10 best Joker comics from DC Comics

Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime, has been terrorizing Gotham City since the '40s. Highly talented actors like Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Mark Hamill have taken on the role to do justice to this complicated character. He is easily the most recognizable villain in Batman's Rogues Gallery. Historically, he has been given varying personalities depending on the writer in charge.

Expand Tweet

He can be a sociopathic killer who shoots somebody for sitting at his table in the Iceberg Lounge, a methodical comedian who sends the Caped Crusader across the city on a scavenger hunt, or a crime lord looking to wreak as much havoc as he can. Joker has become such a massively popular character among fans everywhere that he's featured in his own comics and movies almost as much as Batman.

10 Joker comics that will keep you hooked

1) A Death in the Family

Crowbars were never looked at the same (Image via DC Comics)

If fans had to pinpoint when Joker stopped being a gimmick of a villain and became someone to be taken seriously, it had to be the time of Jason Todd's death. Jason, the second Robin, was brutally murdered by Joker, and fans learned along with Bruce that he wasn't a villain to take lightly.

A Death in the Family is a story that reverberates in the DCU even today. Jason Todd is back fighting crime with the Bat-family, but he's never been the same since his death. Being beaten by a clown with a crowbar is an image that would be seared into even the most resilient psyche.

2) The Dark Kight Returns

Frank Miller's quintessential take on Batman (Image via DC Comics)

While not a story solely about the Clown Prince, The Dark Knight Returns offers a dark conclusion for the character. Batman's arch-nemesis manipulates his way onto a talk show where he kills everyone on set. This leads to Batman trying to chase him down and vowing to finally end the clown's terror. However, when he's unable to do it, the Clown Prince does it himself and breaks his own neck.

The Dark Knight Returns is Frank Miller's magnum opus for Batman that features a more sinister take on many classic characters. Even Superman makes an appearance as a pawn for the government. Frank Miller manages to revise the characters in a darker tone while maintining the essence of who they are.

3) Batman: Endgame

The Clown Prince returns (Image via DC Comics)

In this six-issue story, the Joker returns after his disappearance in Death of the Family. Scott Snyder planned out an ongoing story for Joker while writing Batman, and Endgame was intended as his last story with the Clown Prince of Crime.

Batman: Endgame is intended as a horror story that represents Joker's hatred of Batman after the events of Death of the Family. One scene in Endgame sees Joker cut off Alfred's hand. There is no doubt that this is a dark story, but fans of the character consider it mandatory reading.

4) Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth

Grant Morrison's take on the Clown Prince (Image via DC Comics)

Grant Morrison had one of the most prolific runs on Batman, but that wasn't his first association with the character. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on a Serious Earth is considered to be one of the best Batman stories of all time, and possibly the best of Grant Morrison's career.

The story follows Batman as he goes to investigate a riot occurring at Arkham Asylum. It turns out that the riot was being led by Batman's arch-nemesis clown who toys with Bruce, forcing him into a game of hide and seek. The plot dives deeper into Arkham's history and extends beyond portraying Joker as the bad guy as Bruce digs deeper.

5) Joker

Brian Azzarello had a more grounded take on the character (Image via DC Comics)

Brian Azzarello's take on the Clown Prince of Crime came shortly after Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Azzarello managed to deliver at a time when fans wanted a darker, more grounded take on the character, in line with Heath Ledger's portrayal.

The graphic novel is narrated by Jonny Frost, one of Joker's henchmen, who ends up driving the crimelord all around Gotham as he tries to conquer the city again. He was locked up in Arkham after all, and crime has to continue even without its clown prince.

6) Batman: White Night

What if Joker was a good guy (Image via DC Comics)

In an eight-issue miniseries, Sean Murphy writes and illustrates a story that envisions the Batman villain cured. Claiming to no longer be afflicted with any kind of disease or madness, Jack Napier becomes a politician and paints Batman as the one true villain in Gotham City.

It's a fascinating story that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The ambiguity of Napier's character keeps fans turning the pages to find out the conclusion since they do not know if he is being legitimate or simply putting up an act. Every Batman fan should read this comic.

7) Mad Love

Just like the animated series (Image via DC Comics)

Illustrated in the same style as Batman: The Animated Series, Mad Love is more of a Harley Quinn story that still manages to focus on the Clown Prince of Crime. It's a one-shot story written by the animated series creator Paul Dini and illustrated by Bruce Timm, the same team resposnible for creating Batman: The Animated Series.

The story takes a look at the origin of Harley and "Puddin's" relationship. Harley eventually sets out to kill Batman as she thinks of it as the only way to get Joker to love her. The one-shot saw enough success to be adapted into an episode for the animated series.

8) Dark Nights: Metal

The darkest of knights (Image via DC Comics)

Scott Snyder continued his fantastic work wtih Batman as the Dark Knight investigates different metals that seem to connect the multiverse. During his investigation, Bruce unwittingly releases seven evil versions of himself. One of the worst versions is The Batman Who Laughs, a hybrid variation of Batman and Joker.

This hybrid is Bruce Wayne from Earth-22 after he was infected with the same chemicals that transformed the Clown Prince. With the intelligence and brawn of Bruce Wayne and the psycopathy of his arch-nemesis, The Batman Who Laughs is the scariest and most threatening version of the Clown Prince of Crime.

9) Batman: Three Jokers

Not one, not two, but three (Image via DC Comics)

Ever notice that the Clown Prince of Crime is ever so slightly different in each of his appearances? Geoff Johns penned a three-issue limited series to help explain this conundrum. The three clowns are the Criminal, the Clown, and the Comedian. Each of them represents a different story from the character's past.

Beyond exploring three different versions of the character, the story shows them being pursued by Batman, Batgirl, and Red Hood. The clowns work together to pick a candidate to be a fourth Joker.

10) The Killing Joke

The one where he puts Barbara in a wheelchair (Image via DC Comics)

Easily known as the quintessential Joker graphic novel, The Killing Joke is the villain's origin story written by Alan Moore. Told in a series of flashbacks, fans get to see that all it takes is one bad day for things to change forever. The best aspect of this graphic novel is that it's told by an unreliable narrator. Joker admits that he is not sure how much of what he remembers is true, leaving readers in doubt.

The Clown Prince of Crime claims to have been an engineer who lost his wife and unborn child. Following a series of unfortunate events, he is driven mad and veers into a life of crime. Beyond the flashbacks, there is another story being told that shows the supervillain torture Commissioner Gordon and paralyze his daughter.