Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke”
Assessment
Q. What is your
reaction to the text you just read?
Seeing as the majority of the text
in this comic is from The Joker’s point of view my reaction is a neutral
understanding reaction. This seems as if it’s meant to be a backstory of sorts,
even though it appears to be after a long time after The Joker and Batman meet.
This story sheds a lot of light on the happenings that shaped The Joker as a
character and humanizes him in a way. Before I saw him as a delusional man that
was altered by chemicals and nothing more. Now after knowing that this Joker
suffered an unbearable loss it makes me think of how regular people cope with
great trauma. It makes me look past the simple “Prince of Crime” archetype that
The Joker is so well known for and instead discovering his broken humanity.
Q. What connections
did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you
were able to connect.
As
previously stated, I connected the most with the part of The Joker that became
corrupted, or better stated the reasoning behind his delusions. This story my as well be called “Joker with a
side of Bats” because this story is clearly devoted to explaining The Joker’s
madness. Everyone at some point in their lives loses someone that they hold
dear; it might be a parent, a lover, or a close friend. It could even be your
pet; the outcome is always the same, grief. I like how we are shown The Joker
before the accident; it seems to me that he wasn’t well before the accident. He
had an unbearable amount of stress by regular standards and when he reached his
breaking point he snapped. The chemicals
in the water might have changed his appearance but I think that life took more
out of him than any chemical bath could.
Q. What changes would
you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use?
What changes would you make?
I personally think that this
story doesn’t need any changes. It’s a classic story arc for a still relevant
franchise. There are too many remakes now and something brought back into the
limelight with a classic feel would definitely be welcome. However, now in
today’s entertainment consuming society a lot of newer and more modern designs
and tones would have to be applied. Nothing to crazy, maybe just a modern
setting and some dark lighting I those extra loony parts. I would much rather
prefer staying to the film noire style of the flashbacks when diving into The
Joker’s past. The transitions used in this story, in my opinion, remind me of
television or a short film. Something along the lines of “Laundry Day” which features The Punisher on
a regular day. It would be short and sweet, a small lean chunk of story with no
fat. Less is more in my opinion.
