Trash Mutant Back Issues - Brian Azzarello's "Joker"
I just read Brian Azzarello's and Lee Bermejo's "Joker" graphic novel
from 2008. I was recently reading a lot of Batman books (mostly older
ones) and thought I'd pick it up even though the Bat villains I'm most
interested in aren't the frequently overused ones. God knows that when
this came out I was sick to my stomach of all the idiots putting "why so
serious?" as their status on social media and suddenly being obsessed
with the Joker. But the reviews of "Joker" were mostly positive so I
read it. And I can't say this is a very good comicbook. In case you
haven't read this book (congratulations!), this post is full of
SPOILERS.
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Don't read this.
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This is from the back cover. I don't know the why either. That's why I read this stupid thing: to find out.
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The story is narrated by a low-level mob thug called Johnny Frost, who
first meets the Joker when he volunteers to pick him up from Arkham
Asylum. We find out that Joker was released because he was apparently
cured from his insanity. All of the major players of Gotham's criminal
underworld (we have the Penguin here being a complete joke, Two-Face and
a thugged out Killer Croc) wonder how exactly Joker managed that (as we
soon find out he's far from sane) but don't hold your breath waiting
for an answer because it's never explained. The narrator, Frost, is far
from an interesting character. He never made it big in the criminal
world, been to jail several times and his wife filed a divorce suit. He
now sees his chance in being Joker's driver/sidekick. He's an admirer at
first but later finds out working for the Joker is actually pretty
terrible.
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As for the Joker himself, Azzarello obviously tried to base him on Heath
Ledger's portrayal. The physical similarities are there but that's it,
because the Joker in this book isn't nearly as interesting as the one in
"The Dark Knight". Like a lot of writers that go for the gore and shock
elements of Batman's archvillain, Azzarello completely neglects that
fact that Joker should also be funny and although there are some
attempts at dark humour here, well... they're not very humorous. One
page is dedicated to showing the Joker is apparently also a rapist which
isn't funny, good or fitting. And definitely isn't classy. It's a
vaguely Ledger-inspired Joker that isn't as good as the movie version
and is piss-poor compared to the character's portrayals in better
comicbooks. This Joker isn't brilliant, he doesn't "wow" the reader with
his actions in regaining power in Gotham's underworld. His plans are
straight forward and unimpressive and the only thing that's actually
sorta intriguing (and that's the part where Joker whispers something in
Two-Face's ear about a way he could easily destroy him) is another plot
thread that goes unexplained. And it's a major plot thread at that
because it makes Two-Face so afraid he has to call Batman so Azzarello
could wrap this whole mess up.
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"No". Rapey Joker, our narrator, and his freshly-raped wife. For all you 14 year old adults out there.
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Also, if I wanted to go for all the "nerd points" in this post and be a prick, I'd note that Killer Croc's skin is probably too thick for piercing.
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This is the sort of comicbook DC markets as a graphic novel for "adult
readers" so all the 15 year-old's go buy it and eat up the cheap shock
tactics while actual adults shake their heads. It's not good
storytelling, because there's not much of a story at all. The art is
alright, but who gives a shit. There are major plot elements that are
never explained and the pseudo dark narrative of the uninteresting Frost
character fails to cover it all up. The cover of this thing looked good
but trust me - you're better off not buying it.
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