Oct 17, 2008 01:43
I have never been a fan of superhero comics...until now. I blame Christian Bale and Chris Nolan. And wikipedia.
So, Batman: Year One - Awesome, dude!
Batman: the Killing Joke: *jawdrop*
I never knew comics could br so creeptastic and mind-blowingly awesome. I suddenly understand all that Joker/ Batman slash. I mean, it's quite canon, innit?
Maaaaan. O_O That was kind of like watching The Dark Knight all over again. Even better. BatBale can rope in the droves of fangirls, but he never thought to incorporate the essential vein of dark psychosis that lurks at the edges of Bruce's personality. Bale's Bat, despite the snarly voice and Jack Bauer interrogation style, is fundamentally a noble animal. Not this terrifying anti-hero who teeters at the edge of the abyss every waking hour.
It's a shame, really. Christian could really pull it off if he wanted to. All it takes is to mix in a little bit of Grammaton Cleric Preston and Patrick Bateman into the superhero cocktail.
This story really grabs you by the front of your lapels. I'm prepared for Batman to be darker, grittier and more noir than my usual fannish tastes, but The Killing Joke is not noir...it's eerie and blood red and mad. It's essentially a horror novel that leaves you frightened more of the main protagonist and what goes inside your own head than the madness of a psychotic criminal. It also has one of the best endings in fiction ever.
However, I am not a person who favours contemplating the darkness of humanity over-much, and after such a dose of it, I feel rather like fleeing into Superman's reassuring arms. *contemplates reading LnC fic*
I give in, Lara. Where's the good Clark Kent/ Bruce Wayne slash? The pair of them just have too much delicious potential.
Comics are highly underrated, I conclude. Somebody flag down that bandwagon, I wanna jump on it.
ETA: Christian Bale is only number 11 on the World's Sexiest Men list? Piffle! What a farce!
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