History Trivia / TheKillingJoke

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/AlanMoore (and Brian Bolland) personally don't think it's as great as most people say it is, and in an interview Moore once said of the comic, "As for writing, it is not one of my finest hours." Specifically, Moore has said that he regrets the story's [[StuffedIntoTheFridge lack of interest in how Barbara herself dealt with being shot and paralysed]], and the contribution that its fully canonical status made to the whole DC universe getting DarkerAndEdgier. He also felt that the seriousness and overly psychological approach in the story ultimately did not reveal a great deal about the characters and that it became just another "nasty" story about Joker and Batman.

* BigNameFan: Creator/TimBurton states on one of the cover's review blurbs that ''The Killing Joke'' was one of the first comics he ever fell in love with.

* BilingualBonus[=/=]EasterEgg[=/=]BrandX: On the cover, Joker is depicted with a "Witz" ("joke" in German) camera with a "Witzmacher Kawalarz" ("joker" in German and Polish) lens.

* CreatorBacklash: Creator/AlanMoore (and Brian Bolland) personally doesn't think it's as great as most people say it is, and in an interview Moore once said of the comic: "As for writing, it is not one of my finest hours". Specifically, Moore has said that he regrets the story's [[StuffedIntoTheFridge lack of interest in how Barbara herself dealt with being shot and paralysed]], and the contribution that its fully canonical status made to the whole DC universe getting DarkerAndEdgier. He also felt that the seriousness and overly psychological approach in the story ultimately did not reveal a great deal about the characters and that it became just another "nasty" story about Joker and Batman.

* BlackSheepHit: ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' is this for Moore. Alongside ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' and ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' it's his most famous and influential story. The success of ''The Killing Joke'' has likewise made Moore a prominent influence on ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' to the point of being consulted by Creator/TimBurton, despite the fact that Moore is not a fan of Batman in general, and that the superhero Moore prefers is ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' and the DC licensed character he worked for the longest was ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' which paradoxically has had comparatively little cross-media influence compared to this Joker one-shot, and is otherwise not really representative of his style and themes.

* MagnumOpusDissonance: Moore is reputed to consider this the ''weakest'' of his DC works, as he believes that the aesthetics of ''Watchmen'' were a poor fit for a "mere" Batman story. He later explained that ultimately Joker and Batman were intended to function as comic-book larger-than-life figures and are entertaining as such, but attempts to introduce realism would end up making the story nasty but without being as fun as a superhero comic. This later informed his attempts at {{Reconstruction}} of superhero comics in ''ComicBook/{{Supreme}}'' and Creator/AmericasBestComics label.

* CreatorBacklash: Not so much of a "backlash", but Creator/AlanMoore (and Brian Bolland) personally doesn't think it's as great as most people say it is, and in an interview Moore once said of the comic: "As for writing, it is not one of my finest hours". Specifically, Moore has said that he regrets the story's [[StuffedIntoTheFridge lack of interest in how Barbara herself dealt with being shot and paralysed]], and the contribution that its fully canonical status made to the whole DC universe getting DarkerAndEdgier. He also felt that the seriousness and overly psychological approach in the story ultimately did not reveal a great deal about the characters and that it became just another "nasty" story about Joker and Batman.

* ShrugOfGod: In his afterword in the deluxe edition, Brian Bolland says that he'll address the interpretation that Batman[[spoiler:kills The Joker]] at the end. As he's addressing it his aforementioned [[TrollingCreator 800 word count cuts him off mid paragraph]].

* MagnumOpusDissonance: Moore is reputed to consider this the ''weakest'' of his DC works, as he believes that the aesthetics of ''Watchmen'' were a poor fit for a "mere" Batman story. He later explained that ultimately Joker and Batman were intended to function as comic-book larger-than-life figures and are entertaining as such, but attempts to introduce realism would end up making the story nasty but without being as fun as a superhero comic. This later informed his attempts at {{Reconstruction}} of superhero comics in ''ComicBook/{{Supreme}}'' and AmericasBestComics label.

* CreatorBacklash: Not so much of a "backlash", but Alan Moore (and Brian Bolland) personally doesn't think it's as great as most people say it is, and in an interview Moore once said of the comic: "As for writing, it is not one of my finest hours". Specifically, Moore has said that he regrets the story's [[StuffedIntoTheFridge lack of interest in how Barbara herself dealt with being shot and paralysed]], and the contribution that its fully canonical status made to the whole DC universe getting DarkerAndEdgier. He also felt that the seriousness and overly psychological approach in the story ultimately did not reveal a great deal about the characters and that it became just another "nasty" story about Joker and Batman.

