Random Thoughts on ... Batman: The Killing Joke Comic and Movie

Well, it’s time I got back on my Batman fix. Today’s book is one that I just read. Yes, I’m admitting that I haven’t read The Killing Joke until now. I could call myself a bad Batman fan, but that ain’t happening this time. I’ve read and seen too much. It’s been a minute since I’ve visited the mind of Alan Moore. This story has been something I’ve wanted to cover here eventually.

So, what is The Killing Joke? It was a 48 page one-shot written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. John Higgins originally colored the comic while Bolland handled the colors in a deluxe edition. Richard Starkings did the letters. It’s one of the stories that made the Joker, who was already back in his more psychotic roots, even more of a major threat to Batman and his world.  It also gave him a possible backstory. It even revolutionized Batman’s and Joker’s rivalry. It also made a big change with Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl.

The story was well-received when it was released back in 1988. It was one of the stories that helped make the Joker a household name. It also got criticism with its treatment of Batgirl, who became Oracle after this story. It even got made into a movie, and that is something I will review here as well. With all that said, let me spiel on this a bit:

Movie Talk - The Nemesis Movies

So, I got bored one night. Since we’re still in pandemic mode, that’s something that happens a lot. I started to peruse Amazon Prime and came across some sci-fi movies from the 60’s to today. One series I saw that piqued my interest was the Nemesis movies. I vaguely remember seeing the covers to the movies at the video store back in the day, and I guess I was kinda interested. I couldn’t get them since they were rated R. At least the covers looked cool. So, what did I do this week for some unholy reason? Watch these crappy movies.

The series looks like its cyberpunk but sticks to it about as well as Shaq scoring from the 3-point line. The movies are like hybrids of The Terminator, Robocop, Tarzan, Rambo, Beach Biker Babes, and that Van Damme movie, Cyborg. They were all directed by Alex Pyun, the director of Cyborg, the 90’s Captain America movie, and a lot of low-budget movies. We start out with Nemesis in 1992. We then get Nemesis 2: Nebula released in 1995.  Nemesis 3: Prey Harder (What the Frack) and  Nemesis: Death Angel (or Cry of Angels) were released in 1996. 21 years later, Nemesis 5: The New Model was released. Yeah, Pyun had to crank one more out, didn’t he?