In 1988, Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland gave the Joker an origin story (or perhaps one version of an origin story) with the critically-acclaimed graphic novel The Killing Joke, which has since gone on to become one of the most popular graphic novels in the Batman series. Twenty years later, DC Comics re-issued the book as a hardcover special edition called The Killing Joke: The Deluxe Edition with a completely re-done color scheme. Two decades after its original publication, the story is just as disturbing and intriguing as ever.
Just One Bad Day
After escaping from Arkham Asylum yet again, the Joker abducts and tortures Commissioner James Gordon and maims his daughter Barbara. For once, the Joker isn’t wreaking havoc simply for the fun of it (though he's certainly enjoying himself), but to prove a point: for any ordinary human being, the boundary between sanity and insanity is just “one bad day.” Batman must rescue Gordon before the Joker can succeed in driving the police commissioner insane.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the story itself is that it’s punctuated by flashbacks to the Joker’s own past—or at least, one way that he remembers it—that show his painful transition from a harmless, pathetic stand-up comic into a sadistic mass-murderer. Although these scenes are what make The Killing Joke stand apart from other Batman/Joker stories, there’s a certain element of disappointment involved in giving the Joker a background story. Among the many reasons for the character’s longevity and popularity is his lack of a definitive origin; his erratic personality, limitless cruelty and sick sense of humor force fans to wonder what sort of history such a character might have, adding to the fascination. Thankfully, the Joker himself admits to being an unreliable narrator, saying at one point, “Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another,” so an element of mystery remains.
Another memorable (and controversial) event from this story that influenced later Batman comics is the fate of ex-Batgirl Barbara Gordon, rendered paraplegic after the Joker shoots her in the spine. Although Barbara had been a regular in the series’s cast of characters, The Killing Joke uses her as a plot device and casts her aside, forever altered. Of course, Barbara would go on to become the wheelchair-bound heroine Oracle, retaining her position as a strong character in the series, but it’s still disappointing to see Moore’s dismissive treatment of her here.
An Essential Batman Comic
Bolland completely re-colored the Deluxe Edition; the new colors are less garish and have more of a polished, cinematic feel. There are also minor additions and alterations to the artwork here and there, some obvious (such as a small cameo by the Penguin in the background of one panel) and some so subtle that only obsessively-hardcore fans of the original comic would ever notice.
It also includes an introduction by comic artist Tim Sale, an afterword and a short bonus story (“An Innocent Guy”)—both by Bolland—and two pages of preliminary sketches. Fans who still own the original comic may want to skip buying this one since it’s essentially the same thing with a few added frills, but newcomers to the series who aren’t familiar with The Killing Joke should definitely check it out.
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