Hello kiddies and welcome back to this site!

I’m going to break from tradition today and talk about something I have never spoken of before on this blog. Some times whether or not a specific comic falls into the horror category is a judgment call. Just because it says horror on the cover doesn’t mean it’s actually horror. And just because it does not say horror doesn’t mean it’s not. Case in point, the lovely comic I am holding right now.

I really want to crank out this post in a hurry to give you an idea of what I consider a good comic to be. I have done a lot of kvetching and moaning on this blog, and pretty much called Dark Horse a bunch of cock-suckers, and I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.

Some people might read a few of my posts and think I just bitch about everything. Au contraire! I only bitch about things that piss me off or that absolutely require being bitched about. But this comic needs to be raved about. It’s written by Alan Moore, with Brian Boland and John Higgins, and it is titled Batman: The Killing Joke.

I believe the original publication date on this thing was 1988. The copy that I hold in my grubby paws is a reprint and has soft covers in the style of a trade paperback. The ink work in this thing is astounding. The writing is Alan Moore, what else need I say. The colorist in this case, is John Higgins. I don’t think he has any relation to the ink (Higgins Ink., get it?),  he may be; I don’t know.

This comic is so classic and so beloved (and sell’s so many copies) that it’s been reprinted several times. Not only in collections of many stories, but in this one shot that I hold in my hand right now. Shortly after buying the one  I discovered an updated version of it, where they had repainted every frame in the book. It is absolutely freaking gorgeous. It also includes the original script in the back.  (for those of us who are REALLY into that sort of thing)

When I read fiction. I love being drawn into a story,  completely enveloped in the artificial world created by the talented author. When this happens correctly, you vanish from the world of the mundane and are transported to an alternate realm of existence. Even if it’s just for a short time.

The comic form is not as easy as a lot of people think  to create, and do well. Most comics blow it in the writing department. Many comics have shabby art. The most common mistake that I see in comics is a lack of focus. Each panel should have a clear point of focus. And the page layout should have a nice flow. A little digression, the one thing that irritates me more than anything else in comics is when people get so creative with the “layout” of the page that it becomes almost impossible to read the panels in the correct order.

This book makes none of those mistakes. Even in the more primitive painted form that I have the artwork still dazzles. It clearly focuses, you know exactly what you’re looking at in any specific frame and even with what amounts to essentially flat colors, there is a dynamic pacing to the art and a beautiful mood created. All the panels seemed to be timed at just the right point for the part of the story they’re telling focused on just the right thing. These panels seemed to breathe, they seem to move, they seem to be alive and not just static shots  taken from a moving sequence. Each one. incorporates movement within it.

If you’ve never seen a good comic in your life. Absolutely. Right now, buy The Killing Joke. You can get the newer version with the better painting, and I think it also has the original script included with those who really want to study it, which by the way I am going to be doing. But you owe it to yourself to get this comic book.

A while ago I said I wasn’t going to say kiddies on the blog anymore. I lied.

Comeback soon and see what happens to Dark Horse’s Creepy issue 3. And keep an eye out for the special announcement about the premiere issue of the Nasty Horror Newsletter and how you can get your own copy for less than the price of a small car.