scenes are bloody and gross
Cons: • That Joker origin story is… not great. It’s interesting as a speculation, but it just feels awkward as an explanation. Supernatural hat tricks usually make me roll my eyes a little, and it did here too. Even in “Gotham”, the whole deal with the Lazarus Water made me yawn.
• The ending should have been the ending – but it isn’t, as there are further books in the series. I won’t spoil it, but the last page of this book is how a Joker vs. Batman showdown was always supposed to end and there is no point in trying to pick up after that.
I think that Snyder was aiming to make this final confrontation epic, in the Greek tragedy sense of the word, and he succeeds up to a point.
The Joker unleashes a new strain of his infamous toxin on Gotham: an old trick, granted, but the strain is so powerful that no one is safe, not even the super-human members of the Justice League. You see, after the special treat the Joker had carefully organized for Batman in “Death of the Family” (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), he was expecting their relationship to improve, but does he even get a thank you from his greatest foe? No, nada! Well, now he’s just tired of putting up with the ungrateful attitude of the Dark Knight, so he takes out the metaphorical big guns.
I love Snyder’s very noir spin on Batman, and as mentioned, Capullo’s art makes his ideas vivid and dynamic… But again, with that weird wrap up on Mr. J… I’m just not sure how I feel about that… So 3 and a half undecisive stars for now....more
"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. On that road I saw a pale man... and he smiled at me."
Thanks to Todd PhHappy Valentines Day, Puddin'!
"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. On that road I saw a pale man... and he smiled at me."
Thanks to Todd Philips’ “Joker”, my obsession with my beloved Mr. J has gotten seriously out of control in late 2019. I even started watching “Gotham” and fell head over heels for the Valeska twins (because two Jokers are better than one… and I love me a ginger with a wicked grin!). So, needless to say, I was waiting for my copy of “Harleen” to be delivered with bathed breath. And let me tell you, this book does for Harley what Todd Philips did for Joker: it makes her human.
Heavily inspired by the classic “Mad Love” origin story, Stjepan Šejic took the character of Harley Quinn (or rather, Dr. Harleen Quinzel) and re-imagined her slow descent into madness and criminality as seen through her own eyes. So in some ways, it is the old familiar story, but in other ways, it’s a brand new one. Šejic’s artwork is incredibly gorgeous and crisp - and it’s about time someone drew up a sexy Joker for the freaks like me who are out there! In their novelization (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan tried to flesh out Harley’s background to help the reader understand how an otherwise smart girl could have succumbed to the emotional manipulation the Joker inflicted on her – and they succeeded, but only up to a point. Šejic takes things a little further in “Harleen”; he makes it all several shades darker, a lot less cartoonish, and it’s perfect - in a heartbreaking sort of way.
Dr. Quinzel’s approach to mental illness is unusual: she believes criminally insane people develop such behaviors as survival mechanisms – to the amusement of her colleagues and the medical community in general. There isn’t much room for compassion in psychiatry, apparently, but despite the establishment’s skepticism, she is given a grant from Wayne Enterprises and is permitted to study some of the “patients” incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. And sooner or later, that means speaking to the Joker, the notorious criminal who she had a traumatic experience with in the past. As he puts it himself, the Joker may be crazy, but he's not stupid, so when an emotionally isolated woman who genuinely wants to help him steps into his cross-hair, he "allows" her to help - though not quite the way she thought she'd be helping.
Besides the classic tale of "girl falls for the wrong guy and can't get away", there's a lot of interesting elements in this comic, mainly the idea of people's dark side, staying just out of sight under a respectable face and demeanor. This is not new territory when it comes to Joker stories either; the famous "Killing Joke" (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) is all about that idea that it only takes one bad day to push a normal person into absolute lunacy, not to mention the idea that Batman isn't exactly sane either, but I enjoyed the way Šejic approached it.
Very importantly, the abusive nature of the relationship between Harley and the Joker is never glamorized in "Harleen": if anything, its always very unsettling, as Harley is pushed into a desperate place where the only hand extended towards her belongs to someone who almost killed her… You see both the horror and the tragic inevitability of her fall. I joke a lot about having the hots for Jeremiah Valeska (and I do; I need help!), but making abusive dynamics like the Joker and Harley’s look romantic is a really, really bad idea – so I appreciate that Šejic made his Harley both aware of how wrong her situation is, while also showing that she feels powerless to escape it.
This is my kind of graphic novel (and possibly the best Batman universe graphic novel I've ever read): nuanced, gritty, gorgeously illustrated, with a fun and challenging story about a flawed but very human character. Every fan of Harley and the Joker needs this on their shelf. All the stars and then some! More like this, please, Mr. Šejic!
