joker

Dark Knight The Joker 1:6 Scale Collector Figure
$89.99
For the price, this Joker is by far the best on the market and has a better likeness of the "movie Joker" than anything else I've seen under $[...]. The HotToys "bank robber" version probably has the best likeness of all the figures, but at $[...] some may have trouble justifying the purchase.

After years of collecting, I've finally found something that I can proudly display out of the package (*gasp*). The clothing on this is great and as close to the movie as it can get. Nitpickers will say that there are no socks, the stitching is off, the vest and shirt don't match perfectly, etc. Those people need to get a life and realize nothing in this world is perfect, especially nothing molded out of plastic, mass produced and assembled in a sweatshop, and sold for 90% more than it cost to make.

I will now take the time to nitpick, as I have no life. The makeup/face could have been done much better. it's too perfect, too clean. There was never a point in the movie when the makeup was this perfect. From the point when "grumpy" removed his mask, we were able to see some flesh tones under the thinly applied makeup. That being said, whoever looks at the pictures of this figure before buying can clearly see how perfect the makeup looks. I knew long before receiving this in the mail that the face was not movie accurate, and was perfectly fine with it. I am very impressed with how much the facial structure resembles how Ledger looked in the movie. Overall this is a great figure and would be an excellent addition to anybody's collection.

Hot Toys' The Dark Knight: 1:6 Scale The Joker (Gotham City Police) Movie Masterpiece Series Deluxe Figure
$195.00
He's an officer, but he's no gentleman! Collectible, limited edition Policeman Joker Action Figure from Hot Toys. Authentic, movie-accurate reproduction from the Batman film The Dark Knight. Features interchangeable, poseable hands and movable eyes! Incredibly detailed. Amazing accessories! He's an officer, but he's no gentleman! The Joker proves to be a master of disguise. He stands approximately 12-inches tall and features the Hot Toys True Type Body with over 35 points of articulation. Dressed in a Gotham City police uniform with hat, badge, and shoes, he's an authentic reproduction from the scene in the movie. This mind-boggling action figure also features: An M1 Garand Rifle Five grenades, knife, pistol, and Joker cards Seven interchangeable, poseable hands An interchangeable and new makeup Joker head featuring PERS eyes with translucent irises An additional costume: the new, improved, and movie-accurate costume of an overcoat, sport coat, vest, shirt, tie, pants, belt, socks, and shoes, with grenades rig and suspenders Deluxe figure stand with LED lights Packaged in a 4-color box. Limited edition! The MMS DX line features a newly developed technology for a 1:6 scale collectible: Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS). PERS special features include uniquely designed eyeballs with colored, translucent iris and simultaneous positionable eyeball function. The eyes for these figures move in all directions, much like human eyes.

Joker
$19.99
Two recent films by Christopher Nolan may have all but washed the memories from mainstream audiences, but it wasn't long ago that Batman and his cadre of allies and villains were better known for campy superhero comics and even campier films. But as graphic novels have matured with their audiences, so too have Gotham and its characters.

And while Nolan deserves credit for redeeming the Batman film franchise of the bitter taste left by Joel Schumacher, the transfiguration of Gotham started back in the comics realm by authors like Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) and Alan Moore (Batman: The Killing Joke).

Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) is one of the latest to offer his mature take on the franchise with the simply titled Joker, a book noticeably mostly absent of the Batman. Instead, readers follow one night in the close company of Batman's arch-nemesis.

"I don't know the particulars...but...the Joker was being released from Arkham Asylum," Azzarello writes in the first several pages, setting up the scene.

Lee Bermejo (Lex Luthor: Man of Steel) does the art and the book's cover, which features a close-up of the Joker's demented smile. His teeth are decaying and his crimson lipstick could just as easily be blood as makeup. It's a strong indicator of the extremely dark character Azzarello and Bermejo have created together for this book.

The Joker's appearance is eerily similar to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the character in The Dark Knight, with scar tissue running up each side of his face to form a disturbing smile. And the same anarchistic tendencies are evident when we see the Joker willing to place a revolver in his own mouth and pull the trigger in a self-imposed game of Russian roulette.

But that's where the comparisons end. Azzarello's Joker isn't a character pulling childish tricks out of his sleeves, nor is he a psychological mastermind, playing head games with his targets. He is instead a true maniac whom readers find laughing during the most disturbing of moments and crying at the knees of an apparent lover. He is a lord of the criminal underbelly of Gotham looking to get back his piece of the pie, and he's not the kind of guy who thinks twice about skinning a person alive or putting a bullet through someone's head to get it.

The story is narrated by Jonny Frost, a wannabe thug who thinks getting in as one of the Joker's underlings will catapult him to the top of the criminal ranks, but he soon begins to realize the Joker is a man he does not/cannot fully comprehend. Azzarello is clearly using Frost as a conduit for the tale--which sees the Joker running into the likes of the Penguin, Two-Face, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, and the Riddler--and a catalyst, but it's a shame Frost isn't fully fleshed out as a character with a bit more personality.

And though it can be inconsistent at times, most of Bermejo's panels present richly detailed images with remarkable lighting with colors by Patricia Mulvihill. The final scenes of the book are some of the best seen in the comics medium.

-- William Jones

Batman: The Dark Knight - The Joker with Crime Scene Evidence
$6.75
My 5 and 3 year old LOVE the toy but the head broke off in the first 15 minutes of receiving the toy.