The Joker (Joker (2008))

This is a real good book

Brian Azzarello's does take an interesting perspective of a minor henchman and expands out his relationship to the Joker in way that illuminates post-Nolan era joker as a insane, but gritty figure in crime. His role as an agent of chaos is expanded on as well, but other characters are hollowed out for Joker. Harley feels more like a stripper, The Penguin feels like a bookie, and killer croc a muscle gangster. Riddler is underused and Two-Family is more or less botched. Luckily Azzarello doesn't focus on these parts of the story much and the relationship and perspective of one of the Joker's drivers dominates the books. Batman's presence in the book is felt by his absence until the end, which was an effective story telling technique. The end, however, felt rushed. The art in the book is very good, although it is definitely pulling its cues from the designs around the Nolan films and not prior Batman design. Overall, worth a read.

I am a fan of Batman, I know my lore of the Dark Knight, but I am unfamiliar with the Joker. this tale by Brian Azzarello, is, I think, one the most original tales of the Joker. It differs from TV and most movie portrayals, because of the seriousness of the Joker. He is not funny, ha-ha, he's funny in a psychopathic killing way. He is literally consuming the city he preys upon. When he is not murdering folks indiscriminately, while covered in blood, racing from victim to victim, he espouses his self-loathing, and his missing of the Batman. He has a sidekick in this tale of woe, his name is Johnny Frost, and he is your narrator of this trip down the rabbit hole, realizing to late that you can't have a rattlesnake as a companion, you still end up getting bit. I didn't talk about the plot too much, because I would hope to encourage readers to try this standalone tale. It is an interesting about on the madman

I downloaded the book 1st on my Kindle app, since I'm always on the go and I hate messing up my books, magazines, and comics, it makes it much easier to just read from my Kindle app. I loved the story so much that I bought a physical copy for myself and my cousin (the biggest Batman fan I know) as a Christmas gift. He doesn't normally read comics anymore, but he absolutely loved everything about this. Story wise, what we both loved about it was seeing the Joker from the eyes of one of his flunkies. It was a much more fascinating insight on how it would feel to actually deal with the Joker if you met him in real life. And as a psychologist (BA from Purdue, working on a MS in Applied Behavior Analysis) it really kept my interest.

So I got curious about this story after watching a few Collider videos with Jon Schnepp (RIP). He would recommend this graphic novel quite a bit so I finally decided to buy and read this story. If I had to describe this story I'd say it's very grounded, unpredictable, dark, gritty, and disturbing. It's definitely an interesting take of the Joker from the perspective of a henchman. It reminds me of the random lines the henchmen from the Arkham Asylum game would say about the Joker. They'd say stuff like Joker's own guys are more terrified of him instead of Batman and this story shows that. The artwork is phenomenal and it gives you a Heath Ledger's Joker kind of vibe. I kinda wish it was longer with a different ending but other than that I really liked it.

That we could know the Joker? We are Jonny Frosts ... no matter how many graphic novels we read or observe the "plots" involving the Joker; " we know nothing, Jon Snow", absolutely nothing... The Bat confronts and mocks, and it gets under the ghoulish skin of Joker... no kill, no grovel, no death as release. I loved Heath Ledger's portrayal of Joker but it was exceedingly dark... recommend but no, not for the kiddies... brilliant art. The Joker lives as our worst nightmare of a criminal.... no pattern, no predictions, just terrifying...

It's ok. The author has written better graphic novels. This one has some cool parts, but the ending seems to leave you hanging a bit. It's not the worst read nor is the best. Give it a try, but don't be surprised if you come away from it with a lukewarm feeling.

Great graphic novel, both for the writing and for the art. Fast-paced and with a compelling storyline. Love how the Gotham criminals are depicted against each other. It shows what each of them are capable of, and what their place was amongst Gotham City's underworld. Of course, all under the vigilant eye of the Bay himself.

Quando pensava que não encontraria um quadrinho tão magnífico para ler quanto A Piada Mortal e Batman Ano Um, me deparo com essa hq. Estou estupefato com tal trama. A arte usada não poderia ser mais adequada. Obviamente vai para minha lista das melhores hq de heróis (ou vilões?).

A dark, twisted, utterly terrifying story. One of the best DC stories I’ve ever read! I would highly recommend this.

A great standalone story told from the viewpoint of a hired goon working for the jokers crew., Wasn't sure if id like the book (not a massive batman fan, also didnt want to get tied into a never ending story with loads of crossover issues to read) But i really loved this story & the artwork is some of the best ive seen in a modern graphic novel also a great bonus for me it wasn't a batman heavy book either. So in conclusion a great story with a great artwork, its a book that has now got me looking out for more by both author & illustrator so on the whole a pretty much perfect graphic novel to me 5/5 & i hope you give it a try & feel the same!

Ive read it several times now, it's such a great story, of course the art is top notch as well. You will not be disappointed with this purchase!

Una novela gráfica con acción tan vívida que pareciera que uno está viendo una película cuyo desenlace es tan fugaz que uno quiere seguir leyendo más.,simplemente genial estar en los ojos de Johnny Frost atestiguando de primera mano lo que joker es.