Explaining Batman: The Killing Joke to MY PARENTS!
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- According to the grinning engine of madness and mayhem known as The Joker, that's all that separates the sane from the psychotic. Freed once again from the confines of Arkham Asylum, he's out to prove his deranged point. And he's going to use Gotham City's top cop, Commissioner Jim Gordon, and his brilliant and beautiful daughter Barbara to do it. Never miss an episode by subscribing today! bit.ly/2WYvgkt #batman
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They said it was impossible.
They said "Everyone's read the Killing Joke. It can't be done on Back Issues."
They didn't know ComicPop defies all expectations!
Sal, your parents read no comics, and so you hit them with Frank Miller and Alan Moore? You monster 🤣
Josh Castro lawl. 🤣🤣🤣
Comedians call getting a big laugh "killing" and The Joker's joke get's a big laugh from Batman and himself at the end, that could be it.
I like that!
That's a valid point. When comedians finish a show successfully, they usually say "I KILLED them tonight!" or "I MURDERED them!" That would fit the scenario that you described.
Showing your parents two of the darkest batman stories of all time? I love this.
Thomas Hallett lol ikr
TDKR isn't actually that dark, Batman Venom and Batman Earth One Vol 1 on other hand...
Madhav Krishna Yeah, venom is very dark, that’s true.
Your parents are awesome!
Madhav Krishna or Batman Night cries
I like how your dad has the facial expression of someone who has to get up & leave to do something, but is too polite to do so.
It’s clear that Mr. and Mrs. Crivelli don’t appreciate a great Salan Moore impression when it’s right in front of them, unbelievable.
Omg your mom said one of the CP catchphrases. She fits right in 😁
Dee Baca towards the latter third, she brought up them “having their cake and eating it too” 😂
I feel like in the two episodes that we’ve seen Ma and Pa Sal, we see Sal on his best behavior lol. Like he just speaks with a little more eloquence. Which is the same thing I do around my parents when they visit.
Well I guess you kinda need to lol you can't be swearing all the time around your parents ;P
I defintely have to watch my language around my folks lol. But hearing him describe the material I already love in such an eloquent and reverential way redefines my appreciation for the genre. He almost elevates the source material and is proclaiming to the naysayers, "This is art, and it deserves to be respected and talked about as such." And his parents seem genuinely interested and his explanations and analysis are so poignant that it's hard not to listen. God knows I couldn't talk about comics like this to my parents. Not that I'm ridiculed or anything but it's definitely something that I don't think they could ever appreciate or at least be interested in learning about it like Sal's parents are. Anyway, great great video. Back Issues is one of my favorite series right now
I would say it’s called the Killing Joke because that final joke killed the chance of Batman and Joker ending their relationship without tragedy. It killed one of Batman’s deepest hopes
Justin Beckford or it's the killing joke because it's his last joke of his show/ plan.
Justin Beckford My interpretation would be both. As the Joker says that he is reminded of the joke, it could be that it was a joke from his failed attempt at being a comedian. The joke would have been a bad one-liner on stage, but in this perfect context it speaks volumes of their relationship. Therefore in this given context, the joke represents how the Joker believes he can't walk that line to make it to the other side. One could argue that the part of the joke "you would turn it off as I get half way across" could represent the moment one kills the other, therefore perhaps meaning that the book does end in one or the other's death. However, another point that Sal brings up in this episode is that the interpretation can run both ways. The Batman could be the first inmate, showing that the Joker can't walk the line to the "right" side of insanity with him, or Joker could be the inmate that makes it across, representing that Batman doesn't trust himself to go that extra distance that would end in him killing someone out of hate, he thinks that once the light goes out, there will be no way back, and no way ahead, he will fall to his doom and the Batman will be dead.
Also, a joke "killing" refers to a joke that successfully makes a bunch of people laugh. Which it did since both the Joker and Batman laugh hysterically.
Especially when Joker kills Jason Todd shortly after the Killing Joke.
You know how you could've made this episode better,
BEING ALAN MOORE!!!!
I'm pretty sure he didn't do it because that would make it somewhat awkward, trying to have a interesting conversation with his parents about this book in a silly voice. Though it might have worked. i dont know his parrents well enough to have an idea if it would work for a fun episode. Still, the episode was great, nice seeing them back again :)
pascal dongen yeah, I figured
The greatest moment is when his mom talks about “having their cake and eating it too” and Sal just raises his eyebrows to the camera. A nice fourth-wall break referencing how often that phrase is used on the show. Really cool.
