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61st out of 230 books
—
288 voters
The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (The Greatest Stories Ever Told)
by
Mike Gold ,
Steve Englehart
As Batman's archenemy, the Joker is the antithesis of the Dark Knight. Fueled by lunacy, the Clown Prince of Crime thrives in a world of chaos and disorder. In THE GREATEST JOKER STORIES EVER TOLD, the Joker's insanity is displayed in full color. Collecting tales from the last five decades, this book shows that from his earliest appearances to his most recent exploits, he...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
October 1st 1997
by DC Comics
(first published June 1st 1966)
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Good Collection of Joker Stories covering his career from his origins to the present day.
It's a pretty awesome and fascinating look at how many variations and warpings an icon can take and still be among the most potent pop myths. The book to it's credit isn't afraid of the fact that the Joker was kind of well a Joke for plenty of years. Take this line of dialouge from a comic from the fifties where The Joker rants about well, his Giant Boner.
(Note This Is Not Made Up. Or even edited. I'm Not T...more
It's a pretty awesome and fascinating look at how many variations and warpings an icon can take and still be among the most potent pop myths. The book to it's credit isn't afraid of the fact that the Joker was kind of well a Joke for plenty of years. Take this line of dialouge from a comic from the fifties where The Joker rants about well, his Giant Boner.
(Note This Is Not Made Up. Or even edited. I'm Not T...more
"The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told" was okay. It's divided into roughly three sections, the first are the earlier Joker comics, mostly from "Detective Comics", then the middle half of it are ones where the Joker was appearing frequently in "Batman" comics, followed by the last quarter from later on, the 70's.
In the first quarter, the earlier stories, the Joker is a killer, like we expect, with all his victims dying from his Joker venom or gas. Those stories are okay.
The middle half, the longe...more
In the first quarter, the earlier stories, the Joker is a killer, like we expect, with all his victims dying from his Joker venom or gas. Those stories are okay.
The middle half, the longe...more
First, once you get past the early stories that were geared at children, you get a great look at one of the more enduring villains in comic history. His first appearance is full of nonsensical and unnecessary violence and his character eventually grows entirely into that character, despite some time as a childish, whimsical bad guy. His relationship with Batman is intriguing, and I think that they are shown to be two sides of the same coin; each, without question needs the other. The Joker remin...more
1 like · like · see review
What's better than a collection of the Greatest Batman Stories ever told? A collection of the Greatest Joker stories ever told! Oh how I do love the Joker, who in my humble opinion is the greatest villain ever created- better than Lex Luthor, better than Gallactus, better than Thanos and a whole lot more entertaining to boot! This was a really great book to own and read (it's a shame it too me this long to read since I've had the book forever) but like a fine wine, I guess I needed to age a litt...more
I had high hopes for this collection. The Joker is my favorite DC villain, and this is, after all, his self-proclaimed greatest hits. But overall, this volume was less than impressive. It starts off strong with early-40's stories where the maniacal Joker--gasp!--murdered people to achieve his criminal agenda. And it finishes off strong with his crafty 1970's resurgence in the hands of classic Batman writers such as O'Neill, Englehart, and Wein. But the meat of the book is filled with 50's and 60...more
This book chronicle the history of one of comic book history's most enduring villians. From his first appearance as a diabolical thief and killer to the campy, prankster Joker who didn't kill and then back to his insane killer roots starting with the 1st Batman comic I ever read ( in a reprint when I was a kid)and still one of my favorites "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" from 1973, in which the Joker dispatches, one by one, five of his goons with terrifying power and real dementia, while the Batm...more
My edition seems a little bit different:
It is a hardcover edition, but is not a leatherbound one.
Witness the Joker's greatest feats of criminal merriment and sordid crimes against the denizens of Gotham in stories from BATMAN #1, 66, 73, 110, 321, and 613, DETECTIVE COMICS #332, 475, 613, BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE VOL. 2, BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN #4 and BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1!
As Batman's archenemy, the Joker is the antithesis of the Dark Knight. Fueled by lunacy, the Clown Prince of Crime th...more
It is a hardcover edition, but is not a leatherbound one.
Witness the Joker's greatest feats of criminal merriment and sordid crimes against the denizens of Gotham in stories from BATMAN #1, 66, 73, 110, 321, and 613, DETECTIVE COMICS #332, 475, 613, BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE VOL. 2, BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN #4 and BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1!
As Batman's archenemy, the Joker is the antithesis of the Dark Knight. Fueled by lunacy, the Clown Prince of Crime th...more
Really? This is the best The Joker has to offer?
The Dark Knight whet my appetite for some chilling Joker tales, so I went on the hunt. Clearly, a collection of the madman's finest would be the best way to go, right?
Unfortunately, most of these stories come from the tongue in cheek age of Batman where it was all about clever puns (Batman shouts, "If you're the Joker, then I'm the King of Clubs!" while punching him in the face) and gadgets that were a little too convenient (the laughing gas detect...more
The Dark Knight whet my appetite for some chilling Joker tales, so I went on the hunt. Clearly, a collection of the madman's finest would be the best way to go, right?
