The Origin of the Joker

[kjn]

Or he was the only person to survive Monty Python's "Funniest Joke in the World", but it drove him utterly insane.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who made that association.

As for The Killing Joke itself, I think there is space for both Alan Moore's own interpretation of its quality and its cemented status in the comics canon. And part of it is because it is by Alan Moore, as a piece of his long and distinguished comics career.

Because a story might not say that much or anything interesting, but it can still be really well crafted or well made, or communicate a feeling really well. By all accounts, TKJ did all of that really well. To put it another way, Moore's criticism on TKJ focuses on what it says, not on how it said it.

[exile001]

Did you know that even Alan Moore find his Joker story not so great. He only did it because a friend asked him to do a Batman story.
Yes Bolland made an effort because it's Alan Moore, and it's a one-shot.

As for The Killing Joke itself, I think there is space for both Alan Moore's own interpretation of its quality and its cemented status in the comics canon. And part of it is because it is by Alan Moore, as a piece of his long and distinguished comics career.

Because a story might not say that much or anything interesting, but it can still be really well crafted or well made, or communicate a feeling really well. By all accounts, TKJ did all of that really well. To put it another way, Moore's criticism on TKJ focuses on what it says, not on how it said it.

Just in case it's in question, my appreciation is nothing to do with the name brand of Alan Moore. Firstly, I read TKJ in the 80s (back when I was young!) and had never heard of the guy. Second, this may be heresy, but I think Alan Moore is bit of a pretentious ass and am not a huge fan of a lot of his work. He has long stated his distaste for "superhero" comics, and I wonder how much of that is genuine and how much was him being bitter over repeatedly getting burned by DC in the 80s.

And I think "Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow" is THE worst Superman story I've ever read. It's the antithesis of everything Superman, spiteful, mean spirited and, ultimately, vain and selfish.

That said, the man has produced undeniable masterpieces and is absolutely one of the most important comic book creators of all time. And "For the man who has everything" is among the best Superman stories of all time.

[Jim Kelly]

I think people overlook the artists that worked with Alan Moore. Half of my enjoyment of the comics comes from the art. Since Moore started out doing his own comic art, I imagine he had some kind of influence on how the art looks (I notice that a lot of his comics use the classic grid pattern in the layout), but really books like THE KILLING JOKE and THE WATCHMEN are so great because of the art by Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons respectively.

[williamtheday]

Well, silent film comic Thaddeus "Chubby" Chadsworth (1867-1979) went berserk after the one millionth pie in his face, maybe it's the same with Joker...

[gregpersons]

Are we allowed to talk about the rumored spoilers from the upcoming JOKER film?

Fanboys and the YouTube "fan/reaction" culture will hate it, for sure.