Review: “Joker” HC one-shot

Alan Kistler

Alan Kistler is a freelance writer who has contributed to MonitorDuty.com and PopCultureShock.com. He is a freelance video editor who occasionally acts in independent film projects. His blog is located at alantkistler.squarespace.com.

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28 Responses

  1. mike weber says:

    One of my favourite stories involving the Joker was in Catwoman during Devin Grayson's run; i don't recall all that much about it, it was just the set-up: Joker puts somekind of tracker on Selina and follows her everywhere she goes … and kills everyone around her.Doesn't sound all that enthralling told like that, but reading it, i really delt as if this was truly the Joker of Killing Joke and other great Joker stories. My second favourite tale of the Joker is one that features him as a secondary character – Mad Love, the story pf Harley Quinn and how she became what she is. With a last line that'll make you flesh creep doubly so if you're familiar with an obscure Goffin & King song…This one, i'd say, is one i can skip.

    • Alan Kistler says:

      You know, while I was looking at this story's mute version of Harley and watching how her biggest scene was when she took off her clothes, my first thought was "Mad Love" was better. :-)

  2. Princess Bee says:

    sigh.You've confirmed all my worst fears about this comic. I haven't written it off yet, but this and the scans I've seen do not inspire best hope. While I can't compare your comments about the graphic novel yet as I haven't read it, I agree very much with your sentiments on Joker – he's unique and he should stand out as more than just a bully and a slasher. I was deeply afraid this story was only going to go for shock value with lots of brutality and in doing so, forget the core essence of what makes the Joker – well, the Joker.And don't even get me started on Harley. I utterly adore this character and her twisted relationship with her Puddin', as well as love her for her own merits – and it seems that in this book she does not get her dues at all.

    • Alan Kistler says:

      She absolutely doesn't. I mean, I almost wasn't sure this was the real Harley. I'm inclined to believe that the Joker just replaced her in this story with a stripper in the costume.And I'm glad to hear I'm not just being picky about the Joker. For me, sure, the Joker can occasionally just want money. But even then, his crimes have to have a certain flair and uniqueness to them. He is a showman at heart, which is why even his tamest crimes are still considered zany and memorable compared to those of others (like having his face carved into a mountain). This, seriously, you could have had the story starring Black Mask and not need to change a damn thing.

      • mike weber says:

        …and it probably would have been better.

      • Princess Bee says:

        That's just… depressing.I mean, I'm a HUGE Joker fan, and I assert that one of the key things that has made him the enduring character he is is just how flamboyantly, fragrantly different he is.I agree, Joker would not just shoot people and take over their home. He'd make a game of it. First of all cos he's a sadistic creep, and second of all – because he'd consider it his duty.You should never be able to interchange another character with the Joker. The force and history of the character himself should drag a writer out of the ordinary unless the writer is concertedly going for the ordinary – which, unfortunately, those who are trying too hard to be different may unwittingly do.Joker has no limits; there is no act too perverse or cruel for him. But he prides himself on his style. Therefore what he chooses to do should align to this artistic ethic. Having him do Really Bad Things just because he's OMG the Joker, does not a good Joker story make and it certainly is not good characterisation.As for Harley – well, I don't really have an issue with the stripper thing, mainly cos I AM a stripper! BUT, it's not really Harley, you know? It'd be far more Harley if she stripped to reveal a tank top saying 'naughty, naughty' and then revealed their chairs were booby-trapped in an uncomfortably crippling fashion. Opinions are diverse but as a really huge fan of her I have long seen how she asserts herself within the relationship. What has enabled her to survive this long by Joker's side is how different she is to the average gangster's moll as well. A theatrical character like the Joker could never tolerate somebody simply pretty and ordinary. Harley has proven time and again she stands out and this is part of the reason she holds his interest. Also, while she may be abused she is not silent and she is certainly not devoid of her own personality.The relationship is complex and dynamic; this is why it has captured people's imaginations. Turning it into the boring, bland and very frankly cliche gangster/moll dynamic just robs it of everything that made it unique, just as eliminating Joker's showmanship and comedic schtick turns him into a common thug.

        • Alan Kistler says:

          I didn't have a problem with her being a stripper in and of itself, just that, as you said, it's not Harley. It's like if I saw a comic where Kyle Rayner was doing the JLA's taxes, my first thought would be "he doesn't do that, he's a graphic artist."Harley can strip for the Joker, absolutely. For his gang, I don't think so. And even if she decided she was fine with that, that shouldn't be the only thing she brings to the table (aside from a gun). If Harley's stripping, I want her to be singing off-key and doing a really bad Marylin Monroe impression, saying "Happy Birthday, Mistah J!" THAT would have made it work. Here, she was just his girl.

