Talk:Batman: The Killing Joke

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Contents 1 Cut from Brian Bolland page 2 "Themes" and original research 3 Bolland redux 4 mention on the season 1 finale of "the batman" 5 Plot Summary 6 Critical reception and legacy clean-up

[edit] Cut from Brian Bolland page

I've just cut the below from the Brian Bolland page as it belongs here. is there anything that needs to be merged into this article that isn't already present?

The Killing Joke, published in 1988, details a possible (now almost entirely assumed as canonical) origin story for the villain The Joker, as being a failed stand-up comedian. The story also delves deep into the interaction between the Batman, Commissioner James Gordon, and Gordon's daughter Barbara (formerly Batgirl, now known as the technological genius Oracle). The finer points of the Joker/Batman dichotomy, and how each are on the brink between madness and sanity is ably explored, and the ending has become a slight point of contention over the off-panel happenings, with some fans suggesting that the Batman murders the Joker.

quercus robur 19:32, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

Couldn't an analysis of the joke be that batman was the first guy who easily crossed over the gap to sanity, and then tried to convince the joker to cross in an irrational manner (rehab)? They are both trying to convince the other to join their way of thinking, but the fact that they started in an insane asylum led me to believe they are escaping from insanity. Rm999 02:34, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

I wsa suprised to see that there was no mention of the oft quoted reading of the book that the Joker actually raped Barbara Gordon and may in fact have raped Jim Gordon too. When asked about this reading of the comic Alan Moore allegedly said (to some UK comicbook creator friends of mine) that he fully accept that reading but wouldn't be drawn on if he intended it to be in there... when pushed further he apparently said that as far as he was concerned the Joker did rape her but not in any of the 3 orifices one would imagine... he always thought the Joker used the wound... remind me never to visit Alan Moore's head... All that aside I don't think I know anyone over the age of 25 who have read the book and not assumed that a rape took place - which in turn makes the whole book all the more horrific. I believe this reading was also mentioned as fact in a wizard-style magazine 'hero' that profiled various supervillians. Can anyone find a reference for this or similar? AlanD

[edit] "Themes" and original research

I just flagged the "Themes" section for Original Research. It is completely unsourced (the article has no references), and reads like it's just someone's interpretation made into a quasi-essay. Cheers --DarthBinky 02:47, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Seeing this, I diligently set out to Google Books to find some printed material. Luckily, the first two results were gold (query: "Batman 'Killing Joke'" -- 55 hits total). Unfortunately, they were for the "Critical reception" section instead. More tomorrow. --zenohockey 04:05, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Any followup to this? If not, I think it'd be more appropriate to remove the section, well-written as it may be. Bhamv 10:37, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bolland redux

I just added some material from Brian Bolland's introduction to TKJ in the Alan Moore trade paperback, about the origins of the story and Bolland's opinion of the finished book.

[edit] mention on the season 1 finale of "the batman"

During the confrontation scene between Batman and Clayface, Clayface talks about how anyone can be turned mad by having one bad day. To me this seemed a direct reference to this comic book, ayone have any thoughts on whether it should be mentioned on this page?--Dr_P 17:03 25/10/06

[edit] Plot Summary

Unnamed Editor: I chose to remove the "(possibly indicating that he does not want to return to sanity)" from the second-to-last sentence, as it is an unverified speculation without any source

Anonymous: Changed the last sentence of the plot summary to reflect the ambiguity of the final frames. It is uncertain if the laugther is coming only from Batman, as was previously claimed. The actual panal shows no word bubbles, and the text of the laughter is not connected to either figure. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.30.98.6 (talk) 19:11, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Critical reception and legacy clean-up

That section seems a bit disorganized. The thing with Barbara Gordon getting shot and it's impact is mentioned twice. The sections regarding the two movies are separated. It should be rearranged so it isn't repetitive and flows better. --76.103.226.21 (talk) 04:28, 23 February 2008 (UTC)