Sort of OT: Killing Joke: 20 Years Later

[Sonofahungryghost-migratio]

If you have not read it yet, check out this column at CBR, on the 20 year anniversary of Killing Joke.

 

Bolland on his work in KJ:

 

“Well, I think one of the challenges was this: it was me saying this is what I want to do, this is my choice of character and my top choice of writer and this is where all the planets have aligned and this is something I wanted to stand out as a kind of milestone in my career," said Bolland. "There was that sort of sense that this is the best I can do and will ever do. And I just wanted it to live up to my expectations of it.”

[Nexus]

A great read, thanks for the link.

 

I did not know that it was Bolland who initiated the story. Moore is such a towering figure that we sometimes forget the contributions of his collaborators. Gibbons, Lloyd, Totleben, et al, brought their "A" game when they worked with Moore and they're all a big reason why those works became classics.

 

I was let-down by the ending when I first read it 20 years ago. It was too ambiguous; I would have preferred a clean, neat ending. Since then, I've come around. Kudos to Moore, Bolland and O'Neill for having the guts to tell their story just as they wanted.

[*paull*]

My problem with Killing Joke is the carnival scene with Gordon. It's just too stock for my taste.

[comix4fun]

My problem with Killing Joke is the carnival scene with Gordon. It's just too stock for my taste.

 

 

stock?

 

 

[*paull*]

I know that there are a lot of people who are wild about Killing Joke here on the Boards, but I'm just not one of them.

 

I really like the Joker backstory and the way Batman is handled in the book, but the "scare Commissioner Gordon at the carnival" bit just doesn't work for me. Maybe if the book was written today, that scene would be a bit more sinister. It comes off as cartoonish to me. It did when I was 17 when I read it for the first time and still does today.

 

I do like the ending though.

[comix4fun]

I know that there are a lot of people who are wild about Killing Joke here on the Boards, but I'm just not one of them.

 

I really like the Joker backstory and the way Batman is handled in the book, but the "scare Commissioner Gordon at the carnival" bit just doesn't work for me. Maybe if the book was written today, that scene would be a bit more sinister. It comes off as cartoonish to me. It did when I was 17 when I read it for the first time and still does today.

 

I do like the ending though.

 

 

I just didn't know what you meant by "stock".....I had never seen a naked commissioner gordon chained in a cage and paraded before circus midget demonic clowns before....so I didn't know how to take it.

 

I remember being disappointed by the story when I first read it...but the artwork has held up very well for me over time.

 

C

[*paull*]

The artwork is awesome, no question. The characters are handled well by Moore, but a little more plot would have helped.

[Satya-migration]

I read George Khoury's article yesterday, and it was excellent.

 

While we are at it, has anyone seen the -script of the Killing Joke? It's up here:

 

http://fourcolorheroes.home.insightbb.com/killingjokescript.html

 

Reading 40 pages of all-caps typescript might be a little off-putting, but the level of detail at which Moore lays down his -script ( and yes, these 40 pages cover 11 pages of the comic) is astounding. I reread KJ with a printout of the -script by the side, and it's an amazing experience.

 

Especially this bit, about one panel on page 4:

 

IN SOME WAYS, THIS SINGLE IMAGE CONTAINS THE WHOLE OF THE FORTHCOMING STORY IN IT, AT LEAST SYMBOLICALLY, SO I SUPPOSE I’D BETTER DESCRIBE IT CAREFULLY. IN THE FOREGROUND WE HAVE THE TABLE. THE BATMAN’S HANDS ENTER FROM THE LEFT OF THE PICTURE, LAYING CALMLY ON THE TABLE TOP, WHILE THE JOKER’S BLEACHED HANDS ENTER THE PANEL FROM THE RIGHT, AND ARE JUST LAYING THE CARD WE SAW HIM PICK UP LAST PANEL DOWN WITH A SNAP. LOOKING BEYOND THIS, ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE FAIRLY SMALL CELL, WE SEE THE CELL DOOR AND THE BARRED WINDOW. LOOKING IN THROUGH THE WINDOW, HIS FACE ANXIOUS AS HE GLANCES INTO THE CELL AS IF TO CHECK UP ON BATMAN, WE SEE COMMISSIONER GORDON’S FACE. THE TWO ADVERSARIES FACE EACH OTHER ACROSS THE CARD TABLE IN THE FOREGROUND WHILE LOOKING BETWEEN THEM WE SEE GORDON’S FACE STARING OUT FROM BEHIND BARS. ALSO ON THE TABLE IN THE FOREGROUND WE SEE THE TWO DISCARDED JOKERS, LYING THERE FACE UP AND LEERING HORRIBLY AT THE DARK CEILING OVERHEAD.