I am an amateur comic book reader. And I generally like to read comments from avid readers and what they think about these comics. Growing up, I usually had access to comics in my native language (Hindi), and I loved them.
I will read two to three comics a day during my summer vacation. And I confess that I did try to make my own comics. I mean, I loved to draw my favourite comic book characters.
Growing up, I loved watching Batman: The Animated Show. I didn’t read any of the comics. They weren’t available at that time, in my country.
The first Batman movie I watched was Batman Begins. So, yes, I am a “newbie” in the Batman fandom.
Batman: The Killing Joke
Well, I am a big fan of Frank Miller. I have read a few Batman comics (epub versions – paperback comics were not available in my country, in my area, a few years ago).
However, Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke ranks at the top for me. Even above Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.
Reason- The psychological “infinity” shown through the Joker character, which makes the readers associate with their own turmoil and dilemmas. This comic book tests Batman and Commissioner Gordon, at a fundamental level.
Personally, I find it quite challenging. Sometimes a “fun” thing for one, can be the worst torment for others.
If you have ever been bullied, mocked or laughed at in your life, publicly, this comic book will certainly leave an impression.
I will certainly recommend to watch the Animated take of this comic.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Most of the people who love Batman, are for his money. Maybe it’s the commercialization of the Batman franchise that veered off from what “Batman” is that created this trend.
Frank Miller gave a new lifeline to Batman.
Not a young, but an Old Batman, comes back to re-establish the balance – Order against the Chaotic Joker and Choice against the “Imposing” Superman.
This is a tale that makes the reader look for Hope, in people that we have thought don’t care about the world.
The “Old Guard”, the “Weary Eyes” and the “Hunched Backs” haven’t forgotten how to do their job. All they need is a reason to come back to what they do the best.
Released in 1986, while the Cold War was nearing an end, and a brave new world was emerging, Frank Miller made an astute observation of what was needed- a Story for the World, to be aware of “bad influences” and “good intentions”- both.
━━━━ continue after the ad ━━━━
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Batman: Hush
Let me tell the truth about this comic. I have only seen the animated version. And I know that sometimes, animated and live-action movies fail to grasp the essence of the comic books.
Hush is something that makes even Batman feel the eerie vibes that he gives to others. The “Act of observation” is what makes Batman a superhero without any super-power. His acute sense of awareness, his common sense and the “ instinct to distinguish fast” makes him an enigmatic character.
Also Read: Most Disturbing Movies That Challenge Your Psyche and Reality
Hush makes him a bit paranoid, a bit in doubt and in a lot of confusion.
It’s often said that a Protagonist is measured by its Antagonist. Hush certainly redefines the Antagonist in the Batman comics.
You can try the Animated version too. Not that great, but not that bad.
Harsh is the founder of menPsyche. He enjoys using his extensive research and writing skills to communicate ideas and concepts, with the aim to improve people’s lives.
Harsh trained as a Communication Engineer and published a MSc (Research) thesis, as well as worked in a variety of marketing and consultancy roles.
