ronny said:
What impact will Ledger's look have on The Joker in the comics?
i could see some artists taking certain cues the from dark knight for a little bit (overcoat, dirtied up, messy hair, knives, attitude) but there was almost nothing in the way that the joker was visually portrayed in the film that would be out of place in the books or that we havent already seen a few times in the books. long trenchcoat? seen it. crazy hair? done it. grenades, knives, killer magic tricks, waistcoats, bazookas, gunpowder, dyanamite, and gasoline? yep.
maybe we havent seen all these traits together before in this way and they were certainly presented in creative ways to be sure but he was very faithful to his history and character visually.
notwithstanding a few things
first, perma white. i dont see this going away any time soon. although i could easily see an artist or writer trying to show that the chemicals unevenly bleached his skin or left some random flesh poking through but i think after all he dusts settles the clown prince of crime will still have a major pigment issue.
even dyed hair and applied lipstick have been shown in various depictions before so i could see this creeping in a little more often P.T.D.K* or P.L** depending on the creative team but not really having any kind of permanant, official or
canonical effect on how the joker is portrayed.
second, the scarred smile. which i could see sticking around and even being adapted into the books more commonly and its even debatable if a scared smile is actually in current continuity due to the uncertain status and outcome of grant morrison's current run and conversely the recent "lover's and madmen" arch which i dont know if it's grail or not at this point. dc seems to have adopted a rather laissez faire approach to "canon" lately (confidential or man who laughs?) but has taken a more "multiple choice" stance by just letting the reader just decide what they like best.
so i could see the scars making an
extended stay on the pages easily. im sure there will be quite a few different takes and variations of this in the future. in fact the scars are the one thing i could see the dark knight having a long term effect on how the joker is visually portrayed. he is often shown with an unatural toothy grin in most interpretations already so its not much of change as much as reinterpretation.
the influence of the dark knight will definately be felt on the joker. i'm not sure exactly how it will manifest itself and what elements will stick but it is undeniable that it will be part of the character's dna now for the ages. just as jack and mark and cesar are part of it. and burton, dini, and timm are part of it. and semple and dozier and kane and robinson and o'neil and miller and hamm and moore and brubaker and the goddamned morrison are all part of it. and now chris and jonah and heath are part of it.
the fact that these characters have developed collaboratively and organically over many words and pictures and years and media and they are also slightly maleable so they can bend and change and evolve with the times, with the culture, has allowed them to thrive for seventy plus years. the good ideas stick, the great ideas endure, and the bad or misguided or failed attempts fall off like bark and become footnotes in the characters lineage.
*Post The Dark Knight
**Post Ledger
t:
All i need is a spare £80 and for them to deliver to UK
. Those mood switches really reflect the character personality and madness to me.
