I will never look at the end of ''The Killing Joke'' the same way again.

[Ares]

his hands aren't even remotely close to Joker's throat. They're closer to his chest.

[lb jefferies]

The owner of the original thinks he killed him:

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=741978&GSub=13637

 

[comix4fun]

I'll say it, I didn't think "The Killing Joke" was that great... Sorry...

 

 

Taking stances like this will never do anything to stop people from correcting your grammar.

[Logan510]

I'll say it, I didn't think "The Killing Joke" was that great... Sorry...

 

Loved the art, hated the story.

[Bronty]

Still all up to 'interpretation', But this certainly makes the ending that much more interesting.

 

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/08/16/when-batman-killed-the-joker-at-the-end-of-the-killing-joke-grant-morrison-talks-to-kevin-smith/

 

When Batman Killed The Joker At The End Of The Killing Joke – Grant Morrison Talks To Kevin Smith

What makes it so ambiguous is the center panel. It shows Batman grabbing Joker by the shoulders, not the neck as Morrison proclaims. The laughter stops, the siren stops, and there's silence...

 

 

 

the other thing is the shoes. In panel 7 both sets are there. In panel 8 both sets are gone. So you are left to speculate.

 

If panel 8 had only the batman's shoes, then between that and the laughter stopping, it would be clearer.

[lb jefferies]

Also, the title could be viewed as a bit of a giveaway ...

[VintageComics]

I'd never considered it but this is pretty grand...only didn't Miller kill off the Joker a few years earlier?

[comix4fun]

I'd never considered it but this is pretty grand...only didn't Miller kill off the Joker a few years earlier?

 

 

You mean a few years earlier, 30 years later?

[Bronty]

Also, the title could be viewed as a bit of a giveaway ...

 

maybe, maybe not. There are other deaths in the story from what I recall. So on the assumption that I recall correctly, who is to say (except Moore I guess) whether the title refers to one of the Joker's killings, or to the Joker's own death?

[darkstar]

I thought the fact that there is no beam of light in the last panel made it pretty obvious the joker was killed, goes back to the joke about the two escapees from the asylum...plus its in the title of the book.

[Aweandlorder]

You can have any interpretation that you want of this book but the fact of the matter is that this book was always presented, hyped and marketed as the shooting and paralysis of Barbara Gordon (which is what also linked Batgirl Special #1 to it, which was her last story). To somehow suggest all of a sudden that this is the end of the Joker, where there have been so many other stories with him continuing from this book, is just false marketing.. as amusing as it sounds (get it? amusing? funny?)

[Aweandlorder]

BTW, I frigging love this book regardless.. Go brits!

[comix4fun]

I thought the fact that there is no beam of light in the last panel made it pretty obvious the joker was killed, goes back to the joke about the two escapees from the asylum...plus its in the title of the book.

 

 

I always thought that too, about the light between them, but if you look at the second to last panel...the light is still there, but their feet are gone, as if they walked away.

 

[Marvelfangirl]

If this is true,then this would be a "Elseworlds" book.

 

Meaning Barbara Gordon shouldn't have been crippled and on a wheelchair.

 

So,the New 52 fixed that part?

[Davenport]

If this is true,then this would be a "Elseworlds" book.

 

Meaning Barbara Gordon shouldn't have been crippled and on a wheelchair.

 

So,the New 52 fixed that part?

It's amazing to look back at all that spun out of Killing Joke...

 

Birds of Prey comic book series, but almost forgot there was a Birds of Prey TV series too.

 

 

 

[Wally's Comics]

Batman has the patience of a monk.

 

I would've killed the Joker a long time ago.

 

 

 

 

[conditionfreak]

It is obvious to me, that the Batman did NOT kill the Joker in that sequence of drawings.

 

First off. Batmans hands are on the Jokers shoulders, not on his neck.

 

Secondly, the Joker would not continue to laugh if he was being choked. It would be impossible actually.

 

Thirdly, the Joker would have instinctly reached up to Batmans wrist or arms in an attempt to prevent being choked. How many times in the past has the Joker hit, clubbed or punched Batman during a fight? How many of you believe that the Joker would just politely die while being choked.

 

Just because someone reads into a series of events what he wants to read into it. Does not make it so. This interpretation stretches credulity.

 

Now, if someone associated with making this book comes out and states that "they" wanted it to be a possibility for the reader, that Batman killed the Joker. Then I will consider it. But still, I would not interpret it that way even if they did.

 

It is obviously exactly what it first appeared to be. A light moment between Joker and Batman. It happens often in real life.

 

Besides the fact that the Joker has been around much since the publishing of The Killing Joke. Without a mention anywhere, that Batman killed the Joker at that time.

 

In the annals and annuals of comic book characters. This was indeed, a "killing joke". Not a "killing".

 

No matter what the intentions were with the story. It has been and is, one of my favorite comc books. BECAUSE of the light hearted moment between foes.

[Balham's Finest]

Yes, in that particular panel his hands are on his shoulders. That's not to say they couldn't have moved to his neck though.

 

I think the most compelling argument in favour of the "Batman kills him" interpretation is the fact that the laughter stops abruptly even though the siren noise continues. That's hard to explain otherwise.

[conditionfreak]

It doesn't stop abruptly in my vision. It stops slowly.

 

Then the moment is over.

[nearmint]

If you look at the responses to the audio link, an author named Julian Darius, who wrote a book called "And the Universe So Big" states that Batman does kill the Joker on the final page of The Killing Joke, but with the Joker's own poison needle device, not a neck snap, and that explains the positioning of Batman's arm being below the neck.