Good Batman comics featuring the Joker?

[Meow]

I'm pretty new to the whole comic thing. I just started buying them last summer, and for the most part I've only got the one's based on the show; Batman Adventures, Batman and Robin Adventures, Gotham Adventures, and Justice Leauge. (thank god for ebay) Like I said, I've got some others, but not very many.

I'm still going to be getting the ones based on the show, but I think I want to check out some others too. So does anybody know any good Batman comics, perferable with him facing off against the Joker? I'm a huge Batman fan (and even more of a Joker fan) and there's gotta be a ton of great stories out there that I don't even know about! So how about it people? Any suggestions? :)

[Clayface]

Well, if you want to check out some of the "darker" Joker stuff, I'd strongly recomend The Killing Joke and A Death In the Family. Joker also has some of the most powerful stuff in the No Man's Land story arc (available in TPBs), but he's not in it a lot.

[BLACKHEART]

Make sure you buy The Killing Joke and if you want a real laugh get the Superman cross over.

[Jade_GL]

Oh, this is a good one. I bought a trade paperback off of ebay called The Greatest Joker STories Ever Told. It's a bunch of Batman comics from the 40s to about 1988 (I think) that all feature the Joker. It may not be the new stuff, but it's a great place to get some good Joker stories. I love comics from all ages, so I'm not picky about anything being "old". In fact, I loved this book. Had some really good stuff in it.

I also liked The Killing Joke as well, but it was very dark. Still, it's a good comic featuring the Joker. Another good one wasBatman: A Death in the Family, also dark but cool.

Hmmm. Lemme think a second.

Oh, and there was a oneshot called Batman: Batgirl which was a story about Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, and she has a confrontation with the Joker in it that was pretty good.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope that helps.

[mistah_j]

Batman Adventures: Mad Love
The Further Adventures of the JOker (novel)
Batman: Harley Quinn
The Reign of Emperor Joker (Superman books)

[2Divine]

I highly, HIGHLY recommend the Batman: Arkham graphic novel. It features some chilling scenes with the Joker, who leads a riot in the Asylum.

It's hands-down one of the best Batman stories I've read. Shocking and psychological. Be warned, though - it's definitey a "mature readers" book.

[Meow]

Thanks everybody. I really appreciate the help. I already have some of the ones a few of you have mentioned. like; A Death In the Family, The Killing Joke, Batman: Harley Quinn, Mad Love, and that book "The Greatest Joker Stories ever told" But I haven't heard of some of the others.

Stuff I don't have but will probably check out now:

Batman: Arkham
The Further Adventures of the JOker (novel)
The Reign of Emperor Joker (Superman books)
Batman: Batgirl
No Man's land sounds pretty cool, but if the Joker's not in it that much I probably won't bother. (maybe if I could just a hold of some of the issues he IS in)

Anyways, thanks guys!!!

[Anarky]

don't forget Joker: The Devil's Advocate

it's a one-shot released a few yrs back ('98 i think)
in it, Joker is arrested and is deemed competent to be tried in court. To his surprise, he's found guilty!!! But can the Clown actually be innocent this time around??? This is a great story.

This took place a bit after Knightfall, aftr Bruce had reclaimed the mantle of the Bat. Since facing Azrael, the Joker had been free for a long time (possibly his longest time out of Arkham). I guess he was lying low, mending his broken arm (Azrael broke his arm like a twig), and concocting the perfect crime to re-emerge from his hiatus.

definitely worth it if you find out
i had the hard cover edition

[Gotham Knights '68]

Originally posted by Meow
Thanks everybody. I really appreciate the help. I already have some of the ones a few of you have mentioned. like; A Death In the Family, The Killing Joke, Batman: Harley Quinn, Mad Love, and that book "The Greatest Joker Stories ever told" But I haven't heard of some of the others.

Stuff I don't have but will probably check out now:

Batman: Arkham
The Further Adventures of the JOker (novel)
The Reign of Emperor Joker (Superman books)
Batman: Batgirl
No Man's land sounds pretty cool, but if the Joker's not in it that much I probably won't bother. (maybe if I could just a hold of some of the issues he IS in)

Anyways, thanks guys!!!

