Without a doubt The Joker is the most well-known and popular Batman villain. The character has been portrayed by many different actors over the years including Mark Hamill, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Cesar Romero. All of these men have given their all to the role, literally when it comes to the example Heath Ledger. Not a knock on his death, but the man was a method actor who dove deep into the role, the comic does a good job at explaining this.
Image via: Reddit
But what if there’s something more behind the story of the clown prince of crime, a CURSE. This is the subject that Beyond The Joker: The Man Who Laughs, a comic book written by Valerie D’Orazio (Punisher Max: Butterfly) with pencils/art by Dan Lauer (Myth) explores in depth. Beyond is a series that is published by Bluewater Productions which explores real figures from society and tells a story in comic book format. Beyond Joker does this in an interesting way by exploring the origins of the clown, including explaining how the fear of clowns, known as Coulrophobia, is very prevalent in our society. Stephen King’s It anyone?!
But what about real-life crimes that were supposedly based on The Joker? The comic brings up a few good examples, including the shooting at the Aurora movie theater during a showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Who or what is to be blamed for this terrible act? Movies? Video games? Parenting? Or is it something more…. sinister? Facts are laid out nicely in the comic, enough for you to start drawing your own conclusions and maybe do a little more research yourself. Maybe you’ll find something the writers didn’t!
So is there more to the legacy of The Joker than him just being a comic book villain, or is it all coincidence? You’ll have to pick up this issue and decide for yourself! Check out the official Press Release below to find out where you can find this comic in print and digital forms!
REAL-LIFE CRIMES INSPIRED BY THE JOKER THE FOCUS OF NEW COMIC BOOK
Bluewater Productions has announced plans to release a new comic book news biography of the Joker—tearing pages from today’s headlines to examine a number of Joker-related crimes, including that of Aurora shooter James Holmes.
Beyond: The Joker, The Man Who Laughs, which will be released on June 18th and available in both print and digital formats, explores the villain’s ancient origins and his massive impact on pop-culture.
The Joker. He’s one of the most infamous characters in comic book history—almost more popular than Batman himself. But is there a real-life “curse” surrounding the Clown Prince of Crime, one that has haunted everyone from Oscar winner Heath Ledger to a series of real-life criminals?
Written by Marvel Comics’ Punisher writer Valerie D’Orazio and with art by Dan Lauer, Beyond: The Joker, The Man Who Laughs features the same team behind the just-released Beyond: Edward Snowden, which has received enormous international attention and media coverage.
“I’ve always found the Joker to be both fascinating and disturbing, and wanted to get at the heart of the character’s worldwide appeal. What I discovered was no less paradoxical and uncanny than the Joker himself, and that’s what this comic is all about,” said Valerie D’Orazio.
“We want to be able to use the comic book medium to educate as well as entertain,” said Publisher Darren G. Davis. “With the recent Joker-related shooting in Las Vegas as well as the Slender Man stabbings, it shows you that the idea of people being inspired by fictional characters to commit crimes is a real issue.This book is one that was very disturbing to produce, because we did not want to add glory to what these people did. At the same time, we felt it was important to explore the psychology and history behind the crimes—and we hope that we inform with this book.”
Bluewater biographical comic books have been featured on CNN, FOX News and in Time Magazine, and TIME Magazine, as well as many other publication and media outlets.
Print copies of Beyond: The Joker, Man Who Laughs can be ordered exclusively for $3.99 at Comic Flea Market here: http://bit.ly/1qwCASD
Beyond: The Joker, Man Who Laughs is available now at Comic Flea Market and iTunes.
Download the comic to your e-reader from iTunes, Kindle, Wowio, ComiXology, DriveThru Comics, Google Play, My Digital Comics, Overdrive, Iverse, Biblioboard, Flipkart, Axis360, ComicBin, Blio, Entitle, Comicblender.com, Wheeler, Scoop, Nook, Kobo and wherever eBooks are sold.
About the Beyond comic book series:
Conspiracies. Espionage. UFOs. Hidden History. Secret Societies. The Paranormal. Beyond brings you stories about the secret and suppressed, the stories “They” don’t want you to know! Take the Red Pill and join your fearless host Virgil Hall as he takes you far, far down the rabbit hole to Beyond.
