Not the strongest story - Joker gets out/Joker goes back in.
But amazing artwork! And lots of characters from the Batman universe!

Still brings up the old question of mine - why keep letting the Joker out when it's quite clear that he will kill again? ( )

Horrible art, forgettable story. ( )

Not my thing, I guess. Some of the panels were pretty cool—Batman looked great—but mostly, the artwork really didn’t appeal to me. Nothing earth-shattering about the story. I don’t read a lot of superhero stuff so maybe I needed more context.
Or maybe I just need to stick with Wonder Woman. ( )

Damn you comic book industry, this graphic novel would have been an excellent one had it not been for the problematic use of it's female characters.

The art is beautiful. Solid lines, brilliant compositions, incredibly good coloring with a variety of tones to match each mood, immersive atmosphere, excellent pacing, skillful alternating between more and less detailed/realistic faces, aesthetically cohesive work of art.

The main characters are well constructed, three dimensional, believable and interesting and so are their conversations. It's true that the point of view is a much used one, especially in film and comics, where a rookie follows and obeys a much revered mysterious character who, for some reason, trusts him as his go-to guy. But the story is gory, creepy, interesting and full of excitement and by Cthulhu this is one of the best Jokers I have ever read or seen.

Spoiler Alert!



The main and biggest problem of this GN is Harley Quinn, or to be precise, her portrayal. We first see Harley, whose backstory in the DCU is that she was Joker's psychiatrist, in a strip club, dressed as a stripper, where *shocker* she strips....in order to distract some of Joker's unfaithful ex-partners in crime. The next time we see her she is in her underwear holding and comforting a crying Joker. She then poses while holding a gun in some later action sequence, dresses as a gorilla and then is attacked in her house by Batman while wearing a revealing outfit were underboob is shown.



It is highly important to note that she NEVER, not even ONCE, speaks in this comic. She doesn't even say "Ok" or "Ah" or even nod.
I repeat:
In "Joker" Harley Quinn, who is a former psychiatrist, doubles as a stripper and never says a word for the entire duration of this graphic novel.



This is highly problematic because while she remains mute, her body is used in more than 3 occasions to "grace" a page, so that the reader can enjoy her beautiful almost naked female body. A mute who never speaks, or has an opinion, but simply obeys, follows, loves and protects like both a mother and a lover the Joker. And this is not because this is her main character trait or her gimmick. In the other comics she talks, she has an opinion, she agrees, she argues, she laughs, she frowns, she cries, she shows emotions. Here she only exists to give emotional depth to Joker and provide mild sexual fan-service.



She could have easily been missing from this novel, or better yet take the narrator's place, or AT LEAST interact with the narrator, or well SOMEONE. All of Joker's minions and enemies and subordinates have at least a speech bubble, Harley has none because she is not written as a character, she is not made of flesh and bones. She is Joker's sweet comfort and permanent ally, his cry-pillow, one of his feel-good pills, I don't know, but whatever she is, she most definitely is not a person.



Let us not forget that there is only ONE other female character in the GN, the narrator's ex-wife, who is abducted by Two-Face. Yes, the only woman that talks in this comic is damseled and abducted. Could it be a coincidence?

It's a story about men, written by men and for men and apparently for these men women are either objects to be looked at, or objects to be rescued. Fuck you comics industry for continually excluding me and representing me as a thing. And double fuck you 'cause despite of this I still enjoyed this comic. Maybe this is why I'm so pissed. This could easily have been on my comic top 30 had it not been for the obvious sexism.

Bermejo had the following to say on his particular take on Harley:

"Visually, I threw her in a vinyl outfit and made her look as much like a junkie as possible. Harley Quinn is like a stripper to me. I don't want to know her name, I don't want to hear about her life, and I sure as hell don't want her to talk. Just dance, baby..."

Well it's good to know that his intention to portray her as an object is not our misinterpretation. He is sexist and is not afraid to show it. Awesome...



This quote is important because it's important to know and understand that it is not by chance that women in comics are portrayed the way they are. It is not a random occurrence that female characters are sexualized, it's because they are often thought of as objects. We don't see them as humans, we see them as beautiful things and to show a semi naked young and thin female body is a sure way to beautify a spread. And what is one to do with beautiful things? Look at them, own them, protect or discard them, pretty much like they way they were handled here.



The really sad part is that more often than not, this is the conscious choice of the creators and even if/when they try to justify it as an exception for that particular character, or a facilitation to the main plot, the fact remains that the portrayal of such characters in this and similar ways is treading on a thin line from plain old sexism to misogyny.

So please comics industry, what say you? Can we please see all women written as people and written with the respect each human being, even fictional ones, deserve? Pretty please? ( )

My first experience with Batman was through the 1966 series as I was growing up in the 80s. I remember watching it and finding it hilarious.


Holy atomic pile, Batman!

Then as I got older I watched Batman with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney (Keaton was my nr 1 Batman and still is) and Jack Nicholson was a mad and fun Joker. Then came  Christian Bale and with him Hedge Ledger as the Joker and his Joker was a mess, a great mess but very much far away from the Joker of my childhood. And Joker in this graphic novel is very much a dangerous, psychopathic mess just as Joker is in The Dark Knight.

Somehow Joker is released from Arkham Asylum, which is very weird since he is clearly crazy and should be looked up… for good! But he’s back in the street. This story is told through the eyes of Jonny Frost, he’s the guy that picks up the Joker outside the Asylum and he will follow Joker around as he is trying to establish Gotham as his city again. Many famous people will cross path with the Joker and Jonny; The Penguin, Two-face, Harley Quinn, The Riddler, The Croc… and, of course, Batman.



The Joker is very dark, gritty and violent. It’s not a fun read, The Joker is clearly out of his mind and anyone standing in his way will get hurt and those by his side… well they will get hurt too. I liked the artwork. I liked how he crossed path with other villains and how it slowly led the way to the final confrontation with you know who... ( )