You're parents are such wonderful people, this is a great episode!
*your
May May sorry my english is really bad
Kevin Bravo it's ok.
Kevin Bravo It's okay. That's a mistake native speakers make, too.
I love the son sitting his parents down and telling them a story
Sal’s mom: “Its like they have their cake, and eat it too”
Sal: “yeah”
*looks directly into the camera*
BOOM, CREDITS!
I love when Sal brings his parents on. His mother's shock and disapproval about the books, arguably the darkest Batman books ever, is sweet and hilarious. Almost like she is saying, "what did I do to my son?" I hope they come on again because I also like how Sal becomes slightly more reserved and gives deeper explanations when his folks are there.
PS - I also want to say how much I love that slight change that Sal exhibits when his parents are there. It shows that he has a lot of respect for them.
Legend has it, if you watch this video, you spontaneously become 100% Italian....and Salan Moore will call you bullshit right to your face.
It's crazy that Sal looks like his mom in the eyes but everything else is straight up dad! I loved this episode, I watched Sal's dad scratch his leg for so long, I do the same thing when I'm not sure what to do with my hands 😂 this is the most wholesome back issues I've ever seen ❤️
I actually give the cured paralysis thing a pass, since Simone based that on actual experimtal tech in our world now being used to cure spine-damage victims.
Her reasoning was something like "if we have this in the real world, a universe with Mr. Terrific and Ted Kord should have something at least as good, and Babs would have access to it."
My main problem is that her character evolved so much while she was paralyzed. To bring her back to being Batgirl regresses her character development. Although I do admit it makes no sense that anyone is sick, has cancer, or even dies while Mr. Terrific or Lex Luthor is around.
I mean, she was still disabled for a while. She's now just someone with an implant to make her healthy. Basically like someone with a pacemaker for their heart, or glasses to see. Something happens to that aid, the disability comes back anyway. Her paralysis is held off by a tool. It's not GONE.
I'd love to see a back issues on Watchmen with his parents
Omg yea
40:40
The most "Ooooooooh shit! *airhorns* "-moment in ComicPOP History!
Sal's eyebrow raise totally sells it!
Sal... Your dad looks super Italian, like stereotype Italian. Is he?
He said it before that yes
Am still waiting for Sal to do Watchman.
That'll be one long episode
Lol you might end up waiting until we're all gone
Might just happen when the TV show comes around.
Aaron Lee It'd need to be at least a two-part episode to even scrape the surface of Watchmen
wouldnt be that bad of an idea though. a 2 parter episode, "will be continued next week". just like in most comics ^^
Love Sal's Dad's gold chain, he looks baller
Kinda sux his style did not pass down to Sal :D
Here’s what I think the Killing Joke means. I think this story suggests that the Joker still has a very very small sliver of sanity left in him. It’s extremely small but it’s there. After Batman’s offer of rehabilitation, that bit of sanity shows itself and thinks about the possibility of regaining complete sanity. However his insanity greatly outweighs his sanity. So he tells a joke that describes his relationship with Batman and he explains why he can never be rehabilitated. After this joke, the 1% of sanity is killed when he accepts the fact that he will never go back to normal and there is no return. At this moment, he becomes 100% insane and uncontrollably erupts into a fit of laughter.
I love how you talk to your parents like you guys are good friends, it really makes these kinds of episodes special
The Killing Joke is the joke at the end, being the joke that he screwed up as the guy trying to provide for his family. It's the joke that kills because his failure to deliver it led to the domino effect of a downward spiral resulting in the creation of the Joker, who kills all the time.
I love the returning mention of Pegasus Enterprises, the comic shop from Sal's childhood, after him bringing it up during The Death Of Superman!
I love when your parents show up, it's a very different but interesting dynamic.
Your mom knows that famous incident where Soupy Sales told the kids in the TV audience to go get a dollar bill from their parents' wallets/purses and mail them in to him...lol, awesome!
Thanks Sal, for bringing your parents back. Their "youthful" perspective on such iconic books is quite refreshing. Need to consider finishing the trilogy with Death In The Family in a couple of months.
Who else Liked the video during the ad? I am so excited for this!
I would love to see you discuss watchmen with your parents.
