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The Joker | 
| Author: Brian Azzarello
Creator: Lee Bermejo
Publisher: DC Comics
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $13.59
You Save: $6.40 (32%)
Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 408
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 10.4 x 7 x 0.5
ISBN: 1401215815
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781401215811
Publication Date: November 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Amazon.com Review
An original hardcover graphic novel that tells the story of one very dark night in Gotham City--from the creative team behind the graphic novel Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. The Joker has been mysteriously released from Arkham Asylum, and he's none to happy about what's happened to his Gotham City rackets while he's been "away." What follows is a harrowing night of revenge, murder and manic crime as only The Joker can deliver it, as he brutally takes back his stolen assets from The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, Killer Croc and others. Brian Azzarello brings to The Joker all the visceral intensity and criminal insight that has made his Vertigo graphic novel series 100 Bullets one of the most critically-acclaimed and award-winning series in all of comics. A Look Inside The Joker
(Click on Images to Enlarge)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 65 more reviews...
 The best take on the Joker since The Killing Joke November 4, 2008
26 out of 29 found this review helpful
Few writers have ever really "gotten" the Joker like Alan Moore did with the prolific Batman tale, The Killing Joke. Grant Morrison seems to get the character to a point, but more than anything, the Joker is just a little too difficult a villain for many writers to really grasp. Not so for 100 Bullets creator Brian Azzarello, whose original graphic novel The Joker finds the Batman arch-nemesis freed from Arkham Asylum and seeking to reclaim what's his. Whether this means joining up with Killer Croc, intimidating The Penguin, or royally angering Two-Face; Joker makes his mark, and Azzarello puts a distinct spin on the character from the perspective of a low-rent hood named Jonny, who himself seeks to claim a little piece of the action by working for Joker. With spectacular pencil work and paint work from Azzarello's Lex Luthor: Man of Steel partner Lee Bermejo; The Joker is the defining Joker tale for a new generation of readers, just as The Killing Joke was all those years ago. All in all, if you're a Batman fan in the very least, The Joker deserves a place in your library.
Joker Returns November 4, 2008
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
Ever wonder what it would be like to be in the employ of the Joker? Job security would certainly not be one of its selling points, nor would benefits like health and life insurance. In fact, it might be a good idea to purchase some beforehand. Just ask Jonny Frost, his new henchman. Brian Azzarello's much anticipated new Joker novel is seen and told through the eager yet anxious perspective of one of his new accomplices in crime, and no previous experience on the mean streets of Gotham is going to prepare him for the mayhem and madness that is to follow. This is a slightly different Joker than normally seen; more serious than silly, more reflective than refractive. He has just returned from yet another of his enforced sojourns in Arkham, this time released legally for a change, brutally back with a vengeance to reclaim lost turf, and heaven help anyone who gets in his way. Joining the party on various sides are Killer Croc, the Penguin, slightly reinvented incarnations of Harley Quinn and the Riddler, and the one unfortunate downside, an ineffectually depicted Harvey Dent. While this obviously is the Joker's story, it serves little purpose in the grand scheme of things to portray other villains as weaker in order to make the Joker loom larger. As Batman can attest, you're only as imposing as your adversaries. All of the rogues have delightfully different visual looks, thanks to the imaginative illustrations of Lee Bermejo, whose work overall ranges from simply remarkable to occasionally awkward. As for Batman himself, he is only seen briefly at the very end, a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion that did appear a bit abrupt and condensed, but then again, this is more about portent and personalities than plot and practicalities. Comparisons to the creators' fantastic Lex Luthor mini are natural and indeed inevitable. That tale took Lex in a completely different direction than usual, and was a major part of its appeal. While this project didn't break any shocking new ground, it thankfully didn't retread the same tiresome and inane gag fests and mindless mania that many of his stories do. Azzarello instead wisely incorporated his trademark grit behind the grin, added danger to the drama, and in the process possibly produced this generation's unique Joker saga. Fans of these two talented men expected no less.
 NOT my Joker. November 22, 2008
14 out of 28 found this review helpful
I'll start with the good bits:
1: The art is fantastic
2: The story is... okay, I guess, although not very original.
