Batman: The Killing Joke

 Batman: The Killing Joke

Man I love this comic so much. The art and coloring is just insane, first of all. The match cut transitions do a great job at showing how everything is familiar and the same, which is an important concept here. It took me a re-read to understand that there are three protagonists, with one story but different angles. Joker and Batman were created through the worst day of their lives, just one bad day, but Gordon, the average man, doesn't crack. This should disprove the Joker's mindset, but Batman's actions at the end of the comic makes that more muddied. I know Bats killing the Joker wasn't the intended interpretation by Moore, but I think it's important to look at it from the angle of Joker dying and also from the angle of Joker living. Batman really hammers in the fact that he doesn't want their relationship to end with death, and Gordon wants Joker to be brought in by the book. But who's to say for certain where their relationship takes them. Even if Gordon didn't crack, Batman might. It's just really interesting to think about the nature of this three-folded relationship. Looking at this ending as Batman bringing Joker in is also great because based on the art cues, this repeats over and over, with no real end in sight (besides the potential death of one of them). A classic for a reason.

I love the Joker's expressions here, a lot of the classic unhinged mania, but there's also scenes where he just looks so broken and pitiable. It's fitting for such a vulnerable Joker story. When he asks Batman why he's not laughing, it's the most genuine look possible. There's also the way that the past feeds into the present and the ending being the same as the beginning that I love. That framing makes one wonder if the Joker was right, and these are just a cyclical and unescapable pattern of events. I think there not being a perfect conclusion whether or not Joker was right really makes this a beautiful story. While Gordon is able to remain sane, Batman, Joker's foil, has a more ambiguous outcome. Personally, I find that this story is best viewed in a vacuum, with everything that tries to reference or add-on to it devaluing this already complete story. I find that when more is added, the punch is weaker. It may be pretentious to say, but I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about the story. I think it works perfectly (and even better) as it's own piece of Batman media, and doesn't need to be shoved into continuity, and expanded upon. Anyway, those are just my thoughts.