I’d heard about this graphic novel for a long time, and finally got around to reading it after an impromptu Customs House Library visit with @renny510.

Hilary Goldstein of IGN Comics was right, it really is “the greatest Joker story every told”. Drawn and re-coloured by Brian Bolland, and of course, written by the genius that is Alan Moore, this is a must read for any Batman fan! It’s relatively short too, as I got through it in one morning.

As soon as I finished it, I tweeted that I needed to get the .cbr and steal some of those panels, but what I meant was, share some of those panels. Below are a few of my favourites [embiggenable!]:

The Origin

The Joke

The Inspiration

Left: The Joker, Right: Brian Bolland

Figures 1 and 2 are giving away a closely guarded professional secret. Yes, I did use photographic reference for the cover of THE KILLING JOKE! Since it’s a mirror image of me in the photo you’ll notice that it’s actually the thumb of my left hand that’s pressing the button to take the picture. The resulting sketch is probably the most thorough cover rough I’ve ever drawn and the only one in color. I must have been very keen to push the idea.