Pick up the 5 NML TPB's....if you are a Batman fan you will not be disappointed - it was a year long story line that took place after Gotham was hit by an Earthquake (Cataclysm Storyline). Joker played a large part at the end of the arc - GREAT STUFF!!!

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Originally posted by 2Divine
I highly, HIGHLY recommend the Batman: Arkham graphic novel. It features some chilling scenes with the Joker, who leads a riot in the Asylum.

Just a minor correction: the book is actually called Batman: Arkham Asylum, written by Grant Morrison with art by Dave McKean (who, for some reason, was in a major anti-Batman phase and attempted to draw the entire thing without actually showing Batman. It kind of worked). Unfortunately, the Joker really only shows up in the first few pages and the last few and is probably one of the only things in the book that really worked for me. I'm not a big fan of the book.

This might be obvious, but nobody's mentioned Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which features a truly horrific Joker and a gloriously dark vision of Batman.

-- Ed/Ace

[CadaverousEyes]

Time to get you to spend more money.

Do you have the Knightfall part 1 TPB? There's a good Joker/Scarecrow team-up.

Images from Legends of the Dark Knight #50. Their first meeting, post-crisis.

Going Sane from LotD #65-68. Plot is what it sounds like.

Something I like to call Joker Goes Hollywood from Detective Comics #671-673. There's some stuff that was brought up in subplots in earlier issues, but they're not essential to the story. This was also during the year of the AzBat, but it actually adds to the story. The guy below spoiled the ending, blast him. :(

Shadow of the Bat #37 and #38. A quasi-sequel to the Killing Joke and a certain story that's documented in The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told.

Oh, and Legends of the DC Universe #26 and #27. Addendum to The Laughing Fish, written by Englehart himself.

[Ms. Kitty]

Question. Was The Ultimate Evil a Joker story?

[Shade of Opal]

Originally posted by Ms. Kitty
Question. Was The Ultimate Evil a Joker story? I believe that The Ultimate Evil was a story about child abuse, but feel free to correct me. Personally, I consider child abuse a much more "ultimate evil" than some story about the Joker.

[Ms. Kitty]

Nope. I think that was Night Cries

[Jade_GL]

Night Cries was definately the one about child abuse, unless of course, there have been more than one.... Ahhh.... :D

[Shade of Opal]

Originally posted by Ms. Kitty
Nope. I think that was Night Cries Yes, I read Night Cries and am understand it was also about child abuse, but I still believe that The Ultimate Evil was about child abuse as well. When I became unsure of whether or not I was as right as I believed I was, I headed over to Amazon (which is the move that I should have made in the first place when I was unsure of myself :p ) and consulted them.

AMAZON.COM: Batman: The Ultimate Evil (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0788199773/qid=1021137997/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_67_2/104-4149166-3122345)

So... It's not quite about child abuse in the way that Night Cries was about child abuse. The gist I got from reading the reviews is that The Ultimate Evil was about kiddie porn and child molestors. Perhaps more severe forms of child abuse. Part of me wants to read this book now to see how Batman would handle these creeps, and to see justice served to the wrong-doers. On the other hand, I don't know how I could keep my composure while reading about whatever monsters he was fighting. This is probably going to be one of those books I keep meaning to read but will keep pushing back in favor of other books.

[Ms. Kitty]

thanks fot the info guys :)

[jm5150bc]

I highly recommend "The Killing Joke"... They don't really come any better than that.

Also... If you can still find one, "The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told" is a collection of great Joker tales spanning from the 40s or 50s till the early 80's. It was released in both Hardcover and Softcover editions (the soft cover version has a great cover by Brian Bolland of the Joker holding a "Joker Fish"). It includes some of the best Denny O'Neill / Neal Adams and Steve Englehart / Marshall Rogers stuff... including "The Laughing Fish" and "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" that were both sort of combined into what became "The Laughing Fish" episode of "Batman: The Animated Series". This collection is chock full of great stuff.
It was a companion piece to "The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told" which was also release in both hard and soft cover. I would imagine you still might be able to find 'em in a Borders or B. Dalton bookstore, or any big bookstore... Good Luck.