The Joker

The re-making of the Joker into the ultimate dark villian is fairly recent and is mostly due, I think, to the grand performances of the late Heath Ledger and the upcoming one by Joaquin Phoenix. Which is very much unlike how the character was portrayed by Jack Nicholson or the very campy 1960's show. It seems that as comics become a mega-industry they grow less and less playful and much more, well dark, as in Dark Knight.The comic is unusual as it explores the relationship between the Joker and the OTHER Batman villains, building up his uniqueness as the Clown Prince of Gotham while also being 'loyal' to the truthfulness of the other characters. If you read and re-read the work you begin to notice just how smart it is in the way the art and dialog combine to direct the flow of the story. This comic is epic, the art is superb and the world it describes is 'complete' - and it'll stick with you long after you finish reading it.

This story is unique to most of the Joker stories out there in that it builds off of Heath Ledger's performance of the Joker in Nolan's "The Dark Knight." The art style is very suggestive of Ledger, and as such it is very easy to imagine "Joker" as a continuation of the Joker's story after the events that took place at the end of "The Dark Knight." Although many complain that the story's being told from the point of view of one of the Joker's henchmen detracts from the Joker's story, I disagree - I actually enjoyed this unique and novel perspective on such a legendary character; it allows us to see a side of the Joker that is fun and at times, even vulnerable (gasp!).The art here is beautiful. Period. It took me a surprisingly long time to get through this book because the artwork was so intricate that I wanted to make sure that I hadn't missed a single detail. Bravo.Though the ending seemed a bit abrupt and many of the characters could have been further developed - mainly Harley Quinn, who is portrayed as a stripper in this book - I would highly suggest "Joker" to any fan of the character - it offers an incredibly unique perspective and, in my opinion, belongs right between "The Man Who Laughs" and "The Killing Joke" in anyone's Joker-story collection.Hope I helped. :)

The Joker is an exceedingly difficult character to write and success has been rarely achieved. In order to capture the essence of The Joker a writer needs to descend into the far reaches of dark humor. The problem is that The Joker's psychology is meant to be so separated from accepted thinking that a normal, well adjusted writer finds it near impossible to arrive at that dark place and most of his `jokes' fall flat. It reminds me of why writers invariably fail to capture evil geniuses, because you have to be a genius to create believable dialogue like a genius. Another problem is that the comic Joker has developed such a cartoonish appearance with the elongated chin and purple pimp clothes that it's difficult to take him serious even when he's killing scores of people. It's like Jason and Michael Meyers. No one is scared of them because they're just cartoons. The more divorced from reality the less scary.The movie The Dark Knight reinvented the Joker with a considerably toned down visual appearance and darker attitude. The Dark Knight had more than a few flaws, particularly in the scripting, but it positively nails The Joker who stole the show and helped the movie become the second highest grossing film of all time. Brian Azzarello's, Joker, is pulled from the movie with a grungy appearance, disgusting greasepaint, carved out grin and anarchist mentality. There are no more squirting flowers or electrocuting joy buzzers. Azzarello's Joker is also legitimately terrifying, like a rabid dog with a genius IQ. What can you do to The Joker, maim him? This one is already a mess. Could you threaten to kill him? The Joker is fully prepared to die.The story is told from the view of a low level henchman named Jonny Frost who travels with The Jokers following his release from prison. This is not the canonized world of DC comics it's more of an elsewhere story existing somewhere between the regular comic and the world of the Dark Knight. My understanding is that Two Face did not survive the movie but he does appear in this story so already it clearly isn't a direct sequel. The other Batman villains including Killer Croc, The Penguin and The Riddler are written and drawn to be much more realistic in line with what you might expect in the movies.Speaking as a huge fan of Alan Moore I have to say that this is a better interpretation of The Joker than the legendary `Killing Joke'. The Batman only makes an appearance in the last few pages and the encounter is perfect. It is clear throughout the book that The Joker rules the criminal roost even among the rogues gallery. He is smarter and more ruthless than anyone else but here in the last few moments The Joker finally meets his match and The Batman drops a line so perfect I wouldn't dare to reveal it here. In the end Jonny Frost learns that this is The Joker and The Batman's world, he was only living in it.

Azzarello & Bermejo are fantastic! The story is amazing, the art is incredible! Seeing is believing, don't delay in ordering-up a copy for yourselves. Cheers! Nicholas.

I wasn't prepared for it. The art is quite impressive, and the story was fine.

Me encantó, considero que cada una de las paginas son una obra de arte, además de que la historia deja muy en claro cuán crudo puede ser el universo de DC comics.

The paperback issue of JOKER got delivered within two days. Bermejo's art is stunning for the most part, gorgeously painted pages with traditionally rendered ink and colour work, Bermejo brings Gotham to life with every panel.

O livro é bom gostei recomendaria para meus amigos que ficam muito em casa e tbm gostaria que tivesse tradução para português esse livro