It's like Sal knows we'll like that "Having their cake and eating it too" line as he looks right at the camera, like oh that did just happen.
The upcoming Absolute edition of The Killing Joke will include both original and current colors, so it will be a great buy for fans of Higgins's work.
Despite the difference in tone with this episode of Back Issues due to
the presence of your parents as opposed to the usual team members,
your confidence & comfort around your parents is incredible. Kudos for
another fantastic show..!!
Barbara! Her legs gone gimpy! _WHO'LL PROVIDE FOR HER LITTLE ONES?_
?
I have always thought that the 'Killing Joke' was that the Joker finally made Batman laugh because comedians often use phrases like killing or slammed them when they have a good job/gig
This is adorable. You have very wonderful and supportive parents.
I just finished watching and I really loved it. This is one of the best episodes of Back Issues so far, and your parents were great.
Thank you!
No, thank you. I love all of the episodes, especially the ones where everyone is goofing around, but seeing you talk about a book that is important to you that you really love is a treat.
This is great because either you talk about a bad book that I’ve never heard of and I get a laugh and knew knowledge of comics facts, or you read a good book that gives me something to buy, or you read something I have read that we can a deeper history/analysis of with the added perspective of those guests who haven’t read it. Always great!
I love the idea for these videos. It's really really cool to see an outsider's perspective on the stories we know and love. I love the channel you guys have worked so hard to make. It's amazing.
The Absolute Edition is amazing: both versions of the coloring (with the original color being on the newsprint type paper it was originally on), stories about it, the original and kinda insane to read script by Moore...
19:10-19:12
The look on your parent's faces was priceless
I love when Sal's parents are on because it's a back issues where he'll just gush about the book!
Hehe- I got that Soupy Sales joke!
Love the Crivellis!
I love the moment when Sal tells his Mom "YOU got me a book." For her to roll her eyes as if to say "Don't blame me!"
Would really enjoy more episodes with them :D
I feel like the title refers to the fact that the lunatics in the joke, don't trust each other when it comes to putting their life in the other's hands. It's not worth taking the risk, to "leave the asylum". To me, it feels like Joker is saying that even if they could help one another- They may be too far gone, and the simple option of killing their counterpart would be too strong for them to truly give or accept help from each other. I'm not sure- There are lots of different things every reader could take from that final moment.
I always felt like the ending was more impressionist, or not as literal as the rest of the story. Almost like the standout reason it should stand alone.
I’m so happy that your folks are back on the show!
I love when he says something and one of his parents look to the camera like "da fuck is this kid talking about."
Ahhh it appears as though we now know where that cake came from...loved that little camera look there Sal! ;-)
Love the little look Sal gives to the camera after his mum does the "having their cake and eating it too" thing.
I saw where you mentioned doing something with the Killing Joke on Twitter. This was such an awesome idea! It reminds me of when I tried to explain the Twin Peaks revival to my parents. 😳😂
From a casual mention in the "The Dark Knight Returns" segment as a possible alternative to actually summarizing The Killing Joke for your charming parents is a wonderful "Part 2" installment of "Back Issues." I can't wait to see another "chapter" featuring either another popular series that you would rank among your favorites or maybe have Tiffany work on the next review.
I think the title of this video alone will make this channel explode
Finally
When a comedian tells a joke and get a lot of laughs it is said to kill. "Oh I killed at the club last Friday" This comedian ruined the punch line of his joke. The ramifications of the mistake turning him into a killer. Also other stuff
I love it when you bring your parents in. It reminds me of trying to explain comics to my family as well 😁
ooooh boy this should be interesting
Love the episodes with your parents! These ones are so fun
OH YES!, every grand infamous story should be to the parents' Sal
Sal's superpower is being both a master impersonator, and simultaneously hilarious
You guys describe thing very well
Every tangent yall do is done so that even people who don’t know comic can get it
Why does Sal’s Dad remind me of Uncle Ben lmao
I've been waiting for this episode since the first time I read the killing joke. Love the episode especially today since today was a bad day thanks for the amazing episode that redeems the day or afternoon.
This is probably on the Mt. Rushmore of Back Issues episodes. Your folks are just delightful, Sal.
