Batman: The Killing Joke #[nn]
"Batman: The Killing Joke" is a landmark issue from 1988, written by Alan Moore and illustrated with chilling precision by Brian Bolland, whose cover pencils and inks define the era’s most iconic image of the Joker. In this harrowing tale, Batman confronts a twisted double of the Joker at Arkham Asylum, only to find the real criminal already at work—targeting Commissioner Gordon and his daughter Barbara in a nightmarish game designed to break the line between sanity and chaos. The story unfolds with a tense, psychological edge, as the Joker pushes Gordon to his breaking point in a surreal, carnival-like setting, culminating in a final, haunting exchange between the Dark Knight and his most enduring foe.
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Batman visits the Joker in Arkham Asylum only to discover he has been replaced by a double. As Batman attempts to track the villain down, the Joker shows up at the house of Commissioner Gordon where he promptly shoots Barbara and captures her father. The Joker takes Jim to a modified carnival where he tries to drive him mad (partially by showing him pictures of his naked and bleeding daughter). Batman arrives and starts beating on the Joker who attempts to reason with him in his own insane fashion. As things wrap up and the police arrive, the Joker finally tells Batman a joke that he gets.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).