This review was originally written for my blog http://turnthepage.travel.blog/2019/04/12/the-killing-joke-by-christa-faust-and-...

I saw this movie when it first came out - what Batman fan (or, in my case, Joker fan) didn't? I enjoyed it. I didn't love it, but I didn't feel like I had wasted 80 minutes of my life by watching it. I have never read the comic on which the movie was based, it's on my list though.

This book is set in the year 1988. It tells the story of Batman and Batgirl as they do what they do best - fight crime and try to save Gotham City from a new street drug named Giggle Sniff which is highly addictive and has fatal side effects. The authors do a good job of casually name dropping a lot of well known characters from the Batman series: Alfred, Robin, Maxie Zeus, The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Dr. Tompkins, and so on. This book doesn't focus entirely on the protagonists however as it zones in on other characters as each chapter moves the spotlight to someone else.

My first complaint with this book was that despite its title, and despite the movies focus on the Joker, apart from a few brief short chapters early on in the book he's only in this final chapters of this novel. At the start Batman and Batgirl fight Maxie Zeus, then the middle of the book focuses on a drug deal, and the Joker isn't the main concern until the end.

My second complaint is that if you have seen the movie then the book doesn't really add anything of interest. It's not a literal book of the movie, there is some added backstory and it goes further than the ending of the movie, it even clears up the controversy about the films ending (you'll know what I'm talking about if you have seen it). But I felt that it had a lot of filler content that didn't add anything to the story. I feel that this story works well in a more visual format such as a film or a comic, but it did not translate well to a book.

My third complaint, which is very minor, was that I found a few parts of the book very awkwardly written. The fight scene at the start against Maxie's two robotic dogs just felt like "Batman jumped over one dog, kicked the other, then threw a batarang at the first, then punched the other", it was too long and not varied enough for the length. Other sentences were just badly written as if there was a word missing. This did not happen frequently enough that it made the book hard to read, and like I said it was just a minor issue for me.

Overall I'd give this book a 2/5 star rating. I would only recommend it if you really really want to read it, but if you're just a small fan of the series or curious about the story then I'd propose for you to watch the movie instead. ( )

I purchased this book from Amazon to read. All opinions are my own. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 The Killing Joke by Christa Faust and Gary Phillips. This is typical Batman/Joker with female characters only being used as pawns in a game to help thugs gain ground. I only even mention that point because some readers feel objectifying women is a no read for them. Other than that it is filled with cool gadgets, awesome machine works, and muscle cars with writing that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Harley Quinn has a small part in this book, Catgirl is mentioned, along with TwoFace, Riddler, Penguin, and other villains. All in all the book was a great comic book read. Review also posted on Instagram @borenbooks, Library Thing, Goodreads/StacieBoren, Amazon, Twitter @jason_stacie and my blog at readsbystacie.com ( )

I’m old enough to have experienced both Batman comics and the Batman TV show. This isn’t that Batman! First, and foremost, the star of this novel is the Joker. Did I say novel? Yes, a novel, no illustrations just a full on well developed story. Keep them coming, comic book characters graduating to grown up book characters might just help youth rediscover libraries!

This is a violent story, but the same can be said for comics, just no graphic illustrations. Nudity? Yes, some, but just in words and not graphic detail. This tale allowed the “Caped Crusader” to grow up and give us a complete story. I think this book is great for the youth audience, as well as those of us who still enjoy our comic book heroes and their nemesis. ( )