The Joker has escaped of Arkham Asylum once again, and this time he's targeted Commissioner Gordon and his daughter, Barbara. Interspersed with flashbacks to the Joker's past, this is widely considered one of the core Batman stories.
I read this because I needed a palette cleanser after reading a Superman comic. This comic is short--short enough that I hesitate to call it a "graphic novel," since it's more of a longer one-shot. Still, there are two very important reasons that this single issue has been given the hardback treatment: First, this is the story in which the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, deliberately leaving her alive with an injured spine, and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. For readers who know the DCU, this is pivotal--it forces Barbara to give up the mantle of Batgirl to other women (Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, etc.), but it also allows her to create a new superhero persona--Oracle, who serves as founder and tactical commander for the Birds of Prey (as well as organizing some of Batman's more complex missions). I could go on for pages about how important Oracle is as a superhero, but that would bore you, so I'll move on to point number two: The Killing Joke also gives us the Joker's backstory; or, according to Bolland, one possible backstory that the Joker might imagine for himself (as the man himself says: "If I'm going to have a past, I'd like it to be multiple choice."). In this version, at least, the Joker is a nameless failed comedian, who agrees to help the mob commit a robbery in order to support his family.
This volume has everything, from the past of one of Gotham's most mysterious villains to a great show down between Batman and the Joker (with shades of the equally iconic scene in The Dark Knight Returns). Required reading for all Batman fans.
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