11 Essential Comics To Read If You Love Batman

3. The Killing Joke

Alan Moore's 1988 book is... controversial, to say the least. But, irrespective of its many, many problematic elements, it's still a book that Bat-fans simply must read.

The story is, of course, notorious for its treatment of Barbara Gordon, who the Joker shoots, paralyses, and undresses in his attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon insane. Doing so, so the Clown Prince says, would illustrate that 'one bad day' really is all it would take to drive someone mad, with the implication being that he himself experienced one to send him down a path Gotham's residents have been dealing with ever since.

In that sense, The Killing Joke is actually something of a tragedy, with it depicting a 'version' of the Joker's origins and in particular the 'one bad day' in question. On the other hand, the story also offers a thorough dissection of the relationship between The Dark Knight and his greatest adversary, with its ending moments in particular providing a sense of finality to said relationship.

Ultimately, however, it's important to remember that both Moore and Bolland have expressed their own frustrations regarding the story, and with the treatment of Babs in particular. It's still worth a read, but - as a piece of comics history - it's probably most iconic for its cruelty, and indeed, emblematic of the medium's tendency to stick comic book women in the fridge.