After having a lot of fun with the “Mad Love” novelization (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), I decided to see if “The Killing Joke” was a worthy adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Given my mixed feelings about the original work, I was actually hoping for an improvement… Don’t get me wrong: I know the graphic novel is a big deal, but one of my main gripes with it is that it feels a little rushed. I’ve read it a few times, and I always found myself wishing it was a bigger book, that some key moments of the story were explored a little deeper. And of course, the fate of Barbara Gordon always irks me. I figured a novelization would be a great opportunity to flesh all those things out, to make the story feel more complete. Alas.
I don't know anything about Crista Faust and Gary Phillips' other work, but after this, I am not tempted to look them up. The original Alan Moore story is merely the second half of this novel, the first being a new story line, taking place 4 years before the famous graphic novel's story. This new plot, about Batgirl's investigation on a new drug hitting the streets of Gotham, could have been interesting, but I just found the writing to be so dry and bad that I simply didn't care. The fight scenes are described very technically, and while I understand that Faust and Phillips' specialty is police procedurals, the whole thing read like a report. There was no atmosphere or tension, which could have made this new plot at least a little interesting.
The second half follows Moore's story almost word for word, and ultimately adds very little to the original story - which really feels like a lost opportunity. For instance, in both version, we are simply told what happened to Jeannie, and then the very next thing that happens is that a grieving widower is coerced into omitting a badly-planned heist. While this can be chalked to limitations of the format in a graphic novel, rushing through that in a prose novel simply feels lazy.
But the most unforgivable thing about this book is how little of it actually is about the Joker. If you are going to novelize the most famous stand-alone Joker story of the Batman cannon, the least you can do is keep him front and center! But we barely see him before the halfway mark! And as a Harley Quinn fan, I must say that the depiction of Ms. Quinzel was simply pathetic. The only truly good thing about this book is that it gives us a hint of how Barbara will carry on despite the horrific assault that "disabled" her.
When I get together with my nerdy, graphic novel reading friends, we often get into the ridiculous “which character would you be” conversation. And ifWhen I get together with my nerdy, graphic novel reading friends, we often get into the ridiculous “which character would you be” conversation. And if that conversation is specifically about the Batman universe, I get profoundly embarrassed, because as much as I’d like to be a good feminist and say I’d totally be a bad-ass eco-terrorist like Poison Ivy, or an emancipated burglar like Catwoman, I have always been inexplicably weak in the knees for the Joker… and I know that deep down, I’m definitely a Harley Quinn… And this book does justice to the tragic sidekick/lover/punching bag of my favorite villain ever...
Beware of spoilers (if you aren't familiar with Harley's story, or with the famous "Mad Love" episode or comic)!
Most people know that Harleen Quinzel was once a promising psychiatrist (and gymnast!) who worked at Arkham Asylum and was assigned the Joker's case while he was incarcerated there. In the course of treating him, she fell madly in love with him, helped him break free and joined him in his life of crime and mayhem. But even in the Batman animated series, it becomes obvious rather quickly that this is a one-sided relationship and that the Joker is not only manipulating her, but is often violent towards her. And yet, she remains completely loyal to him - right until she isn't.
I'd always wondered why Harley behaved the way she did. Why would she give her career up, why would she put up with the repeated abuse (and occasional murder attempts), why would she put on that super annoying Brooklyn wise-cracking accent?! Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan - the original creators of the hammer-wielding pocket-psycho, did a perfect job of going far into Harley's past so that readers could finally make some sense of her (and her stupid accent).
And really, if you've ever had mixed feelings about Harley the way I did, this book just might help you resolve them. Her complicated, tragic childhood brings to light many aspects of her personality which will eventually be magnified by her criminal alter ego - it also explains why the Joker was able to tell her exactly what she needed to heard to flip over to the dark side, for lack of a better way of putting it.
While this is not a fancy novel (it's a little rushed around the edges), it's a wonderfully entertaining read that humanizes one of the DC Universe's most cartoonish character and brings her to life as the girl who fell for the wrong guy. That said, as good a cautionary tale as her story might be, I'm still a Joker fangirl through and through....more
Yup, another Batman comic. What can I say: since we went to see the "Joker" movie I have gone full Harley Quinn and will happily read anything featuriYup, another Batman comic. What can I say: since we went to see the "Joker" movie I have gone full Harley Quinn and will happily read anything featuring my beloved Clown Prince of Crime.
Tom King served me a war between Joker and the Riddler on a silver platter: who was I to say no? While I have been reading his Batman comics a little sporadically (i.e. all in the wrong order, and originally because they were the prelude to Joelle Jones’s Catwoman series), I have also been enjoying them – as much as I am likely to enjoy Batman stories. In “The War of Jokes and Riddles”, we get exactly what the title implies: the Joker and the Riddler go to war over the right to kill Batman.
