Graphic Novel Review: Joker

"Joker"

Written by Brian Azzarello

Art by Lee Bermejo

Colors by Patricia Mulvihill

Published by DC Comics

The team of Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo never ceases to amaze and entertain me with every work they've done.  Their insightful take on the mind of Superman's greatest foe Lex Luthor in Lex Luthor: Man of Steel was impressive, and I loved the fact that they avoided telling a boring origin story and instead,  attempted to "break-in" into the mind of the genius bald-headed villain by telling a story through  Luthor's perspective.

This one is no different. 

Joker is released from the bars of the dreaded Arkham Asylum after many years and though glad that he out of the penitentiary, the clown immediately realizes that the people he trusted took everything that he has thinking that he was dead for good. Frustrated, he goes on a mission to take back what is "his" and begins the journey of rebuilding his criminal empire together with his newest recruit - a man named as Jonny Frost - who also serves as the narrator of the novel.

The novel introduces some interesting re-interpretations of Batman's classic rogues gallery that I really liked, namely Two-Face, The Penguin, Harley Quinn, The Riddler and Killer Croc. Croc in particular, is depicted as a muscular, African-American guy who has a normal physique which is totally different from the half-human/half-crocodile monster that we see in today's comic books.

The Riddler is a tattooed and crippled weapon-arms dealer in Gotham, while Harley Quinn is a stripper in one of Joker's establishments and is suggested as to having a sexual relationship with the mad Clown. Azzarello clearly has put much thought into redefining these characters and made them as real and believable as possible - a necessary ingredient for the crime-noir elements that he incorporated in this novel.

But the real treat, arguably, lies in the fact that this novel's Joker was seemingly inspired by the late Heath Ledger's portrayal in the 2008 summer blockbuster The Dark Knight. 

The close resemblance of this Joker to the man is eerie, but at the same time, awesome enough to make you feel shivers down your spine.

Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in that film is the most humane of them (and the best) all in my opinion, and Azzarello and Lee's version is very much... well... just like that. The Joker in Azzarello's world is a really disturbing and kind of vulnerable, as he is an an alcoholic and one that heavily relies on drugs and pills to get a day by. 


He is also shown to be afraid of the Batman, as suggested by him when he said that he thinks he is following him all the time.  But despite the tweaks in his personality, he is still the same maniac, crazy psychopath clown that would do whatever it takes to see the world and everything around him crumble. 

I read somewhere that the novel was created way before The Dark Knight was released on the big screen and that Azzarello nor Bermejo had an idea on what he would look like or how he will be portrayed in the movie.


If that is indeed true, I would say that this was very impressive of them. They somehow made a "blueprint" for what would become a tool for one of the most memorable acting performances in cinematic history. 

Lee Bermejo's stunning and vividly detailed art is a winner as usual. Its truly dramatic, and Bermejo captures the chaotic and murky aspects of of Gotham so well, especially its dingy and foul-stenched alleys.


And combined with the beautifully toned-down an grimy colors of Patricia Mulvihill, the overall result is a dark, dirty world that makes a great background for all of the Joker's craziness. 

And though the title of this book is "Joker", that doesn't mean that you won't see "the goddamned" Batman. Its just a matter of time for the Caped Crusader to join the show, and Azzarello doesn't disappoint. He gives us the inevitable showdown between the two freaks, masterfully drawn  by Bermejo up until the last page. 

If there was one thing flaw that I have to point out, that would be the use of one of Joker's henchman as the narrator for the story. Jonny Frost doesn't really stand out as a character and Azzarello totally forgot about giving him his own "identity" in his novel.


Jonny doesn't do anything of importance to the plot and it would have been great if he was made to be more than just a dog who follows his master wherever he went. Plus his fate down in the tale is as predictable as it could possibly get. 

As a whole, "Joker" is an entertaining 128-page read that is gorgeously hideous in its own insane way. This graphic novel has the makings of a cult classic as time goes by, something that could possibly compare to (or even surpass) the other all-time-great Joker story - Alan Moore's The Killing Joke.

If that ever happens, I think Azzarello and Bermejo has Mr. Ledger to thank for. 

My Top 9 Comic Book Movies of All Time

Since I'm a fan of comic books, I have virtually watched every superhero/comic book film out there - except for a few good ones - like Sin City and V for Vendetta for example, which is a shame really. Anyway, I have been running out of things to write on my blog and I don't want to fill this up with comic book reviews all the time.

There were a lot of comic book movies that I own on DVD, some of them are good, some of them not, and only a few are memorable, and I will going to list them down in no particular order.

