The Killing Joke is a pivotal Batman storyline, and a somewhat disturbing one.

Yet again we see what happens when this maniac is on the loose, doing whatever he wants, and the cost of Batman and Commissioner Gordon's refusal to step over the line of the law far enough to kill the Joker, despite several opportunities.

This ends up costing Gordon's daughter a great deal, with is still playing out today.

Once again, I cannot imagine a Batman graphic novel getting five star. That would put the writing on the level of Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, ect.

With that said, this graphic novel (how you can call something a novel that has less that 25 words a page is beyond me), there are some really important events in the Batman story. First, you learn the origin of the Joker. Second, you learn the origin of Oracle and the end of the original Batgirl. Both of these events are decent.

The overall story is weak. They try to brush upon the psychological similarities between Batman and the Joker, but they do not do it justice. Really, these types of comparisons cannot be accomplished without some serious words on a page. I guess as readers we are supposed to fill in the gaps as to the psychological similarities, but it really doesn't explain the difference that led them each down the path they chose.

I like the concept, but really, don't spend the money, get the 500 word synopsis somewhere online just to fill in some important events in the batman story.

It doesn't get much better than this. Forget everything you know about the Joker from depictions in Batman: The Animated Series and other media. Here, the Joker is not a merry prankster - he's a cold, psychotic killer, and I would not have it any other way. Moore has proved time and again that he is the best writer in the business. Why? Because he isn't afraid to make the medium literary. Reading Moore, you'll find figurative language, subtext, and an unwillingness to simply spoon-feed the reader (that old adage "show, don't tell").

But onto the story itself. Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to confront his old nemesis, The Joker. He informs his foe that their battles always end in a stalemate, and the only way their struggle will ever truly end is if one of them dies. Without spoiling too much of the story, Batman discovers that the person with whom he is speaking is not the "real" Joker, and his foe is running lose on the streets.

This doppleganger Joker is actually an important plot device. Through flashbacks, we witness the origin of the Joker - a failed comedian forced into a life of crime, who ultimately falls into a pool of toxic waste while fleeing from the man who will become his archenemy: Batman. But as we learn from the Joker during one of his confrontations with Batman, his memories are buried under so many layers of psychosis that it becomes impossible to tell if this is his real origin story, or just another fake - much like the impostor at Arkham.

This is the brilliance of Moore's story. Repeated readings reward the reader by revealing nuances in the story that weren't immediately apparent. Moore is the writer who introduced me to graphic novels, and, now, he has made me a fan of Batman.

One final note: as with all of Alan Moore's works, The Killing Joke is definitely not meant for children. I don't think they would be able to appreciate the complexity of the story, anyway.