Considering they are both violent, insane criminals, things escalate and get bloody fast – something King does not shy away from, which I appreciate (the tendency to gloss over what the bad guys do bothers me, not because I love the gore, but because I find it to be a less honest approach to story-telling). In order to curb the bloodshed, Batman himself intervenes, and invites them to debate the matter over a fancy meal.
A really good, dark comic, with a great new twist on the "knock-knock" joke. ...more
I don't read a lot of Batman comics because I find him generally boring as a superhero. But then, I've always preferred the bad guys... But after readI don't read a lot of Batman comics because I find him generally boring as a superhero. But then, I've always preferred the bad guys... But after reading the first volume of Joelle Jones' Catwoman series (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), I wanted to understand the circumstances leading Selina to Villa Hermosa and to her new life.
This is a tricky book to review because it is fun, cheesy, clever, frustrating, touching, predictable, with mostly beautiful art. So its fair to say I enjoyed it as much as I am likely to enjoy any Batman comic.
The Booster Gold story line, where the dumb-ass tries to find Batman a wedding gift and fucks it up rather spectacularly, is very silly and like all time-traveling stories, it has a bittersweet twist about our inability to escape our fate.
The second part is a great little Joker story, where he has a heart-to-heart with Catwoman as they both try to not bleed to death. And in a way, the Joker wins this one by planting a seed of doubt in Catwoman's head.
The third part, the actual wedding, intersected with a collection of various artists' gorgeous portraits of the two Gotham lovebirds, is sweet, sad - and while it couldn't have ended any other way, I was a bit disappointed that it did...
So 3 and a half stars, rounded up because it was enough fun to justify flipping through it again later....more
Updated review, with a few thoughts about the “Joker” movie at the end.
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With the much-hyped upcoming “Joker” movie coming soon – and my various feedUpdated review, with a few thoughts about the “Joker” movie at the end.
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With the much-hyped upcoming “Joker” movie coming soon – and my various feeds being bombarded with tantalizing trailers, reviews and opinion pieces (I found this article especially interesting: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...), I felt an itch to revisit the infamous origin-story graphic novel “The Killing Joke”. The Joker has always been my favorite thing about Batman comics: the Bat himself bores me silly, but his nemesis’ mercurial insanity never fails to be entertaining. Alan Moore’s bold idea, to dig at how and why an ordinary man could turn into such a demented villain, has both moments of genius, and moments of truly questionable story-telling choices. Alan Moore’s work always makes me react the same way: “This is great, but…”. And “The Killing Joke” is no different.
Told in alternating time lines, we see how an already unstable failed stand up comedian made a series of decisions that led him to have a very, very bad day, and how the Joker lures Batman to a decrepit amusement park in order to have a final confrontation.
I love how Moore illustrates the point that Batman and the Joker are in fact two sides of the same coin: their actions are motivated by a great loss that pushed them to the brink, and that Batman’s strict moral code (he won’t ever kill the Joker, even if that would make his life soooo much easier, given the frequency with which the bugger escapes Arkham Asylum) is mirrored by the Joker’s utter lack of rules.
It is a very brutal comic, in that very dark way Moore excels at, and while the fate he had in store for Barbara Gordon is a bit controversial (see “The Refrigerator Monologues” https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), it can’t fail to get the point across. One bad day, one final devastating news, one final humiliation or indignity. When ordinary people are pushed around to the point where their mind just snaps, what can you expect? We have no control over some of the things that happen to us. We have control over how we react to them… but do we? In an insane world, is sanity really the best option?
One problem I have with this book is the incredibly antiquated “oh, he fell into some chemical waste, that’s why his skin is white and his hair is green” thing. I’m sorry, but give me a freaking break here. You are Alan Moore, you created “Watchmen” and you can’t find anything more plausible to explain the Joker’s signature look? Feh!
An essential read for comic book fans, but far from perfect.
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Todd Philips said that his movie was partially inspired by this comic – but it’s really more as if this comic had a baby with the movie “Taxi Driver” while “Clockwork Orange” watched them from the closet. And at the risk of sounding weird, I loved it. I thought it was beautiful, disturbing and very powerful. It’s nice to see a movie that isn’t a paint-by-number feature that requires zero brain cells, and it’s nice to see actual thought-provoking art on the big screen – very refreshing, albeit in a really heavy and upsetting way. I may be biased because I was always a big fan of the character, but I truly think the movie is a masterpiece (the use of music, colors and angles is enough to blow my mind, and then there is Phoenix's ridiculously immersive performance!)– and hopefully, it being a huge box office success will remind studios that people really do love challenging and compelling story-telling....more
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