GOTHAM CITY SIRENS: The guy named Gaggy

[starwolf_oakley]

Some time later, the Joker approaches Gaggy. Gaggy is so annoyed by doing his act he's happy to either team up with the Joker or get killed by him.



6 pages from GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #6.



Silver Age tomfoolery. Gaggy first appeared in BATMAN #186 in 1966.
Some info can be found here: http://the-isb.blogspot.com/2006/05/sheer-terror-of-super-villain.html



I know art of the reason was that around this time, none of the villains were very violent. Sure they wanted to kill Batman, but innocent bystanders were a different story. Also, the Joker killing people left and right would make Batman look inefficient. At least back then it did.

These days it makes Batman look like a moron for not killing the Joker. Like he's willing to let the Joker kill hundreds of people so he (Batman) won't feel like a hypocrite. But that's another topic.







There's a Dave McKean vibe to the artwork on this page.
Gaggy serves the rest of his term, then decides to wait at the HQ he shared with the Joker.
It's quiet, but one night...




Gaggy has not shown up again. I wonder what he'd think of Mr. J's "Oberon Sexton" deal. Like me and others, he'd think it's a little "too Riddler."

Comments

[sinisterlink]

I absolutely love that page where Joker snaps. Joker is one of those characters that even though he's a monster, you kind of find yourself "liking" him because, as morbid as he is, a lot of his jokes ARE funny and he can come off as a pretty charming person, so I really like it when they show stuff like this because it reminds you of just how scary he really is. He's like a snake that's all curled up waiting to strike and you never know when or if he's going to go off.

[sherkahn]

"Snake curled up waiting to strike" is too much of a gentle analogy to describe the terror Mr. J can bring. I'll go with your idea and take it a step further. It's the trip to the zoo, and while at the reptile section the baby relative of yours you've been charged with has gone missing. You see him/her has somehow found their way into the snake cage, with the python gently sliding up the leg of said favorite baby niece/nephew who adores and is amused by this "caring, affectionate" creature until it's too late. And all you can do is bang on the glass.

That's the Joker.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I like it, too - the horrified expression on poor Gaggy's face as he watches his beloved boss go crazy is really what makes it. We've seen Joker go crazy plenty of times, but it's seldom that we see a reaction to it from someone who actually LIKES him. I also like the idea that Joker had a sort of a 'dormant period' early in his career when he was only KINDA crazy, and this is where you could fit in a lot of the wacky Silver Age stuff. It makes sense, too, because there ARE still elements of his personality that are quite charming and even likable when he's not over the edge and, y'know, slaughtering people at random (which, of course, is most of the time these days) - if this is the period before he truly snapped, then presumably those elements are still in control, and he's still pretty close to the fairly likable guy he used to be pre-'Killing Joke' (I don't care what DC says, I will NEVER accept 'Man who Laughs' as a legitimate origin story for the Joker. 'TKJ' is MILES better, and always will be). It also explains a few things about how he's managed his career since then - if he was a fairly nice, if unstable, guy back in his early days, that would explain how he's managed to keep attracting henchmen despite his fearsome reputation - there's always some slightly older crook going 'oh, the Joker? Yeah, I used to work for him, he ain't that bad, if you keep on his good side'. (And considering the sizable, loyal gang that always used to work for him back in the late Golden-early Silver Ages, there must be plenty of those guys, if SA stuff is implicitly included here.)

[starwolf_oakley]

Whenever a Joker story is put of on this board, we all spend a *lot* of time talking about the Joker and how crazy he really is or isn't. It's like we're the board of directors at Arkham Asylum.

John Byrne said the problem with TKJ is Alan Moore wants you to feel sorry for the Joker while Batman is beating the crap out of him.

I admit I've only skimmed "Man Who Laughs," but Brubaker just puts a modern spin on the Joker's first crime spree, right? it's not really a "Here's who the Joker was before he got his skin bleached" story.

One issue from 52 has Nightwing comment how "For a while, the Joker stopped murdering people" in reference to the Silver Age. I think Grant Morrison wrote that issue.

Perhaps the Joker realized at a certain point that trying to kill Batman just wasn't working, so the only way to really hurt him would be kill lots and lots of innocent people, as Batman is "about" that.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I haven't read much of 'Man who Laughs', but from I HAVE read, yes, we do get to see a good deal of him before he gets Jokerfied, and it's not particularly inspiring. In 'Killing Joke', he goes from a reasonably OK guy to completely buggo over the course of one really, really bad day, which is INTERESTING, and explains a fair amount of his 'making people get the joke' philosophy - 'the joke' turned him insane; now it's everyone else's turn. In 'Man who Laughs', there IS no joke - unless you count the whole 'bunny in the moon' thing, which I don't - and he goes from a slightly crazy crook to a much, much crazier crook. Personally, I like it when there is at least a LITTLE bit to relate to in any character, even a complete psycho like the Joker, and having him be a gangster with a nasty streak before his transformation just kind of ruins that for me - it works in the Tim Burton movie, but I don't like it in the comics. (It also makes less sense in terms of the whole 'Joker is his only identity' thing - if he was an ordinary schlub before his chemical dip, that's one thing, but if he was a reasonably successful criminal, surely there'd be at least a few people from his old life who'd still recognize him afterwards? I mean, it's not like he's DEFORMED; he just has different colored hair and skin, and his facial structure is fairly distinctive, what with the long, lean jaw and big nose. You'd think there'd be some crooks going 'heyyyy, I know that guy! He didn't used to look like that, but I recognize him - we knocked over a bank together back in '95.')
The Joker has never really been about killing Batman, as best I can tell - it's not like he hasn't TRIED to do it often enough, but that's more of a sideline - it's never really been his primary goal. Back in the Golden/early Silver Ages, he mainly just wanted to steal things and commit spectacular crimes, as well as being very proud of his talents as a comedian and general showman - he was perfectly willing to off Batman if he could, but he was more about the spectacle. There's been the odd story since then where he's decided Batman must die - 'Mad Love' being a notable, fairly recent example (although, of course, it's part of the DCAU, not mainstream continuity) - but largely, he's more about playing deadly games with the general public. Really, I don't think he WANTS to kill Batman these days, because he enjoys messing around with him too much.

[psychopathicus_rex]

...'from WHAT I have read'.

[starwolf_oakley]

I think you're mixing up "Man Who Laughs" (one-shot by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke) with "Lovers and Madman" (Batman: Confidential #7-12 by Michael Green and Denys Cowan). "Man Who Laughs" had the Joker already Joker-fied and killing people similar to BATMAN #1 (1940). "Lovers and Madmen" had a pre-Joker-fied Joker and "Bunny on the moon."

[psychopathicus_rex]

Oh. OK. That would be the one I was thinking of, then, yes, although I think it's in a collection called 'The Man who Laughs', which may have been what confused me.