I need to mention at this point that Joker is, and always has been, my absolute favorite character from anything, period. My problem with this book is that this is not my Joker. He, in fact, takes very little from the Joker that I love. Among many other things, this Joker isn't funny; he doesn't even think he is, doesn't try to be. That, more than the color scheme or even the psychopathy, is the POINT of the Joker -- it doesn't count unless it's fun, and done with style. Which, by the way, is another thing that this Joker is lacking -- style. I don't mean how he dresses, that's fine, but he's just a thug, just another gangster. A crazy gangster, yes, but he just doesn't have "it". There are a few points that have a bit of that spark, but overall the comic just comes across as yet another violent gangster book, and it's been done before.
 The Joke Is On Us....... November 4, 2008
13 out of 23 found this review helpful
JOKER, the original Graphic Novel by Writer Brian Azzarello and Artist Lee Bermejo (With Mick Gray and Patricia Mulvihil Inking and Coloring, respectively), is pretty much what I was expecting, based on past work by Azzarello: A dirty, grimy street-level story with a lot of twists and turns that take us nowhere, adding up to a story that certainly has interesting points, but didn't really need to be told.
When The Joker is released from Arkham Asylum, low-level thug Jonny Frost volunteers to be his ride home, inadvertently setting himself up to become The Joker's right-hand man in an insane quest to regain everything he lost during his latest incarceration. Along the way, they run into many familiar Gotham City faces, including The Penguin, Harley Quinn, Batman, The Riddler, Killer Croc, and Two-Face.
The physical presentation of the Graphic Novel is stunning....The dust jacket is made of some dry, awful-to-the-touch paper that actually goes a long way towards establishing the sense of dread and discomfort Azzarello seems to be going for, and the book cover is beautifully embossed, and needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. Lee Bermejo's art is beautifully detailed, and very well-suited to this type of street-level tale, and it's perfectly complimented by the inking and coloring.
My main complaints with the book were with Azzarello, and the liberties he takes with established characters. His Killer Croc is a throwback to the original concept of a big-thug-with-a-bad-skin-condition, which I like much better than Jim Lee's walking-talking-crocodile depiction, which seems to be gaining acceptance as the new norm for the character, but his weird, revisionist take on The Riddler as a young punk twisted into a question-mark shape by some kind of Hip/Spine deformity is just strange and out-of-place....It might work in a third BATMAN film, but in an already-established comic-book universe, it was just weird for the sake of weirdness. Also, is Azzarello laboring under the misconception that The Penguin is named "Abner"....?
It was a mildly enjoyable ride, but it ultimately went nowhere before coming to a stop exactly where any Batman fan knew it would. I'm not going to spoil the end, but there's really not an end to spoil.....This could have been a contender, had Azzarello actually had a story to tell, instead of compiling random vignettes and hoping for the best.
 This Will Stay With You. November 5, 2008
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
The word `brutal' sums up this graphic novel perfectly.
A lot of people have been comparing this to the classic `Killing Joke' story, but I feel the only thing they have in common is the violence factor and boy does `The Joker' turn that up a notch. We get some graphic murder and some nasty beatings, both which are acceptable in any Joker centered story. However we also have the element of rape, which seems so out of character for the Joker that it left me feeling Brain Azzarello tried too hard to make him edgy in the worst way possible. It left a bad taste in my mouth, even if this was an independent take of the Joker.
While `Killing Joke' is set in the main stream comic universe, this is an alternative universe sort of affair, to which I am very grateful. Believe me, I much prefer the classic Clown Prince of Crime to the drug addicted degenerate here.
Looking at the artwork and the realistic approach to character designs you would be quick to think that is even related to the Nolan-universe (I'm talking about the Joker's Glasgow/Chelsea grin.) but this is also false, and a coincidence. I'll also go on record to say that I also prefer Nolan's anarchist to the sick person in this story.
The artwork is amazing, hands down, some of the best stuff I've seen in awhile. Lee Bermejo's stuff is gritty eye candy, and the use of colors is a wonderful way for certain scenes to be burned into your mind.
The story is fine enough, but not on par with `Killing Joke' in my opinion. `The Joker' is frantic and fast, and above all else is about mayhem and the gullibility of a man who wants nothing but respect and realization that to get it you have to become a monster. It ends quickly and the ending wasn't really satisfying.
Still, it was a pretty good ride for the most part.
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