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‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ Blue-ray Release Date Announced — Exciting Extras Revealed

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 22:49 PST, May 4, 2016

Batman: The Killing Joke is one of the most critically acclaimed graphic novels the medium has ever produced, and now that a film adaptation of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s masterpiece is set for release in the theaters soon, Batman fans have every reason to celebrate.

The trailer for the R-rated version of Batman: The Killing Joke went its rounds on the internet last week, receiving much fanfare. