Customer Reviews

Batman: Joker's Asylum

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Joker's Aylum" is basically a compilation of short stories that center around each of his most infamous foes: Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and Two-Face. The Joker narrates and it's pretty much a mirror of the "Tales from the Crypt" series. (Strange narrator who tells a story that has a certain theme) In my opinion, this compilation stands out more than others because its efforts are to show you just how dangerous and vile Batman's rogue gallery is and why it's so important he's there to take them down every time.

The stories themselves, overall, are all excellent. Each one's story is well-written and the quality does not diminish as you read on. Pretty impressive considering each story is told through just one comic (these stories were originally released as individual issues), as usually a better story means multiple issues. Granted, they are short stories but short stories can be disastrous if not written with care. Each tale gives us valuable insight on each villain and it really helps you see what makes them tick and understand each one's motivations.

This graphic novel is great for anyone whose new to Batman or wants to get into Batman as it provides a great outlook on some of his biggest foes. If you're a Batman fan in general, I'd also recommend getting this, as it's really good Batman story and you get some very enjoyable stories for a bit less than what most graphic novels go for.

Joker's Asylum is a great read, it basically is the Tales of the Crypt from the Joker's point of veiw and each story brings a certain quality than the other's (although the two weakest stories to me were Scarecrow's and Ivy's) but overall the book is well done.

When it comes to DC, I've always been partial to Batman. The reason, I suppose, is because he is not a superhero. He doesn't have powers and he isn't really endowed with anything other than financial prowess. Still, he fights crime and he fights it with a code created by his parent's demise.

Since Batman has drawn me in, his villains have done likewise as well. This means that Killer Croc, Ivy, Penguin, and a host of other faces have made an impression on me. It also means that the Joker has really done a number on me since I was a kid and, well, I think he's one of the few clowns I actually like. Accordingly, his stories always get a rise out of me.

In Batman: Joker's Asylum, we find ourselves introduced to a montage of stories narrated by the Joker. Each of them has something unique to offer and each of these has an interesting take on the characters. Here we have The Joker, The Penguin, The Scarecrow, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy. All of them are done in a different fashion and all of them are narrated by - you guess it - the Ringmaster himself (and, no, I'm not talking about the character The Ringmaster)! I always like introductions to short stories by characters with a presence like The Joker, too, and this is quite fulfilling. I also like shorts sometimes because a lot of things are nice to read sometimes, depending on your tastes, it is fun to delve into the character a bit.
and this does its delving.

Out of all of the stories, I think I liked the Oswald Cobblepot piece the best because he has always been an enigma to me. He has money and he has power but he also has a little problem with his self-esteem. This leads him to do terrible things to people he thinks look down on him, enjoying all the terror one villain can inflict. In "He Who Laughs Last," Oswald attends an auction and buys a woman because he finds something about her sad. He says that animals shouldn't be treated like the woman was and the woman sees him as her hero. He accordingly falls in love for a time and she gives him something he desperately longs for - adoration. Then she sees him as the monster he is and, well, things aren't all flightless birds and roses.

The Joker's story is funny, too, because it is clearly a script right out of The Joker's handbook. In "The Joker's Wild!," he takes over a gameshow and decides to be the man that leads the festivities. This leads to a lot of people thinking he is going to do a lot of killing, and both a network and an at-home audience watching to see what will happen next. Things are not always what they imagine, however, and that is possible the best thing about it all.

The only thing I really didn't like that much was The Scarecrow's piece and that was because it was done animation style. I know this is being picky considering the story was good, but the cartoon taking over is not what I really wanted. Still, it doesn't hurt the book and it doesn't really hurt the story that badly. It simply detracts from a great thing, taking away from the art and the style of the book. Still, this is a buy - a lovely one - singing the tune of madness and mayhem and even understanding. I personally love this one and would suggest that anybody check it out. There isn't much Bat but, hey, the Bat isn't really the star when it comes to that lovely Arkham Walk of Fame.

A variety of writers and artists are behind Batman: Joker's Asylum; which finds Batman's deadliest foe offering glances at himself and other players in Batman's rogues gallery; namely Two-Face, Penguin, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy. The Joker, Two-Face, and Scarecrow tales are definitely the best of the bunch, while the Penguin and Poison Ivy tales don't offer anything substancial in the least. Still, there's solid artwork throughout, and the Two-Face tale is worth the price of admission alone. All in all, Batman: Joker's Asylum is a decent and somewhat interesting look at Batman's villains, and even though it doesn't really offer anything relatively new, this TPB is still worth a look for Batman fans that can't get enough of the Dark Knight's legendary rogues gallery.

If you like the bad guys of Batman, then you'll probably like this book. It's a collection of several stories, each one focusing on a different super villain.

In this collection of five one-shots narrated by the Joker centered on Batman's Rogue's Gallery you get a smattering of different art styles, some working well, others not so much. A drawback of the different one-shots collected here is that there wasn't much connectivity besides a page of the Joker's thoughts with each. Five different writers. Five different artists. All the stories were pretty good although somewhat clichéd. The Penguin story written by Jason Aaron was the best written. The art on the Joker story was pretty terrible. Art is subjective and I understand that but this is hard to decipher at times. The art by Andy Clark and Guillem March were fantastic. Overall, just a bunch of disconnected villain tales.

