Not for the Squeamish

I cannot recall a Joker story that is better than Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's, The Killing Joke. It is dark, crazy, smart, and hilarious. Joker is clearly one of the more complex villains in the Batman comics, and this story definitely adds to that. In it the Joker kidnaps and torments Commissioner Gordon in an attempt to drive him insane. He shoots and paralyzes the Commissioner's daughter who up until that point was the original batgirl. He does all of this to show that all it takes is one bad day for a person to snap and go crazy like him. The  Gordon story line runs parallel with the story about the day that caused the Joker to snap and go crazy. Both of these stories are really tragic, but at the end you find out that Joker may have been making his bad day up all along. You never really know if he is lying or not. It is my understanding that the Joker from the Dark Night is based largely off of the one from this comic. There are definitely a lot of similarities in the way that these Jokers speak and in their actions. What I like best about this story is that even after all of the bad things that he has done, in the end you still kind of feel sorry for Joker. As in Alan Moore's other works, the story is told in his signature straight forward panel by panel style. Even the story reminds me a lot of his other works. I feel like the Batman in this story sports the same attitude as the heroes from the Watchmen. He is more of a masked vigilante like Roarschach than an actual Superhero. This is a really good quick read but it leaves a lasting impression.