    • mike weber says:

      As i said when i reviewed Mad Love, Harley is in some ways scarier than "Puddin'"Possibly her scene ever is in one of the "Adventures" titles, where Joker is helpless at her feet and she's kicking him, remembering all that she's taken from him, and it's only by Nightwing's intervention that she doesn't bash in his skull with a typewriter – "…and this," shs snarls, tears of rage running down her cheeks, lifting the typewriter as high as she can to smash it down, "This is because you never really loved me!"But, like all too many abused women…

      • Princess Bee says:

        I'd steer clear of generalising about a group of people whose issues are often trivialised at best and fetishised at worst… the dynamics that go into abusive relationships are many and complex. The reason someone would choose to stay in one may be unfathomable, but the capacity to choose still exists and is better off not pathologised lest we cease to listen to those we purport to 'pity'. The JokerxHarley relationship exemplifies this better than most media representations of abusive relationships. The issue of whether or not he loves her is highly debatable and probably best left aside – but while the relationship is most definitely abusive it operates on other levels too as there is clearly a sadomasochistic interaction at work and both participants demonstrate free will in their engagement with the other. I think there's arguement for the idea Harley is not quite as manipulated or victimised as she is often made out to be and this shows itself in the times she retaliates – very violently and ruthlessly, as you've pointed out – against him. There are clearly acceptable parameters they both work within and the abuse seems to be one of them. When he transgresses those boundaries, she attacks and the result is – pretty scary.

        • mike weber says:

          The issue of whether or not he loves her is highly debatable and probably best left aside – but while the relationship is most definitely abusive it operates on other levels too as there is clearly a sadomasochistic interaction at work and both participants demonstrate free will in their engagement with the other. I think there's arguement for the idea Harley is not quite as manipulated or victimised as she is often made out to be and this shows itself in the times she retaliates – very violently and ruthlessly, as you've pointed out – against him. There are clearly acceptable parameters they both work within and the abuse seems to be one of them. When he transgresses those boundaries, she attacks and the result is – pretty scary.I've known women (and men) who were abused and thought that they deserved it. If you haven't read "Mad Love", it shows exactly how the Joker manipulated Dr Harleen Quinzel into believing he loved her – and how, in a fit of rage, because she had embarrassed her in front of the Batman, threw her out a fourth-story window.In my first cmment, i mentioned that "Mad Love" ends with Harley quoting an obscure Goffin & King song. Back in the Brill Building, they were waiting for Little Eva to come in and listen to some new songs – and they noticed she had a black eye. She said her boyfriend had beat her up; and that it wasn't the first time.Carol King asked her why she didn't leave him.She said "He only does it because he loves me."And so they wrote a song, in which the girl knows her boyfriend truly loves her because she can make him mad enough to hit her.And Harley's final line in "Mad Love", in response when someone asks her, as she's wheeled back into her Arkham cell, splinted, stitched and bandaged, what it was like when Joker did this to her…And she quotes from the title of that song: "It felt like a kiss."I did a blog post that has some of the panels form that {among other things): http://mog.com/fairportfan/blog/192806To be honest, i think Harley's more truly in love with Poison Ivy, and i think Pammie returns at least some of her affection – but Ivy exploits that love ruthlessly from time to time. Both of Harley's relatonships involve stron elements of co-dependency, and, as the old, somewhat sick, sad (and pretty much true) joke says:Q: What's the difference between a co-dependent and a toilet?A: A toilet doesn't follow you around when you're not using it.

          • mike weber says:

            incidentally – if you haven't read "Mad Love" – unless someone you know has a copy, or your library does – forget it.Three copies are offered used on amazon, starting at $114.

          • Princess Bee says:

            Have I read Mad Love? Yes, I have. I'm actually the webmistress of http://www.harley-quinn.com so I promise you, I'm up with all of Harley's history. :)I've also been an abused woman and have had intimate relationships and engagements with other abused people so I do have some authority on which I speak.Given the underlying kinky sadomasochistic tones of the relationship, there is credence to the idea expressions of violence can align with feelings of love. No, it's not healthy or right or sane – but neither are these characters.I feel Harley's one-true-love is Joker but there is definitely feelings for Ivy there. And yes both characters abuse and use her – I've even written a bit of a fan-geek essay on the abusiveness in the HxI relationship – but they also have their own twisted affection for her. Thing is, they're all three both incredibly insane and wicked and so they can't be expected to conform to our 'sane' standards of appropriate behaviour in relationships.Yes the last line of Mad Love is chilling, but I also find it resonates with me. Perhaps because I've not only walked in Harley's shoes but because, as a kinky person, I see where it aligns with aforementioned sadomasochism. There is more going on than simply abuser/abused and victimiser/victim.