Joker's Asylum is a faithful and well conceived homage to Tales from the Crypt, a show remarkably reminiscent of the legendary Twilight Zone. Both shows centered on short stories featuring eerie irony and moral messages, a premise ideally suited for a limited series featuring some of Batman's already eerie and immensely immoral adversaries. Taking the place of the crypt keeper as our heinous host is the irrepressible and irredeemable Joker, with the devilish detour into the macabre appropriately beginning with the main man himself.

The Joker commandeers a television game show, where the stakes may be life and death itself. What happens when the show's not so altruistic producer ominously proclaims "The show must go on?"

A leopard can't change its spots, but can a bird change its feathers? The Penguin never has been lucky in love, so can he turn over a new leaf for amore?

Once again Poison Ivy decrees "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature", as three unprincipled and unsuspecting businessmen are about to find out.

The Scarecrow teaches a frightened yet fervent pupil the fine lessons in the art of fear, and her cruel classmates will never be the same again.

Harvey Dent believes that life's vile vagaries come down to fate, not choice, so what does fate have in store for a fellow two-face when forced to choose between life and death?

This collection of one-shots has some stronger stories than others, but overall blends effectively into an enjoyable and cohesive reading experience that leaves one considering the possibility of trying this format again in the near future. Joker, keep those tales of the unexpected coming.

Joker's Asylum overall is a pretty good graphic novel but some of the stories in it are a bit boring and were it not for the artwork I'd give parts of this comic 1-star. The graphic novel features stories about Two-Face, Poison Ivy, the Penguin and Scarecrow. The Joker introduces each story with menacing jokes (some are kind of funny) setting the demented mood for each story. There are 5 stories, four of which are about the four characters I mentioned earlier, the first story is a show and tell from the Joker himself about how he hijacks a television news studio - which is my personal favorite story in the whole comic.
You see a more soft side of the Penguin in his story in somewhat of a love story. Poison Ivy's story is a bit of an origins story and is a yawn and a half as she identifies with mother nature and defies deforestation (who doesn't sister?). Two-Face's story is well...use your imagination and the story for the Scarecrow is pretty good. The artwork is what really makes this graphic novel worth having. So if you want a fairly decently illustrated graphic novel with alright storylines then pick this up.

Joker's Asylum, originally printed weekly for about a month, was supposedly meant to create a unique look at a few of Batman's foes from the eyes of the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker. However, each of the stories is mediocre at best, for differing reasons, and the best way to review this is to go one at at a time. There may be spoilers.

The Joker: This short comic is almost a complete rip-off of another Batman comic, "It's Joker Time." The tale contains the Joker terrorizing a television studio, while never exactly hurting anyone. I believe we're supposed to see the greed of the television workers, who want ratings, and how people don't see the evil in front of them because it's "on T.V." However, like I said, "It's Joker Time" was a comic with the same basic premise, but a much better delivery, even if I don't rave over it. If you think this plot sounds interesting, find that instead. The art is also grainy and makes the comic difficult to read, and is overall horrible.

Poison Ivy: The plus of this chapter is that the Joker's commentary is much better than the other stories. Still, the plot for Poison Ivy feels overdone, not terrible, but just seen before. It isn't new, and it doesn't shine. Thankfully, the art is much better in this story as well.

Two Face: This is a classic tale of one of those, "I'm just like you" stories you often see in bad fanfiction but you hope never to see in an actual comic. Harvey Dent meets another man with an almost exact facial disfiguration and who plans to help him. Of course a matter of things happen, and I will admit, the ending is okay. However, it doesn't redeem the fact that the plot feels cheesy, and Joker's commentary adds absolutely nothing.

Scarecrow: To begin, the art of this story looks like a barely-budgeted Barbie doll commercial, and while that may be harsh, it isn't the feel you want for the Master of Fear. The story itself isn't anything special, but nothing absolutely pitiful either. The set up of the Scarecrow bothering with a bunch of teenage girls and boys is a little saddening for the villain, and since I can't remember if there was a deeper plot buried in the rubble, I think that tells you how great a read it is.

Penguin: I think this may be the one diamond in the rough, and the reason I gave this two stars instead of one. The art matches the story well enough, and the plot itself is concerning the Penguin and a girl he rescues. I won't give much away, but it seems to tie in the more vicious Penguin to the refined version. I've never really understood the appeal of the "dark" and "vile" version of the Penguin, but it was an interesting read.

Overall, this collection gives you a bunch of average, if not just bad, stories. The art ranges from painful to just good, and so do the story lines. I think, though, the most important thing to note is that it's almost false advertising. The Joker only commentates a short few panels for each story, and he isn't so much as narrating the story as giving a short introduction and conclusion. So, if you are expecting stories about Batman's rouges gallery from a unique point of view, you aren't going to get it.

I would not recommend this collection of stories to anyone. I would suggest finding something else to read instead.

Bought for my nephew, did not read it myself so I can only rate its condition which was excellent.