One bad day. According to the grinning engine of madness known as the Joker, that’s all it takes to separate the sane from the psychotic. Freed once again from his confines in Arkham Asylum, the Joker is out to prove his deranged point using Gotham’s top cop, Commissioner Jim Gordon, and his daughter Barbara to do it. Now Batman must race to stop his archnemesis before his reign of terror takes two of the dark knight’s closest friends. As the horrifying origin story of the clown prince of crime is finally revealed, will the thin line between Batman’s nobility and the Joker’s insanity finally snap, once and for all?

I personally LOVED Batman: The Killing Joke, and I know anyone who likes Batman, or comics in general, will enjoy it too. Although it was originally written in the 1980s, this book still holds up today as one of the greatest graphic novels ever written! It’s the origin story for the joker, mixed with a horrifying attempt to recreate the Joker inside of Jim Gordon and with Batman’s desperate race to stop him. The book is set up to deceive you, making you read all the way to the very end, and ending with a joke!  The Killing Joke explores what it takes to be changed as a person, and the difference between a good and bad person. This book is at some points very graphic, but that is necessary to establish the true insanity and horrific nature of the joker. It is a short book, taking up just 48 pages, but it does a lot in such a short time. It explores the belief that Batman and the Joker are the very mirror of each other, and that they aren’t too much different either. It also shows the extent that both Batman and the Joker will go to for their own beliefs, the Joker’s being that “just one bad day can change any man,” and Batman's, obviously, being to stop the Joker.

I would recommend The Killing Joke to anyone who enjoys Batman, graphic novels, any of the writer Alan Moore’s work (Watchmen, From Hell, A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc.) or anyone looking for an amazing read! I would not recommend The Killing Joke to anyone under the age of 12, or anyone who doesn’t like small amounts of murder, insanity, or sexual “abuse” (shoots then undresses/photographs Barbara Gordon to horrify Jim Gordon).

If you enjoyed The Killing Joke, I would recommend Batman: A Death in the Family, Brian Azerello’s Joker, Batman: Year One, Watchmen, and V for Vendetta.