Just finished reading Lovers and Madmen

[Nathan Petrelli]

This is a great novel. I'm unsure which is better, this or The Killing Joke. I know the Killing Joke is a classic, but this shows a great origin of The Joker also. I love the style of him being bored with his life to the point he wants to die and how his obsession with Batman happens before he even becomes The Joker. Also what he puts him through at the end is something that The Joker would exactly do, imagine what Bruce Wayne would have felt like not being able to save all of those people.

This novel is well written, good art and is highly underrated. I think everyone should buy it or check it out.

Now I'm reading The Jokers Last Laugh. I'm about 20 pages in and I'm not too keen on it. Maybe because I haven't really looked outside the Batman realm of DC comcis.

 

[mongoose-mania]

I've been thinking about reading this for months. It's always at the Borders near me but every time I look through it, I get uninterested. I guess it's the art and I just have to warm up to it. I'll give it a try.

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

Yeah the art grows on you really quickly.

 

[MaskedManJRK]

I remember reading the first few issues of this and enjoying it, but got caught up with life and couldn't make it to my shop after a while. I would like to get the trade, but it's hardcover and 25 goddamn bucks.

 

[Yurka]

I thought it was alright, I prefer the Man Who Laughs or the Killing Joke over it. I wasn't very fond of the way the Joker was portrayed and I really dont like the art. There were some awesome parts of it though.

 

[Keyser Soze]

This is a great novel. I'm unsure which is better, this or The Killing Joke. I know the Killing Joke is a classic, but this shows a great origin of The Joker also. I love the style of him being bored with his life to the point he wants to die and how his obsession with Batman happens before he even becomes The Joker. Also what he puts him through at the end is something that The Joker would exactly do, imagine what Bruce Wayne would have felt like not being able to save all of those people.

This novel is well written, good art and is highly underrated. I think everyone should buy it or check it out.

Now I'm reading The Jokers Last Laugh. I'm about 20 pages in and I'm not too keen on it. Maybe because I haven't really looked outside the Batman realm of DC comcis.

I enjoyed "Lovers and Madmen". It's not as good as "The Killing Joke" or "The Man Who Laughs", and honestly I doubt that this story will successfully retcon those two. But still a fun read, with characterisation of both Batman and The Joker which is solid, but at the same time isn't afraid to take the characters in unexpected new directions.

As for "The Joker's Last Laugh", the problem isn't that it deals with the wider DC Universe. It's problem is that it sucks.

 

[BubbaGump]

Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I hated it. But overall, Lovers and Madmen was a mediocre Joker origin.

-The art never grew on me. Call it unique, sketchy, or stylistic but to me, the art was just plain bad. I've gotten a slight appreciation for Kelley Jones and the man is way better than Cowans.

-One of the aspects of the story I did like was the chemical plant transformation (the best issue of the run). An improvement over the silly Red Hood origin.

-That wasn't enough to save the story, however. The entire "Bunny" gag was stupid and "Jack" seemed like a more sophisticated (and frankly more Joker-like) speaker than the Joker himself. The guy talked like a hyperactive 3 year old.

"Or you could let them gumdrop and come get me with my gunny bear before I make more fall down go boom."

That's not the Joker. That's a kid who belongs in daycare.

 

[batpawn]

As for "The Joker's Last Laugh", the problem isn't that it deals with the wider DC Universe. It's problem is that it sucks.

well said.

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

Ive come to accept The Jokers Last Laugh as OK. The last half of it was the better part, The Joker was written pretty badly but I enjoyed Nightwing and Oracle. I wish there were more Batman Rogue regulars, but Killer Croc looked pretty cool, and the concept of him eating Robin was awesome.

I really REALLY disliked the Christian is the way overtone at the end. Joker repents, dies and then God tells him not to go to the light and its not his time... Come on...

 

[BubbaGump]

That's what you get when you buy books just for the large page count. You lose your money on a crappy story anyway.

 

[The Joker]

Yeah, The Last Laugh was crap! What a waste of money.

 

[Tvar10]

i was thinking about picking it up...i guess i wont now

 

[Nathan Petrelli]

Jokers Last Laugh or Lovers and Madmen? Lovers and Madmen is worth the money.

Pick up The Jokers Last Laugh on ebay for as little as you can like I did

 

[Superhobo]

I've never really found "Lovers and Madman" all that spectacular. The concept of pre-Joker being bored, and bordering on homicidal nihilism is interesting in itself, but the execution didn't work. And that last issue was just plain illogical - not "Joker" illogical, "Laws of Physics" illogical.

