4. Batman #663: The Clown At Midnight
Found in the story arc of Batman and Son by Grant Morrison, The Clown At Midnight tells the haunting tale of the Joker's disturbing rebirth as "The Harlequin of Hate" after being shot in the face by a Batman impersonator. The terror of this story line is driven into your brain like a rusty iron rod as the events unfold in beautiful prose rather than speech bubbles. The words of Grant Morrison have never been so pretty or sadistic as this. The piece could even be defined as a morbid poem formed by the Joker's twisted mind. The basic plot of the story is that the Joker is planning to reincarnate himself into the world with his newest personality and look. To start with though, he plans on killing all of his henchmen (Harley Quinn included) through the use of toxin in red and black flowers. Batman of course deals with the Joker in usual fashion, but the new Joker is ultimately born regardless. The scariest moments of this story are largely thanks to the genius bordering on madness of John Van Fleet's art. The best way I can describe it is as some form of digital/pencilled/painted photoshopped perfection. Technically referred to as mixed-media art, to see it yourself is really the only way to fully grasp it. The Joker's new look consists of a mad scientist butcher coat type outfit, with a stitched permanent grin be carves himself, and choppy hair. Evil has never been so clearly defined. The classic Stephen King quote is still clearly true: "nobody likes a clown at midnight."
Don Hohner II
Contributor
By day, Don is the manager of an after-school program for 4th-8th graders... When night falls, he can be found writing primarily about Batman right here on What Culture! When not consumed by The Dark Knight, Don writes poetry, short stories, and screenplays. No matter how much he intrigues you though, Don is "off the market in love" with his girlfriend Mary. He also likes macaroni and cheese a lot. And bacon...
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