Both comics have severe tragedies but which one is better
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In my opinion, The Killing Joke is better. A Death in the Family was just a standard 80ās Batman story where Robin happened to die. The Killing Joke is an exploration of the minds of Batman and the Joker and the relationship between them. A Death in the Family is good, but The Killing Joke is on a different level.
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A Death in The Family for me. Why? Because of Jim Aparoās art.
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I actually still havenāt read The Killing Jokeā¦ but it would have to be pretty bad to be worse than A Death in the Family, and Alan Moore is a good writer. I donāt like his writing, but I wonāt argue that itās not good.
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The Killing Joke, without a doubt. Really, outside of the stuff with Bruce and Jason and the immediate aftermath of Jasonās death, the story of Death in the Family isā¦kind of bad, like trying way too hard to be modern and edgy. With The Killing Joke, while the way they use Barbara as collateral damage is pretty awful, itās still a strong, thoughtful exploration of the characters of Batman and Joker.
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As for which is better as a tragedy. Death in the family. Babs didnāt die, and Jason did.
Killing Joke is the better and more emotionally compelling story.
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Killing Joke has better art plot ideas and jokes.
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The Death in the Family is a more āexplosiveā and entertaining read, but in terms of writing quality and art, The Killing Joke is superior.
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I agree with @MajorZuma. I was more entertained by a Death in the Family, but I felt the writing in The Killing Joke was of a higher quality.
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To be fair the Readers killed Jason Todd
Gotta go with Joke, but Death may have aged better
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Iām not a big fan of either. Killing Joke isā¦ problematic. Women in refrigerators, you know. A Death in the Family is probably better, but I donāt really like it either. They both furthered the horrible ārealistic serial killer/sociopathā Joker characterization that I hate.
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Killing joke is just more well written imo so that gets my vote I like both stories though
The Killing Joke.
Brian Bolland killing it on art. One of Jim Gordonās best moments.
And the insight: All it takes is one bad day.
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Yes, I decided that the above comment just wasnāt enough. Yes, Iām going to babble. Itās 2AM. Thatās what people do at 2AM.
The Killing Joke works not because itās only a tragedy, but because itās also a story of hope.
Have you ever had a friend who would tell jokes that you just donāt get? That nobody gets? Imagine that kind of person in the guise of The Joker. Heās constantly doing stuff to get people to laugh. Yes, his sense of humor is sociopathic, but itās there - he wants/needs an audience, but he also REALLY wants someone to get the joke.
Thatās why he does everything he does in TKJ. Brutalizing Babs is just a means to an end - he wants SOMEone to āgetā him, so he picks Jim Gordon and tries to drive him over the edge, pushing him beyond what he thinks a normal mind could take. And yet Jim doesnāt break. Iāve said it before, and Iāll say it again: TKJ is a Joker/Gordon story. Batman is just there for the punchline.
This story is Jokerās cry for help; heās desperate to make an honest connection with someone - basically nudging Jim Gordon in the ribs and saying āDo you get it?ā
As such, itās probably the most human weāve ever seen The Joker.
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