Customer Reviews
It was OK. - By: D. C. Campbell, 01 Sep 2008 
I was really looking forward to this, having heard so much praise. I guess I missed something, but I was expecting a really deep, complex story, like so many reviews & articles had described, & didn't find anything of the sort. The artwork's flawless, but the story really did nothing for me, especially the Joker's back story, which seems to be the most raved about part. I felt no attachment to any characters, & having only recently read Watchmen for the first time, & being so blown away by that, I couldn't see how this was the same writer. I also found it shockingly short, which I don't expect from a graphic novel. As I said before though, awesome artwork. I still love that cover!
A Feast for the Eyes; A Drain On the Mind - By: R. T. Southgate, 29 Aug 2008 
Okay, let's keep this brief & informal lest I start taking myself far too seriously. After all, it is only a comic book to which I am referring regardless of how good or bad this particular one may be.
As an addition to the Batman Legend, 'The Killing Joke' is something of a let down, & not least due to the 1980's "think outside of the box" storyline. In my opinion it will warp your perception of the Caped Crusader & Smiles-McGee as it did mine with it's painting of the pair as something of an old married couple who may fight but deep down are the best of friends (and thankfully like an old married couple they are not sexually attracted to each other either). It has to be said though that The Joker's crimes depicted here are less master-criminal & more sick-bastard. Whilst inventive, they lack the subtlety & genius you'd expect from the character. It would be far too easy to confuse his antics with that of 'Lord Pumpkin'in his origin one-shot as the freaky carnival setting & deformed minions are not Joker-likein my mind. I'd also suggest that the "definitive origin story" for the Joker is an ideal that should have died long ago, way before the 80's ever hit, & it's inclusion here makes the Joker seem weak & unjustified (in some senses)in his madness. Basically, asin the short version, Alan Moore's story is cleverly gimmicky at best with scripting that is just plain awful. Sorry to all the fans of the piece out there, but it reads more like a romance comic with Batman being the hysterical woman moreover Dark Knight.
What you will take away from reading this (and despite what I just said, you must buy & read this!) is that Brian Bolland is highly revered for a reason. The artwork is simply phenomenal, & the newly revamped colouring is stunning. You may never see a depiction of classic Batman or Joker looking this good anywhere else again. With the added bonus of Bolland's 'Innocent Man' (which he also wrote) sitting quietly at the back, this package must adorn your bookcase. I would recommend this to anyone.
"I know you're a mass murderer, but can't we be friends?" - By: Alan, 24 Aug 2008 
Alan Moore provides the reader with plenty motivation for us to hate the Jokerin this short story; so muchin fact that it make's Commisioner Gordon's response largely unbelievable, & Batman's 'let's be friends, I can help you' reaction somehow cowardly. The villain is elevated to such a level of cruelty & malice that Batman's idealistic moral outlook has no counter. The result is Batman comes off as a wimp.
The artwork by Boland is wonderful, but probably the worst story I've read of Moore's.
A short story, short on story - By: Lancebastion, 17 Aug 2008 This graphic novel has been given a massive amount of praise & to be honest, I'm not sure why. Perhaps because it's Alan Moore, perhaps because it is Batman vs Joker, perhaps because it has a Joker origin. I'm not sure.
I read itin one sitting, it's a very short & at £10 is a bit expensive. As it's so short there's not really a story. None at all. Batman turns up at the begining & the end, the middle is mainly flashbacks to the Joker origin. Which is campy & somewhat uninteresting.
The end is somewhat ambiguous following on the unexplored idea of should Batman kill the joker & why.
Really, the problem is not bad writing, just that it's too short & doesn't really explore the relationship at all.
There are better graphic novels, there are better batman novels. I wouldn't recommend this.
Not as great as it's made out to be.... - By: Dr. Mark W. Stephens, 13 Aug 2008 I must admit to having had a copy of this book for quite a while now, & having read & re-read it a number of times, still cannot see why it is so lauded. Okay, the artwork IS wonderful (though Brian Bolland didn't like the colour much, apparently), & there are elements within the story which have subsequently proven pivotal within the DC Universe, but that's not really enough to explain it's status. I think that after an excellent set up, the ending is rather flat. I'd always assumed that I'd "missed the point" somewhere ... now I'm not so sure. It's quite interesting to review "The Killing Joke"in the context of the rest of Alan Moore's work at DC (and, as all but his "Swamp Thing" stuff is now collectedin a single trade paperback, that's relatively easy to do). It's certainly not his most interesting or most imaginative during this period (his two comparable Superman stories are probably superior, whilst his Omega Men & Green Lantern Corps tales are better still) & I suspect much of the status comes from the general Batman "thing" that ran from Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" to the Burton's two movies.
A good book, but not the great one everyone seems to think.
