The Joker is coming back to town soon in a new big-screen movie, Joker: Folie A Deux, which pairs Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker with Lady Gaga’s new role as Harley Quinn. If you’re looking to celebrate the new movie with some reading material, then these upcoming graphic novels will put a smile on your face.
First up, you can get a pocket-friendly edition of Joker for just $10. This is one of the graphic novels available under the new DC Compact Comics imprint, and is a reprint of Lee Bermejo’s and Brian Azzarello’s cult-classic story. If you like your clown prince of crime to be gritty and disturbing, you’ll get a kick out of this tale as it takes the Joker back to the streets of Gotham and follows him across a single night of revenge, murder, and mayhem.
Another great tale that was recently told was Batman: The Joker Year One. Written by Chip Zdarsky and featuring an all-star team of artists like Giuseppe Camuncoli, Andrea Sorrentino, and Stefano Nesi, this story explains what happened after the Red Hood fell into a vat of chemicals and emerged from the other side as a pale and dangerous new man.
Then there’s Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing, a 12-issue series in which the supervillain runs riot across the DC Universe. Making enemies in both Gotham and Los Angeles, this complete collection sees the Joker cross paths with some of the biggest names in the DCU as he aims to pull off his most bizarre caper yet.
The Joker Compendium is another solid collection of stories, bundling all 15 issues of James Tynion IV’s Joker saga alongside special one-shot issues. The twist here is that this Joker series doesn’t reflect that much on his relationship with Batman, but rather his interactions with former police commissioner James Gordon, who has joined a global manhunt to catch–and possibly kill–the ace of knaves. Sadly, things don’t go well for Gordon and he ends up being broken by the Joker in the process.
Joker: The World is an interesting story as it begins with the villain realizing that there’s a whole wide world for him to travel and unleash his signature brand of chaos in. Around the world in 80 slays, this story sees teams of top international talent put their spin on the Joker as he tours the US, Brazil, Argentina, and several other scenic locations.
On top of these graphics novels, there’s also the new Joker manga series, which reimagines the Joker as Batman’s father. We’re not kidding.
These are just a few of the new and upcoming Joker graphic novels you can grab ahead of Joker: Folie A Deux’s premiere on October 4. Check out the complete list below.