So without further ado here are the best comic book movies that I have watched:

Spider-Man

The original is always the best as they say and this first Spidey flick proved that. It told the classic Spiderman origin, of how an ordinary school geek named Peter Parker became a super powered hero because of a bite from an irradiated spider, and learning that "with great power comes with great responsibility." Our friendly neighborhood hero surely didn't disappoint, with Tobey Maguire playing an excellent lead role. 

Favorite Scene: What else? The Mary Jane-Spidey upside down kiss in the rain. 'Nuff said.

 Batman (1989) 

The mother of all Batman movies. Tim Burton (of the Edward Scissorhands fame) directed this new take on the Batman mythos (new at the time at least) while comedic actor Michael Keaton took on the role as the caped crusader. The villain? The Joker played by the legendary Jack Nicholson. Loosely based on the Alan Moore classic "The Killing Joke", it gave new breath to the character and paved way for the creation of the Batman franchise. It is still one of my favorite Batman movies and I remember being so excited every time it was played on TV. It was that memorable - especially Jack's performance.

 Favorite scene: The first ever Batman-Joker face off. 

300

 

Who wouldn't forget all the bloody action and six-pack abs? This movie adaptation of Frank Miller's comic book masterpiece re-imagines the epic battle that occured in "The Battle of Thermopylae". 300 brave spartans led by King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler) against millions of Persian warriors led by Xerxes. It was a great visual treat and a good historical film.

Favorite scene:  I was thinking the sex scene between King Leonidas and his wife (played by the red hot Lena Headey), but I changed my mind:

Messenger: This is blasphemy! This is madness!
King Leonidas: Madness...?
[shouting]
King Leonidas: This is Sparta! 

[Kicks the messenger down the well] 

Leonidas doesn't give a f**k.

Men In Black

 

Big guns, aliens in all varieties, and a white guy and a black guy teaming up to defend the Earth against all abominations? This movie kicked-butt, with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in the lead roles. The theme song didn't hurt either. 

Favorite scene:  There were so many, and some I can't really remember, but I kinda chuckled everytime they did that "flashy-thing" routine to make people forget whenever they saw aliens.

Iron Man (2008)

Like I said, nothing beats the original. Robert Downey Jr as billionaire-industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man. It was the perfect. Packed with a lot of action scenes and high tech special effects, Iron Man gave me a lot of "WOW" moments and that's all I needed to realize that this was one hell of a comic book movie.

Favorite scene:  Iron Man taking his first flight.

X-Men (1999)

Any X-Men fan was happy to see this movie. All those characters that we all knew since childhood coming alive on the big screen: Charles Xavier, Wolverine, Rogue, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, and the rest of the gang fighting Magneto and his evil mutants in an all-out war with Earth's fatehanging in the balance. Epic. Not to mention that it spawned two more sequels and started the re-emergence of comic book movies.

Favorite scene:   Can't remember the best scene for me. There were too many. I think I have to watch it again. haha. 

Blade (1998)

Wesley Snipes as a half-vampire, half-human killing machine was cool. I can't say anything that wouldn't make this as one of the best comic book movies. Anybody who saw this film wanted more when the credits rolled at the end.

Favorite scene: Again, I can't remember one fantastic scene that stood out in my mind. Kinda forgot. It's been a long time since I watched it, cmon.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Though the success of Batman Begins revived the whole Batman franchise after the abysmal movies that came before it years ago (remember Batman: Forever with all the nipples in the Bat costume? horrible), Christopher Nolan's sequel is probably the greatest Batman film ever. It broke box-office records and became the talk of the movie world - primarily because of Heath Ledger's monumental performance as the criminal psychopath, The Joker. 

His untimely death even before the film was released didn't hurt the movie's mystique and appeal either. R.I.P. Heath.

Favorite scene: I would say scenes. The first being the Joker "Pencil Trick" scene and then the Batman & Joker Interrogation scene. Both were fantastic. Watch it again if you don't believe me.

Superman: The Movie (1978)

For those guys who were born in the "Spider-Man" or "X-Men" era, you got to have and watch this movie if haven't seen it once because this is the movie that started it all. Directed by Richard Donner, Superman: The Movie set the standards of what a superhero movie should be. 

Starring a then-unknown Christopher Reeve in the lead role as the Big Blue Boy Scout,  the movie became an instant classic primarily because of Reeve's amazing performance as  the bumbling Clark Kent and Superman, in a "a role within a role" setup. The effects were pretty considering the time this was created and it not only that, it boasted a star-studded cast featuring Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Phyllis Thaxter etc. 

It really made us believe that a man can fly. And it still does up to this day.

Favorite scene: Superman's first save. The unforgettable helicopter scene with Lois Lane. Goosebumps.  Watch it here.

So those we're my best comic book movies. If you feel like I forgot a movie that's deserving to be included in this list, or a movie that shouldn't be here, feel free to comment. Hope you liked my list!