This is a pivotal study in the history of the Joker. The feel that the viewing of The Dark Knight has probably made it that way, whether I wanted it to or not. Also, the study up until this point has been pretty much in chronological order. That's really another thing that's made this pivotal... Having viewed the film that is basically the latest piece of Joker mythos, anything that I would read or view now will be a step back in the Joker's timeline... That being said, let's take a look a what I've taken in so far...
-The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (Graphic Novel, 1988; Collecting stories from 1939-1983)
-Batman: The Animated Series (Cartoon, 1992-1995)
-Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Comics, 1986)
-Batman: The Killing Joke (Comic, 1988)
-Batman: A Death in the Family (Comics, 1988-1989)
-The Dark Knight (Film, 2008)
Now then, let's move on...
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS FROM THE COMICS SERIES "BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM".
Finally, another Joker story that I've really been looking forward to. Any of you who've read prior posts of this blog, looked at my MySpace, or been around me long enough to hear me start rambling about comics know that I love Grant Morrison's work. Batman: Arkham Asylum is a story that is crafted by the one and only Grant Morrison with the unmistakable abstract genius Dave McKean doing the artwork.
Some of you may have read some Grant Morrison, but I'd be willing to bet that all of you have seen Dave McKean's artwork... He's done various comics (all of the covers to DC/Vertigo's landmark series The Sandman), over 150 CD covers, ad campaigns for Kodak, Nike, BMW, and Smirnoff, and has contributed to the production design on some of the Harry Potter films. His style is very abstract and has a presence that you won't soon forget... Just wait 'til you see some of the pics of the Joker I'm about to post from this book.
If you thought Heath Ledger's Joker was disturbing or frightening and you didn't think it could get any worse, check this book out... This Joker is completely insane.
The story centers around the building of Arkham Asylum, a facility that houses the Joker and all of Batman's other foes when he catches them time after time. With the Joker leading the charge, the inmates take over the facility, beckoning Batman's presence inside... What Batman arrives to is something of a grand haunted house with a gallery of vicious madmen supplying the bumps in the night...
The Joker first lures the Batman inside by saying that he has a nineteen-year-old girl hostage (among others). He talks on the phone to Batman. "She just drew me a beautiful house," he says. "She drew it with this pencil. The one I've just sharpened. OPEN YOUR EYES WIDE, PEARL! Beautiful... Blue... Oh..." The scene ends with a blood-curdling scream and Batman exclaiming, "Jesus, NO!" (Could the Joker's "magic trick" in his opening scene in The Dark Knight be a reference to this?)
If the Joker's sexuality in The Dark Knight Returns was questionable, it's markedly more ambiguous in this tale. At one point he actually grabs Batman's ass saying, "Loosen up, TIGHT ASS!" He also calls Batman "honey" and "honey-pie" on different occasions... Is this just a grand jest or is the Joker in love with the thrill that Batman gives him? Or in love with the man himself? Hmmmm...
Though not really the "Joker story" that Batman: The Killing Joke or The Dark Knight are, this tale definitely has its Joker moments... It's a tale that I'd include on my short list simply because I've really never seen the Joker this way before thematically or visually...
FINAL VERDICT: This is a Joker story you should read. As I've said, it's the Joker as I've never seen him before and that's thanks to Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. C'mon! With two geniuses such as these at the helm, the story's gotta be good!
I'll now include the cover the to the 15th Anniversary Edition of this book and an interior shot of the Joker below by Dave McKean.
If you guys know anything else that pertains to the Joker that I should check out, let me know. My plans for future studies include but are not limited to:
-Batman (Film, 1989)
-Batman: The Man Who Laughs (Comic)
-Mad Love (Comic)
-Slayride (Detectice Comics #826)
-Robin II: Joker's Wild (Comic)
-Going Sane (Legends of the Dark Knight #65-68)
Let me know if there's something I should read/watch that I missed...
Until next time...
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