* ShrugOfGod: In his afterword in the deluxe edition, Brian Bolland says that he'll address the interpretation that Batman[[spoiler: kills The Joker]] at the end. As he's addressing it his aforementioned [[TrollingCreator 800 word count cuts him off mid paragraph]].
* WordOfGod: As opposed to the ShrugOfGod regarding whether or not [[spoiler: Batman killed the Joker]], Moore has been more deliberate on what happened during a certain other scene that fans speculated on. WordOfGod stated that [[spoiler: when Joker snapped those nudes of Barb after he shot her (to use to drive Commissioner Gordon insane), it was all softcore. As opposed to some fan speculation, he didn't [[RapeAsDrama rape her]]]].

* ShrugOfGod: In his afterword in the deluxe edition, Brian Bolland says that he'll address the interpretation that Batman[[spoiler: kills The Joker]] at the end. As he's addressing it his aforementioned[[TrollingCreator 800 word count cuts him off mid paragraph]].

* CreatorBacklash: Not so much of a "backlash", but Alan Moore (and Brian Bolland) personally doesn't think it's as great as most people say it is. Specifically, Moore has said that he regrets the story's [[StuffedIntoTheFridge lack of interest in how Barbara herself dealt with being shot and paralysed]], and the contribution that its fully canonical status made to the whole DC universe getting DarkerAndEdgier. He also felt that the seriousness and overly psychological approach in the story ultimately did not reveal a great deal about the characters and that it became just another "nasty" story about Joker and Batman.

* FollowTheLeader: Brian Bolland's interpretation of the Joker (very lanky, vaguely upward spiky hair, somewhat vampiric features) has dominated how the Joker has been drawn since the book came out. In particular, the [[https://s.yimg.com/fz/api/res/1.2/ncxyccnoc7iIXZz.yJrFqQ--/YXBwaWQ9c3JjaGRkO2g9Njg3O3E9OTU7dz01MDA-/http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a5/bc/4e/a5bc4e86827d24b438df79a8024ec496.jpg "why aren't you laughing?]] panel has been cribbed [[http://www.dcplanet.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Batman_Whatever_Happened_to_the_Caped_Crusader-02.jpg multiple]] [[https://theragingfanboy.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/jla015-makingjokersane001.jpg times]]. It is worth noting, however, that the 'Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader' panel is ''designed as a homage''; in that story, the Joker's appearance changes several times over.

* SequelGap: The outright creepy "Innocent Guy" segment at the end of the book was a stand-alone for nearly 30 years, until ''[[ComicBook/BatmanTheBlackMirror The Black Mirror]]'' series revealed that the innocent guy was [[spoiler: James Gordon Jr]], and he enacts a far more complicated and diabolical plan.

* BilingualBonus[=/=]EasterEgg[=/=]BrandX: on the cover, Joker is depicted with a "Witz" ("joke" in German) camera with a "Witzmacher Kawalarz" ("joker" in German and Polish) lens.

* FollowTheLeader: Brian Bolland's interpretation of the Joker (very lanky, vaguely upward spiky hair, somewhat vampiric features) has dominated how the Joker has been drawn since the book came out. In particular, the [[https://s.yimg.com/fz/api/res/1.2/ncxyccnoc7iIXZz.yJrFqQ--/YXBwaWQ9c3JjaGRkO2g9Njg3O3E9OTU7dz01MDA-/http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a5/bc/4e/a5bc4e86827d24b438df79a8024ec496.jpg "why aren't you laughing?]] panel has been cribbed [[http://www.dcplanet.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Batman_Whatever_Happened_to_the_Caped_Crusader-02.jpg multiple]] [[https://theragingfanboy.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/jla015-makingjokersane001.jpg times]]
** It is worth noting, however, that the 'Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader' panel is ''designed as a homage''; in that story, the Joker's appearance changes several times over.

* CreatorBacklash: Not so much of a "backlash", but Alan Moore (and Brian Bolland) personally doesn't think it's as great as most people say it is.
** Specifically, Moore has said that he regrets the story's [[StuffedIntoTheFridge lack of interest in how Barbara herself dealt with being shot and paralysed]], and the contribution that its fully canonical status made to the whole DC universe getting DarkerAndEdgier. He also felt that the seriousness and overly psychological approach in the story ultimately did not reveal a great deal about the characters and that it became just another "nasty" story about Joker and Batman.

* TheOtherDarrin: It's been announced that Ray Wise will be voicing Commissioner Gordon in the animated adaptation, as Bob Hastings (the character's original voice) died in 2014.

* SequelGap: The outright creepy "Innocent Guy" segment at the end of the book was a stand-alone for nearly 30 years, until The Black Mirror series revealed that the innocent guy was [[spoiler: James Gordon Jr]], and he enacts a far more complicated and diabolical plan.

** Specifically, Moore has said that he regrets the story's [[StuffedIntoTheFridge lack of interest in how Barbara herself dealt with being shot and paralysed]], and the contribution that its fully canonical status made to the whole DC universe getting DarkerAndEdgier.