Joker: The Devil's Advocate (Batman) [Paperback]

Chuck Dixon (Author), Graham Nolan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

Following the horrific spree of heinous murders, the Joker has been captured and, for the first time, declared competent to stand trial. But the Dark Knight suspects that the Joker may not be guilty this time. Should even the Joker be given the death penalty for a crime he didn't commit, while the real culprit remains free?.

Product Details

• Paperback: 91 pages
• Publisher: Dc Comics (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563892804
• ISBN-13: 978-1563892806
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,154,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHUCK DIXON
Born in Philadelphia, Pa.

Chuck Dixon has more than twenty-five years of experience in the graphic novel field as an editor, writer and publisher. He has contributed well over a thousand scripts to publishers like DC Comics, Marvel, Dark Horse, Hyperion and others featuring a range of characters from Batman to the Simpsons. His comic book adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit continues to be an international bestseller. Considered to be one of the most prolific writers in his field, this award-winning storyteller currently writes G.I. Joe and A-team for IDW, The Good the Bad and the Ugly for Dynamite, The Simpsons for Bongo Comics along with many creator-owned projects for various publishers. He is also the co-publisher of an ambitious line of graphic novels based on the American Civil War.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best self-contained Batman-related stories, September 9, 2001

By 

Ron Tothleben ([e-mail]) (Tilburg, Netherlands, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joker: The Devil's Advocate (Batman) (Paperback)

For people who are fan of the character Joker this is a very good book. It's one of the best books in defining the personality and characterization of the Joker even, both through art as through the story. In a way it's off course a Batman-book but the title rightfully states "Joker: ..." instead of Batman. The story and by far the biggest attention-span focuses on the Joker. Batman is mostly used as a supportive character. Nothing more, nothing less. So from an objective point of view this is not a Batman-book, but a Joker-book, and a good one at it.

Storywise:
The Joker is put on trial, being accused of masterminding the recent spree of "Stamp-Deaths", a period in which several people are found dead carrying the trademark "Joker-smile" after licking stamps of the "Great Comedians Series".
Where the Joker always claimed insanity in previous occassions in court, having him come off with milder punishments, this time he furiously claims to be innocent of these crimes. By this taking the risk of getting the maximum penalty, the death-sentence. He refuses to carry the punishment for crimes he hasn't committed and were executed so amateurish, or so he claims. Obviously the jury finds him guilty and he IS sentenced to death. Once in death-row the Joker is enraged at first, but once he notices the attention he is getting from the outside world he starts to love it ..... more and more.
In the meanwhile Batman has his doubts wether the Joker is guilty or not and starts his own investigation.

Together with "The Killing Joke" this is the book that defines the Joker better than any other Batman (or Batman-related) title and for fans of the character this is a must-have. And I don't say that a lot of times ! (which can be seen proven in my other reviews). Especially look for he scenes which are set in the court-room where they have the Joker communicate brilliantly with his facial expressions instead of words. A big plus for the art there. Also nice is that this book works as a self-contained story so people who are less familiair with the Batman-mythos can enjoy this just as much.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When the Joker's to be executed, should Batman save him?, December 11, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Joker: The Devil's Advocate (Batman) (Paperback)

This is easily one of the best takes on the "Batman" mythos I have ever seen. The artwork is crisp and cleanly done, and the storyline is well-handled. It begins with people dying from the Joker's trademark smiley-poison after licking commemorative "Great Comedians" stamps, and the Joker terrorizing postal workers and demanding to know where _his_ stamp is. Upon the Joker's capture, the D.A. decides to go for the death penalty, while the Joker stays his usual unpredictable self; however, he repeatedly denies poisoning the stamps, sneering: "You're looking at the Einstein of crime, lady! Putting poison on some stamps? *snort* _Amateur night in Dixie!" After his conviction, the Joker continues to revel in the attention he's getting, while Batman begins to find disturbing clues that point to the Joker's actual innocence

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another evolution in the Batman/Joker relationship, January 30, 2003

By 

D. Brown (Hyattsville, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joker: The Devil's Advocate (Batman) (Paperback)

Really, these two should just get it over with and get married...
SPOILER ALERT -- nothing huge though since the whole story is less about "Is the Joker really going to bite the dust?" (ch-yeah, right) than the overall hamster wheel that is the Batman/Joker relationship.

In "Killing Joke" Batman says to Joker "I've been thinking about you, me. We're going to kill each other aren't we?"

In "Death in The Family" Bruce Wayne thinks to himself, "we've been linked together so long, neither of us truly understanding the bond"

And now comes another chapter, with a twist. After all he's done--crippled Batgirl, killed Jason Todd (one of them, anyway) -- Batman finds himself in the position of having to actually save the monsters' life. He's accused of distributing poison stamps, which translates into premeditated murder, and you can't plead insanity on that (let's remember of course that this is the DC universe law book here, and that the Joker's done dozens of things that could just as easily be construed that way. But then, he'd have been fried in the chair years ago, and what fun would a world without Joker be?)
Against everyone else's wishes -- Gordon, Alfred, the cops, -- Batman solves the murder and gets Jokey off. Reason would dictate that he just wait until the Joker's executed and THEN find the real killer, but as he says to Gordon "It doesn't work that way." Once again, Batman is the iconoclast, going his own way. This only rates three stars because there's not much that has a lasting impact on the reader, unlike KILLING JOKE and DEATH/FAMILY.

There is one poignant sequence featuring Oracle (nee Batgirl) when Batman actually has the gall to ask her to help him in his case. This draws on the suggestion that Joker and Bats really are intertwined in some twisted binary string. Joker is madness and chaos. Batman is rational and intellectual. Yet, Batman uses his rational thinking to preserve the existence of the Joker's madness. To some, Batman's madness may be worse, since it comes cloaked in friendly attire. (Well, you know what I mean...)

Of course, this does go back to the point of KILLING JOKE. Batman will not--cannot--sacrifice his ideals on the altar of the Joker's madness, no matter what. (Ok, so he left him to die in Death in The Family, but he went a little insane after Robin's death. He would later save Joker's life AGAIN in both Hitman #3 and the Legends of the Dark Knight arc "The Demon Laughs")

A good book, get it for [$$] or under if you can.