When I first read the Killing Joke, I must admit I didn't get it. But then upon rereading I came to realize why this is considered a well known story. Every moment of the story is filled with a certain energy that just fits the mood.
When the Joker is out and about there is something just so creepy and disturbing about him every time he appears on screen. I can feel the exhaustion and impatience of Batman when he's out looking for him, the horror in Barbara's eyes and the utter shock of Jim Gordon. And finally, the odd but sad tone of the flashbacks of The Joker's one bad day.
The story simply put is Joker's last chance, and Batman knows he's reaching the end of that line as well and everything that happens really puts it into perspective about how that last chance ain't going to happen, with the final joke summing up the entire story.
Now to cover something more controversial, the crippling of Barbara Gordon, I did not live at the time this happened so my opinion is miffed, but I must say while horrific for the time and still referenced today, it gave Barbara a far bigger role in the universe as Oracle, the one who saw all and knew all, rending what Joker did moot. Horrific? Yes. Ultimately the end. Far from it.
I'd recommend reading this just to get a idea of where the original idea of Joker's "One bad day" philosophy came from.
The story of One Bad Day
When I first read the Killing Joke, I must admit I didn't get it. But then upon rereading I came to realize why this is considered a well known story. Every moment of the story is filled with a certain energy that just fits the mood.
When the Joker is out and about there is something just so creepy and disturbing about him every time he appears on screen. I can feel the exhaustion and impatience of Batman when he's out looking for him, the horror in Barbara's eyes and the utter shock of Jim Gordon. And finally, the odd but sad tone of the flashbacks of The Joker's one bad day.
The story simply put is Joker's last chance, and Batman knows he's reaching the end of that line as well and everything that happens really puts it into perspective about how that last chance ain't going to happen, with the final joke summing up the entire story.
Now to cover something more controversial, the crippling of Barbara Gordon, I did not live at the time this happened so my opinion is miffed, but I must say while horrific for the time and still referenced today, it gave Barbara a far bigger role in the universe as Oracle, the one who saw all and knew all, rending what Joker did moot. Horrific? Yes. Ultimately the end. Far from it.
I'd recommend reading this just to get a idea of where the original idea of Joker's "One bad day" philosophy came from.