15 Greatest Joker Comics Of All Time
3. The Killing Joke
Look, “The Killing Joke" is great and everyone knows it, but it’s not the best Joker comic no matter how you spin it. That doesn't mean it's any less important, of course.
"The Killing Joke" reads similarly to Alan Moore’s other masterwork “Watchmen” - literary, poetic, symbolic, self-reflexive and structured. And in a way, this kind of story just can’t be Joker’s greatest, no matter how memorable the moments or how chilling the crimes.
Joker is most effective as a character when his madness bleeds a bit into the nature of the comic itself. (For the best example, see Number 1 on this list.) The storytelling techniques of “The Killing Joke” work against the warped madness of the character. This feels like putting Joker in a cage, albeit a beautifully and solidly constructed one.