For the first time the Joker's origin is revealed in this tale of insanity and human perseverance. Looking to prove that any man can be pushed past his breaking point and go mad, the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon insane.

After shooting and permanently paralyzing his daughter Barbara (a.k.a. Batgirl), the Joker kidnaps the commissioner and attacks his mind in hopes of breaking the man.

But refusing to give up, Gordon maintains his sanity with the help of Batman in an effort to beset the madman.

London, 1898. The Victorian Era draws to a close and the twentieth century approaches. It is a time of great change and an age of stagnation, a period of chaste order and ignoble chaos. It is an era in need of champions. In this amazingly imaginative tale, literary figures from throughout time and various bodies of work are brought together to face any and all threats to Britain. Allan Quatermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde and Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man, form a remarkable legion of intellectual aptitude and physical prowess: "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen".

Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth.

Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.
The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control—indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout.

Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up—it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced.

— Mark Thwaite

Critically acclaimed author Alan Moore redefined graphic novel story-telling with Watchmen and V for Vendetta. In Batman: The Killing Joke, he takes on the origin of comics' greatest super-villain, The Joker, and changes Batman's world forever.
ONE BAD DAY.
According to the grinning engine of madness and mayhem known as the Joker, that's all that separates the sane from the psychotic. Freed once again from the confines of Arkham Asylum, he's out to prove his deranged point. And he's going to use Gotham City's top cop, Commissioner Jim Gordon, and his brilliant and beautiful daughter Barbara to do it.
Now Batman must race to stop his archnemesis before his reign of terror claims two of the Dark Knight's closest friends. Can he finally put an end to the cycle of bloodlust and lunacy that links these two iconic foes before it leads to its fatal conclusion? And as the horrifying origin of the Clown Prince of Crime is finally revealed, will the thin line that separates Batman's nobility and the Joker's insanity snap once and for all?
Legendary writer Alan Moore redefined the superhero with Watchmen and V For Vendetta. In Batman: The Killing Joke, he takes on the origin of comics' greatest super-villain, the Joker--and changes Batman's world forever.
Stunningly illustrated, Batman: The Killing Joke The Deluxe Edition has been lushly recolored by artist Brian Bolland, presenting his original vision of this modern classic.
This new edition includes Batman: The Killing Joke and stories from Batman: Black and White #4 and Countdown #31, along with numerous Batman and Joker covers and sketches by Brian Bolland, including artwork only previously published in the Absolute edition!

Written by Alan Moore Art and cover by David Lloyd DC Comics is pleased to announce that this acclaimed title by Alan Moore and David Lloyd will be expanded by an additional 100 pages at no additional cost. This new material includes all of David Lloyd's silent art pages from the original comic book series, which were not included in the collected editions and have not been seen since the series' original publication by DC Comics in 1988-1989. In addition, an expanded version of the sketchbook section from the hardcover will be included, as well as all of the back cover art from the original issues. Alan Moore and David Lloyd's powerful epic about loss of freedom and individuality gets the Absolute treatment for the first time in this new, oversized slipcase edition! Taking place in a totalitarian England following a devastating war that changed the face of the planet, V FOR VENDETTA was the inspiration for the hit 2005 movie starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. This amazing graphic novel spotlights a mysterious man in a white porcelain mask and his young protege as they fight political oppressors through terrorism and seemingly absurd acts. It's a gripping tale of the blurred lines between ideological good and evil and details a world where political and personal freedoms are non-existent. This new edition features the improved production values and coloring from the 2005 hardcover in larger format for optimum enjoyment of the stunning art and story that the Portland Mercury called, "Perhaps Moore's most powerful work." Advance-solicited; on sale August 19 - 296 pg, FC, 8.25" x 12.5", $99 US MATURE READERS