The Joker is arguably the most famous and recognisable supervillain in comic book history. There have been many interpretations of the character and one of them was written by Brian Azzarello for his 2008 graphic novel.
The Joker has been released from Arkham Asylum and a low-level goon, Jonny Frost, volunteers to pick up the criminal. Jonny becomes a part of The Joker’s crew as the villain sets out to rise back up to the top of Gotham’s criminal pyramid.
There’s no denying the Joker’s popularity and there have been many interpretations of the character. He has been a jokester, a gangster, a psychopath, and a tragic figure. This graphic novel was a ground-level crime story. It played out a comic book version of Scarface where the Joker had to start from the bottom since his gangster trustees lost his territory. He had to rebuild, going from doing a solo bank job to taking on the criminal elite of Gotham.
Joker was ground level, showing how the criminal world of Gotham operated. It was a world of violence and lowlifes but most of the action was low-level enough that it wasn’t worth Batman’s attention. It was a gritty world that was amplified by Lee Bermejo’s artwork. Gotham was shown to have grand gothic buildings with Two-Face having an opulent office, but on the ground the city was rundown and the characters hung around dive bars, strip clubs, and industrial areas. This was the ugly underbelly of Gotham.
The Joker goes through the cycle he normally goes through: he gets released from Arkham, and he goes back into a life of crime, to do more extreme actions to get the attention of the Caped Crusader. The Joker has often been shown as a villain who depends on his battle with Batman and was unable to function without the superhero. Jonny Frost filled Harley Quinn’s role since he was infatuated with The Joker and taken under the villain’s wing. However, as the story progressed The Joker turned more hostile towards the gangster and the relationship became more abusive. The Joker is a character who doesn’t form friendships, partnerships, or attainments.
When reading Joker there was a risk that it was going to be edgy for the sake of it. The opening signs were far from promising since the first scenes took place in a bar/strip club, and The Joker’s introduction involved him flipping his middle finger at Arkham. It was the kind of thing a 14-year-old boy would write. Joker was published during the aftermath of The Dark Knight’s success and the film seemed to be an influence of the graphic novel due to the gritty look. The Joker was partly modelled on Heath Ledger’s version of the character due to the scars on his face. The graphic novel did become more ‘comic-booky’ as it progressed. One of The Joker’s main henchmen was Killer Croc, who acted as The Joker’s enforcer. A parley at Gotham Zoo had The Joker’s sense of flair and showed how he can think outside the box.
As a character study, Joker was lacking. It didn’t say anything new about the character and what made him tick. His mindset has been explored better in Alan Moore’s Killing Joke since it showed how crude and demented The Joker could be. In this graphic novel, he happens to be a violent gangster with a colourful appearance. The most interesting character for The Joker was a fleeting one since Jonny Frost saw a private moment when the infamous villain was crying in Harley’s lap. It leads to the question, why was he crying?
Despite its title, Joker was not the definitive story about the Clown Prince of Crime. It was interesting to see Gotham on the ground and there were some flourishes, but Joker was thin on substance.
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