The fact that they saw fit to bring in Nolan's (and Bermejo's by extension) "cut smile" concept doesn't bode well for me, at all.

The art still hasn't grown on me - too often now, it seems that "stylistic" is simply becoming an excuse for "bad." Listen, you can call it 'stylistic' when it at the very least still bears some semblence of anatomy - many times, character's eyes were skewed on the other side of their face, among other things.

It had some interesting ideas, granted, but all in all - eh.

 

[Nepenthes]

I'm planning to buy the trade when I get the chance. It's a great story and an interesting and valid new take on the Joker, but yeah it has it's obvious flaws. Joker post Jack being the main one. I get what Green was trying to do with the garbled baby talk - it's a cool idea for the Joker - but I agree with Bubbagump it didn't really come off that great. I like the traditional idea that the Joker can be very articulate, insightful and charming when he needs to be - and that doesn't happen with the baby talk. I for one really liked that Batman ordered the hit on him though, I wouldn't mind if that was bought into main canon.

 

[Tvar10]

Jokers Last Laugh or Lovers and Madmen? Lovers and Madmen is worth the money.

Pick up The Jokers Last Laugh on ebay for as little as you can like I did

jokers last laugh.....i already have lovers and madmen and its very good....i really like it and the art really grew on me

 

[sclabguy]

Ive come to accept The Jokers Last Laugh as OK. The last half of it was the better part, The Joker was written pretty badly but I enjoyed Nightwing and Oracle. I wish there were more Batman Rogue regulars, but Killer Croc looked pretty cool, and the concept of him eating Robin was awesome.

I really REALLY disliked the Christian is the way overtone at the end. Joker repents, dies and then God tells him not to go to the light and its not his time... Come on...

i refuse to believe joker will EVER repent... i believe joker considers "himself" a god and all other people FAIL in comparison... except for batman, the only other person he considers worthy

 

[Nepenthes]

If I ever got to write a DC Batman story it would have the Joker turning sane for real, dying his hair black and trying to live in a world where people spit on him and try to kill him everywhere he goes.

 

[jediknight273]

I enjoyed lovers and madmen, it wasnt on my top batman graphic novles list but it was enjoyable to read. The whole concept of him being an assasin is cool and it was cool when he threw all the cards in the air and shot the two jokers and the jack in the deck. Killing joke was still a better interpretation though.

 

[ABleedingCorpse]

I started reading Lovers and Madmen when it came out last year in Batman Confidencial. I enjoy a good Joker story. It really caught my attention when I couldn't wait a whole month for the next issue to come out, and then another month and so on. It wasn't until the last damn issue was to come out that I freaked. It was postponed for two months of the original release date. There's a funny story about that and the comic book store owner and me having a crazy arguement over the release date of the issue. I was positive that issue was to come out in early January and he insisted he knew nothing. I demanded him to call DC Comics directly and ask them and what would you know, I WAS RIGHT. They had just postponed the release and didn't inform anyone about it. Anyone else have this problem?

Anyways...I enjoyed the story. I don't consider it cannon or anything, but it was a good read and good piece to have collected.

I have the hardcover collected edition that was released months ago still in it's sealed wrap and again protected in slip cover. It won't be worth anything for many many years, but I at least have comfort in knowing it's a 10.0 copy of the book. My single issues that I didn't read (just collected) are in the same condition. I duno what that has to do with this thread, but I mentioned it anyways.

Lovers and Madmen is a good read, a good find, and an interesting tale of The Joker in any form.

 

[Nepenthes]

People noticed it when it was out, for sure, but towards the end of the series the reception seemed to turn a little lukewarm. However I think this is gonna be an story that picks up alot more fans and status as time goes on. The movie will give it an extended life with the similarities to that version of the Joker as well as a somewhat weaker and more rashly behaving Batman.

 

[Lazlo Panaflex]

Lovers & Madmen was an okay story but the problem today with artists is that they fill up pages with splash panels that make reading a 6-part story arc in 30 minutes.

What ever happened to the good old days when one would pick up a cup of coffee and sit down and read a mammoth epic tale like Dark Knight Returns?

 

[Nepenthes]

I guess writers realised they could get away with less story per month . Decompression was pretty cool in 1999 with the Authority and all the great books that followed but it's kind of annoying now that's it EVERYWHERE almost ten years later.