#ComicBytes: Here are some of Joker's best comic book storylines
A homicidal artist, an agent of chaos, and the Clown Prince of Crime, Joker is the physical embodiment of everything Batman fights against, and everything he fears. As long as there is a Batman bringing justice to Gotham City, there will be a Joker to bring nightmares. Over the years, many fantastic storylines have established him as an iconic villain, including the ones listed.
The most influential Joker story of all time, Alan Moore's dense psychoanalysis of the Joker has become the most accepted origin. The graphic novel blends Joker's origins as Jack, with his abduction and assault on Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's daughter. This story bridges the already narrow gap between sanity and insanity of Joker and is easily his most popular story.
The story told from the perspective of Joker's hired goon and chauffeur Johnny Frost shows a more realistic and disturbing portrayal of Joker than many other iterations. Here, Joker returns to Gotham as an insane-er than before criminal with rampant drug abuse that sends him into a crazed blood-thirsty drive to rebuild his lost empire. This storyline, however, is graphically too violent.
Not to be confused with A Death in the Family (another brilliant storyline), in Death of the Family after surgically removing his face and escaping Arkham Asylum, Joker reappears in Gotham and goes after the entire Bat-Family, excluding Batman. The story revisits all the significant locations that hold meaning for Batman and Joker, framing their relationship as some sort of twisted bromance.
This is a one-shot comic, inspired by Batman #1, and tells the story of Joker and Batman's first meeting in a post-Zero Hour continuity. This plot defines Joker for modern-day fans by retelling the supposed origin of how his body and mind were mangled at the Ace Chemical Plant. Bringing classic characters into the 21st-Century makes this a must-read for fans of Joker.
