Title: Joker
Author: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Lee Bermejo
Genre: Horror / Action / Adventure
Year Published: 2008
Year Read: 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Source: Library
Content Rating: Ages 16+ (Some Language and Gory Violence)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
Introduction:
After reading the classic “Batman” tale, “Batman: The Killing Joke,” I wanted to read more stories about one
of Batman’s most infamous villains, the Joker! So, I went ahead and picked up Brian Azzarello’s take on the Joker “Joker” and while it has many slow
scenes, it was a truly interesting take on the psychotic mind of the Joker in a
more dark and gritty way that I would have never imagined possible!
What is this story
about?
This story is being told from the viewpoint of one of the
Joker’s newest henchmen, Jonny Frost and in this story; the Joker was just
released from Arkham Asylum and he is NOT
HAPPY! The Joker just realized that
while he was gone, his fellow villains, the Penguin, Killer Croc, The Riddler
and Two-Face had sold off his properties and the Joker is planning on getting
them back! Be prepared for one violent
and nightmare ride as we see how scary the Joker can be when he is really
angry!
What I loved about
this story:
Brian Azzarello’s writing: Since this is the first
time I had read any of Brian Azzarello’s
works, I was actually impressed with how dark and gritty this story is and the
fact that it fits so perfectly with the Joker’s insane nature. I loved the fact that this story has a bit of
crime noir in it as I am a huge fan of crime stories and it was interesting
seeing the story being played out from a villain’s point of view. What was so intriguing about this story was
the fact that Brian Azzarello really
showed the dark side of the Joker as the Joker spends most of this story
committing horrible crimes and torturing his fellow criminals and yet, gets
away with everything until the very end of the story. I enjoyed the dark and gritty take on the
Joker and he seems to remind me heavily of Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker
in “The Dark Knight” movie as both
characters were dark and were trying to prove a point to other people. It was also interesting that we actually get
a good look at the Joker from the perspective of his henchman since it added
more dimension on how the Joker’s own henchman feels about the Joker himself.
Lee Bermejo’s artwork: Lee
Bermejo’s artwork may seem a bit scratchy in some panels, but in doing the
close up images of the Joker looking so crazed and dramatic, it was truly
beautiful! I loved the way that Lee Bermejo painted the images of the Joker’s
face close up as it truly looks disturbing since it seems like the Joker had
cut his mouth open to make it look like an actual smile and that was truly
disturbing to see!
What made me feel
uncomfortable about this story:
The reason why I gave this comic a four star rating is that
there were many slow scenes in this comic as most of the scenes basically dealt
with the Joker just discussing with the other rogues gallery about how he wants
to split the profits with them. Also,
there is some language and gory violence in this book, where the violence
includes people getting shot and blood spurting out of the wounds and there is
one REALLY DISTURBING scene that I
cannot really say, but let us just say that it involves some SKIN RIPPING!
Final Thoughts:
Now, even though I liked reading “Joker,” I still preferred “Batman:
The Killing Joke” over this story since I felt that “The Killing Joke” was one of the best “Joker” stories I had ever
read. “The Killing Joke” was trying to define the
different ideologies between both Batman and the Joker while “Joker” was just showing the more
violent and dark side of the Joker.
However, I did enjoy both books for different reasons and if you want to
read a “Joker” story that shows the Joker’s violent side, then “Joker” is a great book to read!
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