Unfortunately, most of these stories come from the tongue in cheek age of Batman where it was all about clever puns (Batman shouts, "If you're the Joker, then I'm the King of Clubs!" while punching him in the face) and gadgets that were a little too convenient (the laughing gas detect...more
This collection is great not primarily because every story in it is sublime, but because it gives an excellent historical overview of the treatment of The Joker in comics from just plain silly to dark humor. Published in 1990, this collection spans 50 years of Joker tales. And of course, there are some great stories. My favorites include:
"The Man Behind the Red Hood," in which The Joker is given an origin. Writer: Bill Finger; Artists: Sheldon Moldoff & George Roussos.
"The Crazy Crime Clown,...more
"The Man Behind the Red Hood," in which The Joker is given an origin. Writer: Bill Finger; Artists: Sheldon Moldoff & George Roussos.
"The Crazy Crime Clown,...more
I Batman. I really do. While I was sitting on the couch last night, giggling like a maniac at some of the really bad, 1970s dialogue, Alexander commented "I think you like bad Batman better than good Batman." And y'know, I think he's right. Because Good Batman--Alan Moore! Frank Miller! Even Batman Begins!--is really great, engrossing and dark and gritty and atmospheric, but bad Batman--the camp of the '70s, the overly-specific writing and captioning of the '50s--is just something special. And i...more
Apr 03, 2011
D.M.
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
regular super-book readers
I can only guess I bought this book thinking it would be better than it was. As it is, adult me feels like I've actually lost IQ points reading this garbage. Seriously, the greatest Joker stories wouldn't fit in this book because they're books on their own: Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum, Mad Love and -- of course -- Dark Knight Returns. Go read those, unless you like the usual superhero (and villain) drek. Another one to jettison from my library.
THIS BOOK IS SOOOOOO GOOD!!!! I love how they tell you all these different stories about the greatest villian every created!!!!! This book will make you laugh and fell suspenceful!!! I rececomend everybody to read it!!!
Wayne, at the comic shop, gave me a copy while I was in the hospital. Only the Joker can put a smile on the face of a man fighting a flesh-eating bacteria. True story.
This collection of Joker comic stories came out when the first Tim Burton film came out. I was living in a small town in Japan and luckily a friend of mine sent me a copy of this book. It was the most precious thing I owned in Moji-Ku Japan.
Excellent survey of Joker stories that appeared in Batman. The early ones of course are more sinister and the later ones got kind of silly. But as I mentioned before (the review down below) I more interested in The Joker as a character than the story or how h...more
Excellent survey of Joker stories that appeared in Batman. The early ones of course are more sinister and the later ones got kind of silly. But as I mentioned before (the review down below) I more interested in The Joker as a character than the story or how h...more
even as a little kid this book was a huge letdown and it sure as hell doesnt hold up today.
Good stories all around, but there are WAY better Joker stories out there...
A great collection of Joker stories, though I wouldn't say the greatest. It starts in the early forties through the sixties when the Joker was the master of gimmicks and tricks (like The Riddler is now). It has a few of the seventies & eighties where the joker is just plain evil, and too obsessed (including the absolutely famous Joker Fish comic). Yet none of these are the true Joker. None of them are the funny creepy evil joker that I love (I guess because he probably wasn't that prevalent...more
The modern day stories were good, the classic era stories, not so good.
A great, thorough read for any Batman fan. The title says it all and these really are some of the greatest stories ever told about the maniacal clown prince. It's also really interesting to see the development of The Joker as more of a humorous foe into the psychotic nemesis that he has become in the comics. My favorite of the stories would definitely have to be the one where The Joker builds his own utility belt to arm himself against Batman's own.
Worth reading.
[3 and 1/2 stars]
Worth reading.
Some good stories, some boring stories. As cool as the Joker is sometimes, I don't think he's my character.
Nov 29, 2012
Tyler
added it
If these are the best Joker stories ever told, then it's incredible that Batman has become as popular as he has; his archnemesis apparently peaked at the opening curtain.
Batman: The Man Who Laughs is a superior imagining of this collection's "Batman #1".
Batman: The Man Who Laughs is a superior imagining of this collection's "Batman #1".
He can take a joke!
A decent look into the evolution of the joker. Has some large gaps and could have had some analysis, but interesting none the less.
Pretty good book. It started out with the classic old Joker, and then started slowly working up through the years to the 1980's Joker. Overall pretty interesting to see how the Joker slowly became darker over the years. The only thing is that the stories didn't seem like they were the "Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told". Still decent though
OK, maybe I need to chill out with the Batman comics.
Aug 23, 2008
bluetyson
added it
isbn,original
May 22, 2013
Brya
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR | 1 | 3 | Oct 14, 2011 08:00am |
great review!
Jul 01, 2008 07:11am
Feb 22, 2013 04:11pm
Feb 25, 2013 05:16pm