The Killing Joke - pg. 16
Artists: Brian Bolland (All) , Richard Starkings (Letterer) , Alan Moore (Writer)
83 Comments - 1,338 Views - 60 Likes
Artwork Details
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DescriptionWhen I started in this hobby, there were three stories that immediately came to mind for my hit list.One title, while highly sought, is 12 issues, so over 200 pages of art. That was the first itch to be scratched. This is the second, and with only 45 pages available, it was considerably more difficult, and required quite a bit of sacrifice. But not a single regret. I'm over the moon to finally add this to the collection. The art is impeccable. There is full art under the word balloons. The word balloons are pasted on in a manner that I have never seen before. With precision bordering on manic, they are glued TIGHT. The workmanship in every panel is magnificent. Supporting characters are perfectly placed and every prop is meaningful. We see the characters on the page as completely rounded individuals. We see how they eat, how they relax, how they cajole, and how they feel. Must be something in that London water. This page follows what is probably the most intense 2-page sequence in comic history, and provides an incredible starting point for the Joker's transformation. I'm told that Bolland kept this page in his personal collection for quite a while. A lot of fellow collectors supported me on this journey and I'm very grateful for their advice and camaraderie. Viva La Resistance! Update - Thank you ALL for the kind words! That, and being at SDCC and meeting so many friends really made for a fantastic day. Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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Fisch Benz 
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
First!!! in what is surely to be an epic comment section!
I loveeeeeeeee this page. So beautiful. So important. I can't write a longer comment because then maybe I won't be first.
Congratttttttttttts mLLLLL!!!
Andy Wurst
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Second : what a killer page this is. Biggest congrats.
Fisch Benz
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
And now I can take my time with the second comment...
My favorite panels are the 3rd and 6th. The 6th for obvious reasons, but the 3rd has such depth and perspective!
And you never said what the 3rd title is? What is it?
Ian Saint
Member Since 2021
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Amazing pick up and love the details. What an awesome feeling it must be to get a page like this. Congrats!!!
Comic Art Channel
Member Since 2018
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Wow! KJ! Will only get harder to get a page from this book. Major congrats, man!
JN 80
Member Since 2016
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
That 6th panel is LEGEN....wait for it...DARY.
Congrats on a iconic addition
Davide G.
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
So now you're happily one of the 40 (or so) lucky dogs in the world who own a page from this epic book. Huge congrats!
Michael 07
Member Since 2011
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Amazing page from an amazing book in an amazing collection...huge congrats man
West Stephan
Member Since 2007
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Are you kidding me?!? Wow, this page is no Joke! I'm sure it took a lot to get this but every great piece does. Congratulations!
Peter Sullivan
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
I can remember seeing this page offered for 4000 dollars, early this century. I shudder to think what it cost you. Probably blew your Spider-Tache off in shock
Lee Harmon
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Beautiful aquisition and a centerpiece to any collection.
Congratulations on bringing a gem into the fold.
Derek Crabbe
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
"Hello. I came to talk. About you. About me."
Amir E
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
I knew it. That page had your name all over it. Congrats!
Brent S
Member Since 2016
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
It's not very often pages from KJ changes hands, which makes them even more special. Huge Congrats on an amazing page!!!
Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005
3 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Sometimes it’s laughter by the jokes about thighs
When I'm drinking beside you
There's a Joker burning deep inside
Is there a story in your memory
Do you think of Brian Bolland
When you read that special irony?
I always stop and think of Moore especially
When words of the magician
Touch the very art you see
There'll be sad clowns that laugh and cry
Bad jokes often do
Bolland touched this art of the Red Hood
Killing Joke’s for you (Batman too)
Mark V
Member Since 2021
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Great page and the cover of one of the auction catalogs to boot!
Eric Wenger
Member Since 2012
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
This is a piece of history - just an amazing piece from a completely critical book. Congratulations on this, and amazing add to your collection.
