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miss_majuu's review against another edition
3.0
Ohhh boy
Overall average of all the stories: 3.0
Favorite story: Fool's Errand, 2001
Least favorite story: A clash of symbols, 1990
Favorite art style: The man who laughs, 2005
Least favorite art style: The joker & the joker returns, 1940
This was, quite frankly, baad. It was interesting to get the full character journey but I'm left wondering why some stories were selected for this: especially The Origin of the Joker (2007), which is basically the killing joke but in just two pages.
There were also stories in here, where you needed background knowledge because of events that happened before and characters that were already established at the certain issue that was selected for this collection. Because of that some stories were incredibly hard to follow and confusing.
A downside from covering all decades of the jokers appearance were that on the one hand the characters have very little to do with what you associate with them and on the other hand comics were just written drastically different that time. The art style was completely not my taste and it had a very low-effort somewhat comedic ring to it. In addition to that were the text bubbles in the corner of the page (who are normally used for setting up a scene) on every page, stating what could be seen on that page. For example it would be "he shuffled the cards" and the picture would be of hands shuffling cards.
Overall I really didn't enjoy my time reading this but the text pages, explaining the history of the character were really interesting. I gave a total of 3 out of 18 stories a rating over 3
Overall average of all the stories: 3.0
Favorite story: Fool's Errand, 2001
Least favorite story: A clash of symbols, 1990
Favorite art style: The man who laughs, 2005
Least favorite art style: The joker & the joker returns, 1940
This was, quite frankly, baad. It was interesting to get the full character journey but I'm left wondering why some stories were selected for this: especially The Origin of the Joker (2007), which is basically the killing joke but in just two pages.
There were also stories in here, where you needed background knowledge because of events that happened before and characters that were already established at the certain issue that was selected for this collection. Because of that some stories were incredibly hard to follow and confusing.
A downside from covering all decades of the jokers appearance were that on the one hand the characters have very little to do with what you associate with them and on the other hand comics were just written drastically different that time. The art style was completely not my taste and it had a very low-effort somewhat comedic ring to it. In addition to that were the text bubbles in the corner of the page (who are normally used for setting up a scene) on every page, stating what could be seen on that page. For example it would be "he shuffled the cards" and the picture would be of hands shuffling cards.
Overall I really didn't enjoy my time reading this but the text pages, explaining the history of the character were really interesting. I gave a total of 3 out of 18 stories a rating over 3
bryce_is_a_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Good Collection of Joker Stories covering his career from his origins to the present day.
It's a pretty awesome and fascinating look at how many variations and warpings an icon can take and still be among the most potent pop myths. The book to it's credit isn't afraid of the fact that the Joker was kind of well a Joke for plenty of years. Take this line of dialouge from a comic from the fifties where The Joker rants about well, his Giant Boner.
(Note This Is Not Made Up. Or even edited. I'm Not That Funny)
"So they laugh at my Boner will they? I'll show them! I'll show them how many boners The Joker can make! This emphasis on Boner's has given me an idea for a new adventure in crime Gotham city will rue the day it mentioned the word Boner! I will take the greatest boners of all time and turn them into crimes!! See this picture it shows a big boner of a modern vintage!!"
Call me an arrested adolescent but that's some pretty fucking funny unintentional sexual innuendo (Disclaimer I may or may not be smoking some of the devil's weed while writing this.)
Also one thing this collection brought up again is something I've long wondered about. The Joker's always got like a couple dozen guys following him around. Honestly why? If they're true believers then that just speaks to a sad lack of ambition. "Yeah I'm crazy enough to follow this guy in a clown suit, but I just don't have the nerve to put on a costume and start doing improbable shit on my own." Read The Secret pal. You're already half way there just you know reach for the stars.
But think about it, if this guy is just some mercenary well that's even fucking sadder. How bad do you have to be where no one will hire you except a psychopathic clown who almost always kills his henchmen and has freaking Batman after him the entire damn time. I mean how desperately is he in need of a job where that looks like a kickass option. Is he just saying to himself "Well I really didn't want to help The Joker rob a toy store damnit but the kid's need braces."
Either way it's a sad situation. I want to read a book about that guy.
It's a pretty awesome and fascinating look at how many variations and warpings an icon can take and still be among the most potent pop myths. The book to it's credit isn't afraid of the fact that the Joker was kind of well a Joke for plenty of years. Take this line of dialouge from a comic from the fifties where The Joker rants about well, his Giant Boner.
(Note This Is Not Made Up. Or even edited. I'm Not That Funny)
"So they laugh at my Boner will they? I'll show them! I'll show them how many boners The Joker can make! This emphasis on Boner's has given me an idea for a new adventure in crime Gotham city will rue the day it mentioned the word Boner! I will take the greatest boners of all time and turn them into crimes!! See this picture it shows a big boner of a modern vintage!!"
Call me an arrested adolescent but that's some pretty fucking funny unintentional sexual innuendo (Disclaimer I may or may not be smoking some of the devil's weed while writing this.)
Also one thing this collection brought up again is something I've long wondered about. The Joker's always got like a couple dozen guys following him around. Honestly why? If they're true believers then that just speaks to a sad lack of ambition. "Yeah I'm crazy enough to follow this guy in a clown suit, but I just don't have the nerve to put on a costume and start doing improbable shit on my own." Read The Secret pal. You're already half way there just you know reach for the stars.
But think about it, if this guy is just some mercenary well that's even fucking sadder. How bad do you have to be where no one will hire you except a psychopathic clown who almost always kills his henchmen and has freaking Batman after him the entire damn time. I mean how desperately is he in need of a job where that looks like a kickass option. Is he just saying to himself "Well I really didn't want to help The Joker rob a toy store damnit but the kid's need braces."
Either way it's a sad situation. I want to read a book about that guy.
earnshawheights's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
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