Man, what a great episode! Killing Joke is one of my favorite comics of all time, and I'm glad that you guys finally covered it. It was great having Sal' s parents back too. They're awesome, and I like how they bring a new perspective to the show than Ethan and Ben. Not saying I don't love Ethan and Ben, but it's cool having things shaken up a bit once in awhile.
I can't tell if Sal looks more like his mom or his dad.
It's both.
isn't sal italian?
It's like a 50/50 split lol
Now this really do put smile on my face 😉😉
"I can imagine the Joker as an Asexual being"
Tell that to Harley
I've interpreted the joke as this: the two men in the insane asylum are joker and Batman. They escape, and come to the space between the two rooftops. Batman jumps across, and tells the joker "I'll shine a light on a beam so you can cross too." Except there is no beam. Batman is trying to rehabilitate joker, but there isn't actually a way for him to be rehabilitated. But, the joker responds with, "you'll turn off the light when I'm halfway across." Joker is just as insane as Batman, he thinks there's a beam, but he also doesn't trust Batman.
I think it is awesome that you had your parents on the show and you quit your job to follow your passion. Inspiration at its finest!!!! 👍⚡
I think it's "The Killing Joke" because first, at a superficial level, the suggestion of walking on a beam of light to cross the chasm would lead to the death of the second crazy guy. At another level, the Joker is telling Batman through the metaphor of the joke, as you said, that the two of them are crazy. But even more importantly, Joker is illustrating with the joke just how ludicrous Batman's offer is by having one crazy person offer to save the second crazy person with an idea that is pointlessly insane and will only end in disaster; also, the the second crazy calls out the first crazy, as the Joker just did with Batman's offer, but with a response that reveals his own insanity at the same time. Ultimately, it's the "Killing Joke" because the joke both establishes their mutual insanity and the inevitability of their path toward mutual destruction that Batman has made a point of attempting to avoid.
I know, right? I agree with Sal when he says the Joker is too much implied to be kind of an asexual (or just uninterested in something as mundane as sex) to be involved in that way with Barbara after he shoots her. I think the reason for that interpretation might be the cliff-hanger with which the scene ends. That is, with the joker pulling Barbara's clothes off. And also maybe her facial expressions of pain that are shown to Gordon at the Carnival. Pretty suggestive, but nope.
Wow. That's a bit too harsh from an author who later in life said he went too far with Barbara's character. Or maybe that is why... Do you have a link to that?
Original source>fan rumor.
1.4k likes and only 10 dislikes. Who the hell are you 10 people!? What’s wrong with you? This is great content Sal and loved this episode!
You have an amazing channel and amazing parents! New fav episode! Much love to all of you at comic pop.
Sal's mom drops a Soupy Sales reference. I remember watching Soupy!
That was awesome and your parents seem so sweet
thank you so much for this video. sooo great!!
your parents seem to be interested in your hobbys and things that makes you happy which is great :)
Could you do "Justice" by Alex Ross as a Back Issue Episode? would be great :)
Batman is the one who won't jump because he won't make the choice to kill him until the end and that was the joker telling him that he will never change.. a force of nature of you will lol..btw love the videos keep up the great work guys and gals of comic pop
*sees the title in notifications* THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT
So there was this comedian. I heard he slayed. I will see myself out.
I love how visually clearly you can see Sal's dad tuning in and out! Just like talking to me own pa
Explaining a story like this to parents seems like an herculean effort. Wow.
How'd I miss this one? This is great.
A really great episode with adorable parents. Albeit, a very disturbing comic but some great analysis that I never realized.
I never thought the joke at the end was the one the Joker messed up but it does lend some hefty thematic weight.
For your next big milestone episode you should think about doing Watchmen with your parents, not only is it one of the big milestone comics that everyone else is probably already familiar with, but it would give you another chance to do your Alan Morore impression!
i would love you guys to cover futures end
In response to the question: “what is the killing joke?”
In my opinion, the killing joke is any law, any imposed moral standard, any justification for violence/lethal force. The final page tells the whole story. The cop car (representative of authority, law, an assumed moral standard) shines between Batman and Joker’s feet, creating a line that clearly separates the two figures. In the final panels, Batman crosses the beam to put his hands on Joker, sure to keep his feet on his side of the beam of light. Then, the light goes away.
Batman is the lunatic that jumped to freedom and is shining this beam between himself and Joker. Morality, laws, like a beam of light are intangible. You could say they’re imaginary - something we make up in our heads. Yet we’re willing to beat, aggress, potentially even kill people for being on the wrong side of these imaginary lines we make up for ourselves as a collective society of people.
