The Killing Joke

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?

Recently, Batman is painted in such a grungy, edgy manner that I'm pretty tired of it. I've only read a few Batman graphic novels, so unfortunately the impression I have of him in my head is Christian Bale from The Dark Knight Rises screaming, "WHERE'S THE TRIGGER?!" So when I first opened up to the cover of the comic, I thought, "Alrighty, let's take a trip to Hot Topic and get edgy with this." I was surprised after reading it though. While still pretty edgy, The Killing Joke had an interesting take on the emotions of Batman and his iconic arch nemesis, the Joker. I thought it was really interesting to see the side of Batman who wants to talk things out with Joker, try to see eye to eye on what each other is thinking. There's a lot of impact when Batman says, "I've been thinking lately. About you and me." In one off comics, you kind of tend to see Batman just swing in, defeat the villain, and call it day. Alan Moore goes into the psychological impact it must have on our masked symbol of protection, and also elaborates on the backstory of the Joker. He created a rather humanizing story, and it was a really interesting take I think.

2. What connections did you make with the story? / Discuss the elements of the work with which you are able to connect.

This comic makes you think, are some things in life inevitable? Batman says that no matter what, him and the Joker are going to fight, and that one of them will end up dead in the end. It just kind of makes you think if there is something in my own life that is on a track that can't be derailed. I'm not the type to really think like that. Usually, I say that fate is in my hands, not the world's, but sometimes the world works too much on coincidence you just don't know anymore.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you use? What changes would you make?

It's a pretty typical answer, but I'd say The Killing Joke could easily work as a film. It's a very human take on Batman so, you know, it would be great to see it played out by people. (I would suggest another Batman musical adaptation, but I think this one's a little too dark for that) I could see it playing out like a film noir, taking influence from the large shapes of shadows in the art to convey that feeling of suspense. Transitioning between present and flashback I would probably extend the ending to show a bit more of what happened afterwards. I know it's the fun of a cliffhanger, and don't get me wrong, I thought it was a fine ending. However, I feel more greedy when watching films. If I saw that ending on film and the credits just started rolling, I'd probably be thinking, "No! Give me more! Tell me what happened after!"