Bolland Killing Joke Art

[heartened]

I think you're right... it's all Alan.

 

You know, he never liked his own story.... thought it was pointless. It surprises me that a writer can have a different opinion of his work than thousands of fans, but I guess only he knows what he was really trying to do with it. And, I think he just doesn't like doing well-known characters, and definitely seems to not like doing classic superhero stuff.

[Foolkiller]

hari,

i'll definitely be in NYC so I'll try and nab you when I see you --

 

as for alan moore's thoughts on his story, I think in retrospect he wishes he hadn't crippled batgirl and feels it was one of the times an editor should have reeled him in. I like this story a lot -- and everyone is right, it seems to capture the essence of batman and the joker in one story.

 

the pages are just freakin awesome hari, congrats on one sweet, sweet purchase.

[chrisco37]

I think you're right... it's all Alan.

 

You know, he never liked his own story.... thought it was pointless. It surprises me that a writer can have a different opinion of his work than thousands of fans, but I guess only he knows what he was really trying to do with it. And, I think he just doesn't like doing well-known characters, and definitely seems to not like doing classic superhero stuff.

 

I've always found that strange as well. In the book (actually, it's just a long interview), The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore, he mentions that it is one of his least favorite stories. Funny that the rest of us refer to it as one of the quintessential Joker stories.

 

Agree with you 100% about him not liking to do "classic super-hero" stuff. But, that's one of the reasons his stories are so good. Not conventional at all.

 

But, enough about Moore.....back to drooling over the Bolland pages.

[heartened]

I've been meaning to flip through that book and read some of those articles on Moore. I hear it's pretty insightful, and since I'm a fan of almost everything he's written I might as well learn more about what makes him tick.

[nearmint]

Love the book. Love the art. But I'll never forgive Moore for that last page. Batman laughing it up with the Joker after what he did to Barbara and Commisioner Gordon? Totally took me out of the story. It's still a classic, but that damn last page...

[heartened]

That final page has been a cause of such angst over the years. I've heard various takes on what it means, but I've never heard what Alan Moore actually intended it to mean. Does anyone know?

 

It could be construed in many ways.... Batman actually laughing with the Joker (sounds weird, I agree). Batman having an emotional release after realizing it's futile.... and, as such not really laughing but, you know sometimes you laugh when you want to cry. Or, perhaps, Batman laughing sarcastically right before he tries to strangle the joker.

 

I must admit that when I first read the story, I thought Batman was only feigning laughter.... he then realizes the Joker won't change.... then he almost strangles the Joker, but the cops are already there. This also fits better with his response to Commissioner Gordon when Gordon asks him to bring the Joker in "by the book". Batman just says "I'll do my best"... .clearly not a solid answer.

 

After hearing what different people have thought, I must say that I think this last version is most probable. Doesn't it make the most sense?

 

If I ever meet Alan, I'll have to ask him.

[goldust40]

If I ever meet Alan, I'll have to ask him.

 

That may prove difficult - it's not that Alan Moore is a recluse, but that he has avoided, and continues to avoid, conventions or any kind of publicity exercise for the last 15 years. In fact he rarely leaves his hometown of Northampton. You could track him down there (it's about 65 miles north of London)!

[Mephisto]

Does the cover to Joker's Last Laugh 1 exist or was Bolland already using a PC by then?

[comicartfan]

While i agree about that last page, i feel (and i think that many other do too) that there really is no other story or single issue that reallly so correctly captures that pure evil of the Joker than this issue. The Sprang art is awesome, but make the Joker to be somewhat benign to what he really is....an incubus or sorts that sucks not the sexual prowess of his victims, but the pleasure and humanity out of his chosen prey....

 

having Gordon watch as Barbara is raped and having her paralyzed.....the true motivates of Jack Naper.....aka The Joker -

 

Hari,

congrads on that piece....i favor the first piece that you have a little more, but to have two pieces from this story is no small accomplishment.

 

Brian Bolland is the most talented pen and ink artist I have ever seen. His images of people feel like B&W photographs that seem to be haunting.....Adams, Romita ,Ditko , Kirby, Frazetta , etc.....they all deserve their place in history, but there is something about a Bolland original that says something a little more....something visceral -

 

Mike

[Mephisto]

 

[blowout]

Yeah, they were indeed expensive in the beginning, at least for the time. They're the same or more expensive than Ditko Spidey pages right now, I kid you not!

 

[heartened]

Hi Mike,

 

It's interesting. Some people really like my first page much better, and others like the second (more recent) page much better. I guess it depends on whether you're more a Joker fan or a Batman fan. Or whether you see this story as a Joker story or a Batman story. Also, more history in the second page, as it's the first fleshed-out origin story of the Joker since Detective 168 (which was pretty sketchy, of course).

 

But, I agree, I like the first page better, from an aesthetic standpoint. It would be tough to decide which one to sell, if it ever came to that.

[Mephisto]

Hi Mike,

 

Also, more history in the second page, as it's the first fleshed-out origin story of the Joker since Detective 168 (which was pretty sketchy, of course).

 

But, I agree, I like the first page better, from an aesthetic standpoint. It would be tough to decide which one to sell, if it ever came to that.

 

That's exactly why I like the 2nd page better. If you decide you don't want it anymore send it my way.

[COI]

Yeah, they were indeed expensive in the beginning, at least for the time. They're the same or more expensive than Ditko Spidey pages right now, I kid you not!

 

 

My thoughts exactly.

[heartened]

Hi,

 

Nice copy of Detective 168.... tough, tough book, because of the black cover...

 

Still undervalued, I think.

[COI]

Also, more history in the second page, as it's the first fleshed-out origin story of the Joker since Detective 168 (which was pretty sketchy, of course).

 

If it were me, I would have to sell the first one over the second one for that very reason. This book is huge for me as well, and seeing that page in its original form is incredible. IMO, aesthetics mean very little in a case like this.

[COI]

Sweet book! I have to get myself a nice copy one of these days.

[heartened]

So, how much would a 9.4 or 9.6 of this book go for?

[Mephisto]

So, how much would a 9.4 or 9.6 of this book go for?

 

I believe Metro had a 9.2 for around $11,000 at one time. It was Dallas Stephens book I think.

[heartened]

Prices for pages from this issue have skyrocketed over the past five years. In large part, this is because those of us who read it off the stands back then are all grown up now, and have cash to spend. So, we're likely to spend it on books that were important during the era in which we collected.... that means the 80s for me. And, although I like the issues from the 60s and 70s, I've got more nostalgia-driven collecting for issues from the 80s. Comics from the 80s are relatively cheap, compared to the Silver Age, but the comic art from the 80s is quite expensive and in many cases is higher priced than art from the 60s. Add to this the fact that there are only 46 pages from this issue, and 1000s of fans, and you've got the classic supply/demand mismatch that pushes prices to the limits.