Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Batman: The Killing Joke

One of the best graphic novel/comics I’ve read. The story was so compelling and the art style was such a beautiful compliment to it. So incredibly immersive and dark. I love how the art style slightly shifted drying flashbacks. A great snapshot of the most toxic relationship in comics. The ambiguous ending is so great and the amount of serious themes tackled in 50 pages is startling. Definitely would read again and recommend.

Content Warnings

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Short, simple, and yet incredibly powerful. Honestly this is just stunning and easily prompts re-reads with specific focus on every single panel.

Content Warnings

erissa_lestrange's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

shreyash_89's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

bella_mckinnon's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Great, a classic.

Content Warnings

eed8's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

kaipitain's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The Killing Joke was the first full comic that I ever read.
It's a classic Batman story and probably the best starting point for people who want to get into reading Batman because it's not too complex in plot and character, but gives a good understanding of the gist of these comics.
Depending on your interpretation this story is also quite important to the chronology of Batman and has major effects on Batman comics for decades after this.

From the perspective of a comic fan it feels blasphemous to rate The Killing Joke only 3/5. But it's just too simple to give much more and it's far from being the best Batman book I've read. But through it's simple core it is an absolutely perfect starting point to read Batman, best followed up with Frank Miller's Year One.

Content Warnings

thechocolatefinger's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Grief

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Ableism, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

A part is set in Arkham Asylum (a mental hospital & prison), but there’s no mention of mental health nor forced institutionalisation/confinement. The pregnancy is a visibly pregnant character and a mention of their baby. There’s a conversation about

job loss and potential poverty.

A couple argues, but there’s no emotional/physical abuse. There’s a very minor joke referencing prostitution. Only one death is shown, and it’s a very minor character. It’s non-graphic, although there’s a small amount of blood. The gun violence is the Joker shooting someone. It is completely visible but the wound is not graphic, although there is blood. There’s also multiple moments with the threat of being shot. It’s heavily implied that off-screen, the Joker

removes someone’s clothes and takes photos of their wound.

A part is set in a pub/bar, and there’s a very minor reference to drinking alcohol. Someone is briefly verbally manipulated to

commit a (relatively minor) crime.

A part is set in a hospital, although there’s no medical content. Someone very briefly smokes a cigar. There’s off-screen implied kidnapping. The sexual assault is villains unconsensually removing 2 characters clothes, but nothing sexual is implied (although some people interpret it as off-screen rape/sexual assault). Nudity (genitals) is covered by objects and text boxes. The torture is emotional. The ableism is an ableist joke the Joker makes. Also, some disabled people are portrayed as “freaks” in a freak show. There’s an attempt at

forced insanity.

The grief is for the death of

a spouse and baby.

Police officers are briefly shown, but they only talk, and there’s no violence involving them. There’s major references to “insanity”, poor mental health, and mental illness. There’s a brief mention of experiencing hallucinations. Batman fights the Joker, but it’s not graphically violent. There’s multiple moments with a threat of death. Batman sympathises/empathises with the Joker’s situation, despite knowing about his violent acts. The ending is not happy and very open-ended (up to interpretation).

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