What is your reaction to the text you just read?
I really enjoyed The Killing Joke, I found the storyline super interesting and twisted. Most of the time I don't like superhero comics and just write them off as all being the same but this was surprisingly enjoyable for me and made me question why I've been writing off this genre. The Joker's past made the whole comic for me. The flashbacks drew me in and made the whole storyline even more interesting. Knowing why he is so psychotic made his actions far more believable and made me sympathize with him even though he's a villain. His justifications and monologues made sense even though they were twisted and the believability of them was what made this whole story for me. I also enjoyed Batman trying to work things out with him in a civil manor. Both characters were just so enticing in completely opposite ways that worked so well together. The ending was also unexpected. The setup of some civilian "good guy" getting ready to kill Batman in order to experience what being bad is like took me by surprise. We were so focused on these two hugely dominant and interesting characters it was strange to suddenly pull back from them in a climatic moment and cut to some random guy. But it wasn't disappointing at all. Even though this character had to follow two huge leads he was still intriguing in his own way. I think the psychological aspects of this comic are what really sell it. It questions sanity and morality through not only the two leads but through this random character at the end, which is icing on the cake that really solidifies the whole theme.
What connections did you make with the story? Discuss the elements of the work with which you connect?
I connected to the questions the Joker presented during his chase with Batman. He says "You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there's some point to all this struggling!" and "It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for...it's all a monstrous, demented gag!" I think most people have thought this at one point or another. We all question life and what the real point is and if any of it matters. The thing is there's no real answer. You could follow what Batman says about how "maybe ordinary people don't always crack." or you could "laugh at the joke" so to speak, like the Joker (hopefully not to the extremes in which he does though). Again I think it's the psychological aspects of this work that make it so interesting. Deep questions and exchanges like this between good guys and bad guys don't often occur, but it's very humanizing and relatable.
What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium?
I think this story would actually be super interesting as a novel. I would want more detail and depth on the characters and their inner thoughts. Even though the dialogue and flashbacks were super interesting they only made me want to know more, which I feel could be more easily and intensely explored through text. I would get rid of the visuals and focus more on the thoughts and motivations of each character in depth. I would want to know every detail of the Joker's past and all his psychotic thoughts and motivations as well as Batman's frustrated thoughts as he struggles to do what is right. I think that dichotomy is what really makes me curious to know more and is something I would love to read about.
