Oct 282011
 

 

jkrvisualhcoverFinally, with my copy of JOKER A VISUAL HISTORY in hand I have the power to give you a quick walk through the book.  I got the hardcover which, in addition to the retail Joker cover as a dustjacket, sports a fantastic green and purple collage of Joker moments from his golden and silver age on the inner cover (see pic). I opened the book and there they were, countless guffaws in a purple background and I knew I was in heaven.  I’m an incurable Jokerholic, that is not a secret and as a Joker fan I have to say that it was about time that the best (and craziest) villain in the history of DC got a book dedicated to himself.

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Art from Last Laugh

Joker is one complicated character.  I’m not only referring to the chaotic nature of his psyche but to the fact that every group of writers and artists have taken their liberties with  the villain, making so many stories and versions of him that the task of copiling them into one coherent story seems almost titanic.  A task that does not scare the author, Daniel Wallace, who takes any available resource on the Joker from the 1940’s to the present, from Bob Kane to Grant Morrison and coalesces all the facts into one interesting read.   Here is a preview of what you will find inside:

Table of Contents

10 Introduction
18 The Beginning
32 Spotlight on:  Bob Kane and Bill Finger
34 The Batman
50 Spotlight on:  Frank Miller
52 Arkham Asylum
64 Spotlight:  Grant Morrison
66 Bag of Tricks
80 Partners in Crime
102 Crimes and Capers
128 Shattered Mirror
140 Mad Love
166 Spotlight on:  Paul Dini and Bruce Timm
168 The Clown Prince
178 Spotlight on:  Denny O’neil and Neil Adams
180 Killer Smile
200 Spotlight on:  Alan Moore

 

First I have to say that the introduction written by Mark Hamill was a great treat. He speaks to us in a familiar, casual way to describe he acquaintance with the character during the auditions for the Joker’s voice in BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES and how this helped him in the understanding of the character.  One of the things that caught my attention was the part where Hamill is getting the hints on how to play the villain for the first time:

…but under the guidance of vocal director Andrea Romano (who would eventually  guide me through many years of episodes and remain a dear friend to this very day) and a liberating note on page one [of the script]:

“Don’t think  Nicholson” I managed to conjure up my version of the “Grim Jester”, a sort of cross between Claude Rains and the Blue Meanie from Yellow Submarine.  Within days, I received a call and heard the words “Congratulation, they want you for the Joker” I was numb…

And thanks to that liberating note, Mr. Hamill was able to create a new and fresh version that has become a classic and a kind of standard when portraying the villain in animated films and video games that had made Mr. Hamill so famous.

As the book contiues, Dan weaves a nice narrative starting with an explanation of the concept origin for the character (C0nrad Veidt’s THE MAN WHO LAUGHS,  a Joker card and a Coney Island Steeplechase sign that sparked the final look of the Jester).  He follows this biographical construct with an analysis as to why every Batman needs a Joker and how these two characters are so tightly intertwined as well as the Jester’s intimate relationship with Arkham Asylum

The author continues his coverage, turning his attention to those characters that for good or bad had crossed the paths of the Joker, his allies and enemies (No, Harley is not covered here, but later in the book she has her own section), and following this Daniel makes a recount of the Joker’s most memorable crimes from the funny, to the most lethal. Mr. Wallace is  very accurate to call these crimes “perfomances” after all, for the Joker,  showmanship is everything.  Daniel hits a bullseye when he says: “[that for Joker] if its not spectacularly theatrical, it is boring, [and the audience] might fail to see the humor in the horror

Joker’s complex origin is dissected from each version from comics to movies in small steps which makes the character study easy to follow and engaging to read, including the introduction of the Joker’s “love interest” Harley Quinn and finalizes the book with a detailed account on the evolution of the character down to THE DARK KNIGHT, RIP and Bermejo’s JOKER graphic novel.

Wallace’s coverage of the character history and his interaction with the rest of the DC universe demonstrated the research done behind this book.  Every aspect of the Golden, Siver and Bronze age Joker is covered in one way or another, and the sprinkled notes about the writers and artists involved in the evolution of the character make the read quite entertaining.

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Art by Jim Lee

Accompanying the narrative, are literally pages and pages (a few hundred or more, some of them I don’t think have been seen for a while if ever) of images of Joker through the ages, allowing the reader to follow the character’s transformation through time into the valuable villain he is today.

I love the book and consider it a nice addition to the Joker mythos in the DC Universe along with a comprehensive guide of the character in every media.  My only regret was that though there are plenty images of Joker by famed artist Brian Bolland in the book, there is no particular section dedicated to him like other artists even when the artist himself considered Joker his for a short while. I don’t think that his contribution to the character was overlooked, I just think that there is not space to cover EVERY single aspect related to the Joker, otherwise we would need several volumes. This tiny detail though, might fall in the personal preference, since it does not diminish the value of the book both in content and purpose to provide a wide view on who the Joker is in the DC Universe.

AND WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?   GO GET YOUR COPY NOW!! 
Aug 082011
 

Hello Jokerholics,

I have the great pleasure to announce you that I received communication from DAN WALLACE, the writer of the upcoming book JOKER: A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME with important information. 

First, he brought to my attention that the entry from PREVIEWS didn’t list his name, and as I transcribed the information  to the post I missed it too but that has been fixed.  Sorry for the inconveniences, Dan. I will be complaining to Previews for their innacuracies.

Anyways, Dan was also very pleased about his book being promoted here (the pleasure has been all mine Dan)  and was kind enough to include a link to the final cover to delight our eyes and spoke about the book:

“Hi — thanks so much for spotlighting the upcoming Joker book!…we were lucky enough to get an introduction for the book from Mark Hamill. The cover has also been updated I have an advance copy and it’s gorgeous! It’s scheduled to hit stores in October.” 

HERE IS THAT AMAZING FINAL COVER

 

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YOU CAN PRE ORDER FROM YOUR LOCAL COMIC BOOK STORE, OR AMAZON, OR BARNES & NOBLE

Aug 042011
 

Hey Jokerholics,

Right from this month’s PREVIEWS CATALOG….our prayers have been answered. 

I don’t know who came with the idea, but I want to hug him/her/them and give them a big wet kiss.  It was about time in my opinion. I mean, if Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Superman can have their own mythology/story etc book, why not the most famous villain of all time?? This month’s PREVIEWS announced the publishing of a book dedicated only to…

 

THE JOKER: A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME HC and SC

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  • On sale OCTOBER 11, 2011
  • Writer:  Daniel Wallace, Introduction by Mark Hamill
  • The book examines the evolutionof the most famous comic book villain in history, and is certain to appeal to fanboys and fangirls, collectors, and newcomers to the comic book genre alike.  From the Comic book origin in 1940s to the truly psychotic murderer and madman of today, THE JOKER is the first and only comprehensive look at the ultimate supervillain of DC Comics Universe’s comics, television shows and feature films
  • HARDCOVER  (9×12), 208 pages, PC  $50.00
  • SOFTCOVER (9×12), 208 pages, PC   $30.00

 

DON’T WAIT TO PUT YOUR ORDERS WITH TIME AT YOUR LOCAL COMIC BOOK SHOP or AMAZON.COM…..