Chris Snorek
Member Since 2009
3 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Happy this is where it's being truly and deeply appreciated. Bolland's mastery of this craft cannot be overstated. The staging of all these panels, the characterful nature of all the figures, their clothing and most of all their expressions. As many have said this is a part of comics history. I would like to add there is a damn good reason for that.
James S
Member Since 2017
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
I know what it took to make this happen, and so happy you got it! Congrats, dude!
George H
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Major congrats on not only adding a Bolland page but one from such an iconic book. Love it my friend.
Canada Jones
Member Since 2017
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Huge Congratulations on picking this one up!!! I felt like both pages in Heritage were a steal, and you were smart for snatching this up when you did!
Tyler T
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Epic. Sincere congrats to you on a legendary acquisition!!!!
Sideshow Bob
Member Since 2012
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
All the tendrils of what we know of Batman and his greatest nemesis start with this case opening in the last panel. All of it. Starts. Here.
Passion and hard work is what makes a collection like yours. Congrats! This is epic!
J. Sid
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
So much to look at on this one... Bolland put quite a bit of work into rendering the world of Killing Joke.
Tony Marine
Member Since 2016
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
I had KJ on my want list for a few years - threw in the towel long ago - and long before they were anywhere near todays prices! Congrats on this epic page - so beautifully rendered. Every KJ page is a masterpiece!
Jeremiah Avery
Member Since 2007
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
WOW!!! Congratulations! This is an amazing piece of art for your collection. Thank you for sharing!
Dave W
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Monumental, epic, grail, cornerstone ... all of the superlatives work to describe this page. This is story-telling at the highest level. Major congrats ML - so happy to be able to write this congratulatory post for you. I am very happy for you!
Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
A fabulous page because it fills in the Joker origin story better than it ever had been done before or since. The fact that it is Bolland's most famous story is a massive bonus.
This is what is known as La Crème de la Crème in comic art!
Dino Mauricio
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Excelsior, a momentous addition, huge congrats ML!
Rob R
Member Since 2019
Forum Moderator
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Nothing really to say that others haven't already. A monumental acquisition.
Victor Bracamontes
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
So awesome! Huge congrats and thank you for sharing this!
E DLS
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
THE Bolland bible. Love that third panel. I can only imagine how happy this makes you. And that makes me happy. Congratulations!
Matt Moore
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 7/21/2022
Wow! It doesn't get much better than a Killing Joke page. Huge congrats!
artless artmore
Member Since 2013
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
Congratulations on this, Mikail! What a desirable page --- amazing draftsmanship and storytelling
Nils E
Member Since 2014
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
The Moorish genius of Alan and Brian in the Boll Land ;-)
Mark Levy
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
No shortcuts were taken in creating the page - and none in getting one either!
Daryl R
Member Since 2015
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
As meaningful and important of a page as I've ever seen. Brilliant storytelling that had a major impact on the entire comics industry as well as a lasting impression on many of us. This art belongs in a museum! So glad you can be it's curator!
Duke Fleed aka #1 Groo Fan
Member Since 2013
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
Just a brilliant page and looks amazing in black and white. Bolland's rendering is fabulous but his storytelling is equally masterful. Humongous congrats!
Will Tervay
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
Huge congrats. Always nice to cross off something from the want list. Thanks for sharing!
Ernest Benevides
Member Since 2022
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
Iconic page from an iconic issue. Well done, sir
Johnny M
Member Since 2014
Forum Moderator
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
Oh WOW!!! ML, I didn't know this was on your radar. Congrats, it is an amazing piece to have in your already stellar collection!
Kin Wong
Member Since 2007
1 - Posted on 7/22/2022
Congrats on an epic pickup! I know panel 6 is the money shot, but I really love the man with his head on the table in panel 3.
Timothy Finney
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 7/23/2022
You must have one hell of an anti-itch ointment. It is an amazing page. Every panel is meticulously crafted, as only Bolland could have done. Cheers!