Assaulting someone is absolutely reprehensible in every instance - except when Batman does it? Because he had a bad day once when he was 8 years old? Because he is enforcing the law that tells people not to assault others? Has Batman ever considered the people he beats have had bad days that defined them as well? If Joker refuses to cross to the “right” side of the line, Batman has to cross it in order to force Joker into compliance. Because of some assumed morality that Batman has? How many people has Batman crippled over the years, but if Joker cripples one single person he is the bad guy. All because of an imaginary line we call the law. What a joke! A joke that leads Batman to use violence (lethal force) against the people he claims he wants to help.
It won’t work and can never work. Joker refuses to be controlled or dictated by an imaginary line. Batman will have to kill him first. And kill him Batman will. Because if you have any moral standard to set, at the end of the day, the only way to get everybody to comply with your moral standard is to use violence/threat of violence or murder the people who refuse to comply. And if you have to cross your own moral line for it to exist then you have no moral line - which is why the light disappears in the last panel. That’s the killing joke. It’s any sense of morality that justifies lethal force.
To fully understand The Killing Joke, you have to shed any assumption that Batman is a heroic figure, and even that there is such a thing as a hero. And you have to understand Alan Moore is an anti-authoritarian, anti-violence, anti-establishment anarchist. The way Moore sees it, Batman is no better or worse than The Joker... he’s just more hypocritical.
I think Batman would be the one to jump across. He's crazy enough to think that his madness can cure The Joker, and Joker is too paranoid to take him up on it.
In the joke, the guy that jumped to the building is the joker, "going over the edge". The guy shining the light is batman. Because he says he can rehabilitate him. The other guy saying "you'd turn the light off" is joker saying you can show me the light but ultimately fail.
At least that's my interpretation.
At first Sal, you was looking a little nervous. I was worried. Thankfully I underestimated the natural bond between you and your parents. Good video. Cool experiment.
I didn't see the other ep with your folks. But as soon as this one started I thought to myself "yup, that's the face of a man who names his kid sal"
It was his dad's name
right on. upon rereading that i see it could sound a bit shitty if taken the wrong way. Let me assure you it wasn't meant as such.
Oh.....Oh Sal.....i hope you thought this through
Were you guys planning to do a manga at some point (maybe by Tiffany) or is my brain completely making this up...I would be pretty excited about Fullmetal alchemist since you recently referenced it
Sal, thank you for doing this. explaining comics to your parents is something I deal with on a constant basis especially my mother. Keep up the great work.
The joker at the end reminds me of an addict. "It's too late"
Like an addict knowing drugs or whatever are bad but even in the lucid moments they know they are too far gone for rehab to work and have just accepted the fall into the abyss
I thought that man kills the joker at the end, but if it’s not that then I guess you could say the joke is killing any hope Batman had for the two of them to work things out peacefully
i always saw the name "killing joke" as if his joke worked in his stand up show he won't have gone on the road to be the joker but the fact this one joke, one punchline failed, his life went on a path of chaos and has lead to the many deaths of people and in a way his own death as the man he once was with everything to live for but his own fear got in the way, i saw the name of the story to be a reference to the joker himself
Maybe the killing joke is the joke that joker wanted to tell at his stand up and the joke killed his opportunity and career when he couldn't manage to say it completely its the joke that lead him down the rabbit hole and is the joke that killed his chances of living happily and normally because of his decisions afterward
Damn, this was full circle @ the moment where your mom says “it was my fault” x’) Cool
300 back issues. Would be nice to see Sal’s parents back and have them take a look at Watchmen
I had just rewatched dark knight returns again.
Suggestions for recent books people haven't read:
For marvel: Avengers: The Initiative, War machine by Greg Pak, X-23: target X
For DC: Doomed by Scott Lobdell, Deathstroke New 52 Vol 1: Legacy by Kyle Higgins & Batwoman vol. 1
Indies: The Strange Talents of Luther Strode by Justin Jordan(spider-man if he didn't have uncle Ben) , Genius by Adam freeman & Marc Bernardin(what if the next military mastermind was a black girl from South central?) , Starlight by Mark Millar (think the Flash Gordon version of Unforgiven/Old man Logan)
Hope that helps
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