Batman: The Killing Joke #1

Quick answer

Batman: The Killing Joke #1 is cataloged as part of the The Killing Joke reading path, giving readers a specific checkpoint in that storyline rather than a generic issue listing. Gotham Vault connects it to Batman (Bruce Wayne), The Joker, Commissioner Gordon (James Gordon), Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Batman: The Killing Joke, and the broader 1988-07-01 Batman publication timeline.

Issue summary

The maddest Joker ever as he takes his struggle with Batman to new lows when he kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. Possibly the most famous Joker story of all time; how one ordinary man had one very bad day. And decided to share it. Notes: Ranked #3 in Wizard Magazine's list of "100 Best Single Issue Comics Since You Were Born". Dick Grayson, Kathy Kane, Bette Kane, Bat-mite and Ace the Bat Hound all appear in a cameo in a picture frame in the Bat Cave. The covers represent the six different printings of this TPB book. The first cover is for the 1st and 2nd printing, and next covers are for the following printings. The final cover is for the special edition hard cover and had the entire graphic novel recolored by artist Brian Bolland. The Original Prestige Versus the Recolored Anniversary The modern printing There are a few differences in the cover between the original and the newer versions. The three main differences is that the coloring on the modern version's cover is richer, the word bubble has "Smile!" in stead of just "Smile" and the text print is white instead of the colors that represent the printing, such as green, blue, red and yellow. The Interior of the comic is still the same, with one major change. The coloring went from John Higgin's (Watchmen) bold contrasting coloring to how Brian Bolland would have colored his own art. The experience of the book does change with…

Characters listed for this issue

Batman (Bruce Wayne)The Dark Knight of Gotham. Billionaire by day, vigilante by night. No superpowers, just iron…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

The JokerThe Clown Prince of Crime. Gotham's chaos agent. No one knows his real story, and that's the…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Commissioner Gordon (James Gordon)The one good cop in a corrupt city. Keeps the GCPD running and the Bat-Signal lit. Never los…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)The first and greatest Batgirl. The Joker took her legs but not her spirit — she became Orac…VIEW APPEARANCES ›