K Gearon
Member Since 2011
1 - Posted on 7/23/2022
Woooo!!! Now doing a Rick Flair shimmy for you, man. Sincere HUGE congrats! Must be some sublime line work in person, and we all know story is kinda important :) Wow. Incredible, man!
S Riz
Member Since 2014
1 - Posted on 7/23/2022
You came, you saw and you conquered! Really glad this came your way, congrats!
kent mansley
Member Since 2015
1 - Posted on 7/23/2022
I'm so,so happy you were able to add this piece of comics history! Beautiful art in a fantastic collection! Huge congrats!
Jeffrey Wedding
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 7/24/2022
The scan does not do this page justice, it was a marvel to be hold in person. And I now must demand someone does a series of one shots telling the side stories of all the tangential foreground and background figures. Especially those in panel 3.
C Bailey
Member Since 2013
1 - Posted on 7/28/2022
Historic! Congrates on the Journey and the reward! 🍻
Jared Simmons
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 7/29/2022
Congrats and welcome to the Killing Joke club!
M L
Member Since 2015
Posted on 7/29/2022
Jared Simmons wrote:
Congrats and welcome to the Killing Joke club!
I hear there is a special dinner and smoking jacket! Great to meet you and Jerry - don't let him call you a seppo...
Jason Hussa
Member Since 2017
1 - Posted on 7/30/2022
Brilliant pick up, M L. Such richness and texture on display here; clothing, wood paneling, life behind the bar, even the WRITING on the CHALKBOARD and BOTTLES?!? Unbelievable. And I simply can't NOT look at and study the carpet bag in every panel it shows up in. Panel 6 is complete and utter solid Bolland 16-carat GOLD. (Hell, the whole thing is...)
You absolutely deserve this, not only because of the great energy you spread to everyone fortunate enough to cross your path in this hobby (and how many of us wait for your new posts and cheer the many triumphs of your gallery adds), but because you have put so much work into curating a beautiful world-class collection that was just waiting for this crown jewel to nestle in among the other riches. As I said, brilliant. And destiny. Can't wait to see you cross #3 off your list. :) Sincere congrats, M L!
M L
Member Since 2015
1 - Posted on 7/31/2022
Jason Hussa wrote:
Brilliant pick up, M L. Such richness and texture on display here; clothing, wood paneling, life behind the bar, even the WRITING on the CHALKBOARD and BOTTLES?!? Unbelievable. And I simply can't NOT look at and study the carpet bag in every panel it shows up in. Panel 6 is complete and utter solid Bolland 16-carat GOLD. (Hell, the whole thing is...)
You absolutely deserve this, not only because of the great energy you spread to everyone fortunate enough to cross your path in this hobby (and how many of us wait for your new posts and cheer the many triumphs of your gallery adds), but because you have put so much work into curating a beautiful world-class collection that was just waiting for this crown jewel to nestle in among the other riches. As I said, brilliant. And destiny. Can't wait to see you cross #3 off your list. :) Sincere congrats, M L!
You are far too kind! Thanks Jason!
matthew reed
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 8/18/2022
these pages are heartstoppers! amazing to see them pop up. thanks so much for posting.
M L
Member Since 2015
Posted on 8/20/2022
RS 88 wrote:
Wow! This looks old! I should read it
Forget the past, young man! Look to the future.
Eranga Devasurendra
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 8/20/2022
I just had to circle back and check if you ever picked up your mic. The suspense is killing me!
Joseph Melchior
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 9/11/2022
Boom! Taking no prisoners. Stunning pick up, M. One of Brian's favourite pages that he parted with last. So much detail going on in every single corner.
Peter Venkman
Member Since 2003
1 - Posted on 1/31/2023
The story has only 48 pages, and every each one can be considered as a grail. Congrats !
Tom Coker
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 2/15/2025
Every page from this issue is a masterpiece. This sequence really provided the background that helps create the pathos of this giant character. As a reader we are completely torn by love and hate.
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