Tears of a Clown

[cyberghostface]

In light of his passing I'm sharing an Alan Grant comic I posted a few years ago.

From Batman: Shadow of the Bat #38.

Comments

[shakalooloo]

Joker telling jokes! :D

Gotta wonder who published that 'Deathgags' book, though: gotta be on Batman's watchlist!

[blues32]

The hair is a bit much, but this is more the Joker I remember. He put collars on the "audience" that will detonate when they laugh and then tries to get them to laugh with jokes. And he's doing it, not for his own amusement (well, maybe a little) or for a body count but because he THINKS he might have been slighted by these people before. Maybe. He could be wrong but he isn't going to let that stop him.

I'd have liked it if the collars only released confetti and little flags that said "boom" though. I mean, they'd still die from being shot or from Joker toxin, but the thing that scared them the most would be proven harmless.

[shakalooloo]

My head canon that only the one that exploded was rigged to explode. The guy that got shot in the face would have just had a little joy buzz, and they'd all have had a good laugh at that - and then he'd get shot in the face.

[blues32]

Sounds about right.

[huntleyhaverstock]

You don't often think of the Joker as a bully, given that he's not physically formidable. But so much of what he does involves tormenting people who can't fight back. In the end, his jokes are usually only funny to him.

[shakalooloo]

The Joker would be the perfect character to use in a story exploring the comedians - Chapelle et al - bemoaning 'cancel culture'.