10 Terrifying Joker Stories You Never Read

10. Joker (2008)

Taking its lead from Heath Ledgers' portrayal of the Joker from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight movie, opting for a Chelsea smile and make up over a chemical-induced rictus grin, this heightened sense of realism only served to magnify the palpable sense of fear within this graphic novel’s pages.

Inexplicably released from Arkham Asylum and keen to rebuild his criminal empire, the Joker, with help from his loyal driver Johnny Frost, sets out in search of - who else - Harlye Quinn, this now moonlighting as a dancer in a seedy club.

Encountering real life versions of Waylon Jones/Killer Croc, Harvey Dent, the Riddler and more in this dark and disturbing graphic novel, the Joker’s acts of murder and butchery are terrible, heightened by the ultra realism of Lee Bermejo’s incredible art work.

In perhaps the most iconic sequence in the book, Joker takes one of his former lieutenants, Monty, backstage at the club Harley dances at, skins him alive, shoves the flayed yet still breathing man onto the stage, then slaps a dollar onto his skinned ass as he falls on his face dead under the stage lights.

This occurs early as the Joker looks to send a message to all would-be usurpers, and sets a brutal tone for the rest of this classic book.