          • mike weber says:

            There is more going on than simply abuser/abused and victimiser/victim.Agreed. And, as i said in my review of "Mad Love", that's why i often find Harley scarier than the Joker himself.

          • Alan Kistler says:

            You see this? This interesting conversation going on right here? This debate of motivation, personality and very, very real psychology?That's what I was missing from this story.

          • Princess Bee says:

            hahaha… don't get me started, Alan. Ask John. I can go for hours… ;)

          • Alan Kistler says:

            After seeing your impressive web-site, I have no doubt of that. :-)

  3. John Hefner says:

    Word to all your points, but especially this:"There is more going on than simply abuser/abused and victimiser/victim."And this is exactly the point that so many people seem to miss when it comes to the Joker and Harley. We cannot apply our sane-person ideals to their relationship. There's a whole hell of a lot more going on there. Great review, Alan. I'm still gonna buy it for the creative team and for Harvey, because… well, you know me. It at least sounds like an interesting take on the poor guy. But I'm deeply heartened to read a review that isn't glowingly jizztasting, OMG IT'S THE NEW KILLING JOKE blah blah blah. I want to approach this book the way I do Morrison's ARKHAM ASYLUM, as a standalone interpretation that can be enjoyed on its own merits and nothing else. Certainly not as a true example of what makes the Joker work as a character, much less anything close to a definitive take.

    • John Hefner says:

      Erm, that was meant to reply to "Princess Bee." Accursed first time registration.

    • Alan Kistler says:

      I don't think it's an interesting new take at all, it actually came off as a dull look at an old take that has never resonated as well. The Joker as gangster? This version wasn't even entertaining as Jack Nicholson when HE did that interpretation.But if you wanna buy it, no one's stopping ya. As for Arkham Asylum, which actually has been referenced in the mainstream Batman titles and so isn't really standalone, i wouldn't put this in the same category at all since that book was all about psychology and metaphor and super-context and reflections of the personality in the actions of others. This was a generic "they took my money" gangland story.

  4. Alan Coil says:

    There are no Elsewhere stories. All stories are part of continuity, but several are on alternate earths. As there are 51 separate earths, anything that is written can be valid, but doesn't affect the main earth.

    • Alan Kistler says:

      If there are only 52 worlds, you realize that can't account for every Elseworlds, yes? :-)Though on a side-note, I would LOOOOOVE to re-visit the world of Batman: Holy Terror.

      • mike weber says:

        I wouldn't.Its basic concept is hugely flawed – the theocracy that rules the Commonwealth(? Was that it? It's been years…) is obviously based on Catholicism or Very Very High Church Anglicism, but proceeds from an alternate history in which Cromwell didn't die, defeated the Cavaliers and founded a theocratic state.Except that Cromwell was anti-Catholic; he was a Puritan.Any state that came from *him* would be rather different…

    • mike weber says:

      All stories are part of continuity, but several are on alternate earths.When did they change that? Originally, Elseworlds stories (as i recall) were specifically not part of any continuity – like the old "Imaginary Stories".

      • Alan Coil says:

        Just in the last 3-4 years. That's one of the reasons why they have brought back the multiple universe meme. Many of the new earths/universes have yet to be defined.

  5. Alan Coil says:

    Coil w/horns: You idiot! It's Elseworlds!Coil w/halo: Oops. I made a mistake.Coil w/horns: It's because yer so old!Coil w/halo: That's kinda harsh. I'd like to get a second opinion.Coil w/horns: Okay, yer ugly, too!

  6. George Freeman says:

    >Also, Bermejo's art is fantastic. There's a rich, colorful feel to it_______________________________________Probably because Patricia Mulvihill coloured it. And Mick Gray inked it.

  7. Princess Bee says:

    Alan, since I enjoyed your review and the discussion around it, I thought you might enjoy mine. I'm largely in agreement with you, but have a few different thoughts.http://lovedatjoker.livejournal.com/24643.html

  8. Kristopher Wooldridg says:

    I know this is a bit tardy but…I'm really rather torn on this book. It could have been so much better than it was. I don't regret buying it, because it looks kind of nice, and I like some of the interpretations, to an extent. But the "Abner" thing bugged the hell out of me, too.