A Psychological Dive into Batman and Joker That Left Me SHOOK

Some comics hit you like a punch to the face, and for me, it was a comic book that came out in 1988 – The Killing Joke.

A few months back I hit up New Dimension Comics in Butler, PA for their anniversary sale. I’ve written about that day before in Issue 2, but to recap—there I am, about to pay for my stack of 50-cent finds, when I glance up at their wall books* behind the counter. And boom—there it is: The Killing Joke.

*For those unfamiliar, "wall books" at a comic shop are high-value, rare, or key issues displayed up on the wall behind the counter instead of mixed in with the gen-pop of regular back issues or new releases.

Now, I’d never read The Killing Joke before, but I was more than aware of its reputation and this has been a Holy Grail story for me to add to my personal collection for a long time. Having said that – I also knew that getting a first printing was gonna cost me, and with like 11 different versions and reprints floating around, I figured I’d be able to grab one eventually. So I asked the guy behind the counter how much it was. “$10,” he says, and then adds, “but since it’s the anniversary sale, it’s $8”. This was the book’s fifth printing and the stars aligned.

Sold.

Before I even left Butler, I took a quick pic of my score and texted it to Geoff, feeling pretty damn proud of myself.

Just a heads up, spoilers ahead - but when the book is 36 years old, is it really a spoiler?

The second I cracked it open, I knew this wasn’t just another Batman comic. Alan Moore’s writing paired with Brian Bolland’s art immediately had this chemistry that is hard to define. This isn’t your typical Batman story; it’s a full-on mind bending deep dive into the Batman-Joker relationship. And that scene—if you know, you know… but when the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon (Batgirl and the daughter of Commissioner Gordon) and kidnaps her father I had to sit there for a second like, wait, holy shit what just happened?

But it wasn’t just the violence that got me—it was the emotional weight of it. Joker’s whole deal is trying to prove that one bad day is all it takes to turn a person into a monster. He’s using himself as Exhibit A. It’s like this wild nature-vs.-nurture debate in the middle of Gotham City chaos. You get a glimpse of Joker’s possible origin story—with him you never know what’s what and who’s who—and it somehow makes him crazier. One minute, he’s this failed comedian, and the next, he’s a psycho clown running Gotham. And I’m all in.

Another take-away that I couldn’t stop thinking about.. Batman uses his trauma to fight crime, while Joker fully embraces the madness and tries to pull everyone down with him. It’s deep. Way deeper than you’d expect from a comic book but it’s EXACTLY what I want and love about this hobby.

But here’s why The Killing Joke is key to me: It is once again a reminder that comics can be so much more than endless superhero brawls in multiverses with zero consequences from story to story. This shit was dark, psychological, and didn’t hold back on the emotional punch. Once I finished it, I had to tell everyone who might even remotely care about comics, “You gotta read this.”

Like I mentioned earlier, comic shops have their “wall books.” When I redecorated my home office, I made my own wall of key to me books and The Killing Joke is right up there where it belongs.

Of course, this is a key book in the traditional sense as it’s a major storyline. I didn’t discover some hidden gem or anything—The Killing Joke has been a major part of comic book history for decades.

So yeah, if you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favor and dive into this psychological masterpiece. 

Housekeeping

I know our schedule has never really been set in stone, but these last few weeks we have taken a dip in production. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Baltimore Comic Con trip was cut a little short—I did get to go and will write about the trip here, but I just wanted to catch up on a few things.

On Sunday, October 27, Pittsburgh is getting another comic book show! The Pittsburgh Comic Book Show, to be exact. This sounds exactly up my alley, as their website is advertising 70 dealers with a focus on comic books! I don’t want to use the word “hate”… but I really am not into the conventions that bring out TV stars from a show I’ve never heard of, who charge $75 for an autograph.

No disrespect to whomever that audience is—but it is not me.

I think the plan is for Geoff to come up for it, but if he is unable (it’s a Sunday after all, and he’s in Baltimore), I will still be there with my buddy Jon.

Also, from October 11-19, I will be in Illinois visiting family for the week—my plan is to find a local comic shop or two. DC just released the new Absolute Batman series, and I am excited to read it.

Shout Out Time!

I have this awesome neighbor who I met at the dog park at my apartment complex, and he just so happens to be a big-time comic book collector too! It’s crazy how similar our tastes are, as we’ve been giving each other books we knew the other would enjoy over the past few months.

But last week, Steve came through like I never imagined! So there’s this random Batman story that came out a few years ago, Arkham City: The Order of the World. During one of my dollar bin adventures, I picked up issue one and was ALL IN.

A while back, Steve and I were watching our dogs run around, and I mentioned that I grabbed the first issue of that mini-series and was looking for the rest.

Steve basically hit me with the “say less—I got you.” A few days later, he brought me the whole series to borrow!

Expect a full Key To Me rundown of the whole thing in a later issue, but I just wanted to personally thank Steve for being so kind!

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See you all soon, and thank you for reading and subscribing to Key To Me Comics!