Batman: The Killing Joke

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?

The story of Batman The Killing Joke was very different from what I expected. Having never read any Batman comics before, I was always under the impression that the relationship between the Batman and the Joker was very black and white. That the Joker was evil, Batman was good, they hated each other. But what was presented here was more of a gray area. I was surprised to see that Batman was wanting to talk to the Joker, work things out, and prevent the inevitable ending where one of them kills the other. While the Joker was not exactly preceptive to this proposal, the comic ended with the two nemeses laughing together at a joke. It left me questioning the entire dynamic between these characters.

2. What connections did you make with the story?

Despite being a very dark story, I was able to connect with the desire to mend a bad relationship. The fact that Batman would be willing to make right with one of the most evil characters of all time is definitely admirable in my opinion. I believe its safe to say almost all of us would rather be on good terms with our enemies than bad ones. When I think of people who have hurt me, who I know are toxic and unkind, I cannot deny that a small part of me deep down is dying to reach out and say "Hey, it does not have to be like this between us." But another part of me knows that in life, not all relationships are going to be good, and being friends with everyone is not rational.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story to another medium? What medium would you adapt it too?

My immediate answer when I heard this question was an animated film, since its very common for comics and animation to be adapted into each other. However, I found out that there already is an animated film. But since I've never seen it, I can just describe my personal idea. It would be traditional animation, rather than CG, as the panels from the comic could more easily and accurately be translated into frames. It would need to be as equally dark as the original, even to the extent of being labeled "not for kids" in order to capture the tone and themes intended by the author. I would be interested in seeing the film that exists and compare it to what I have imagined.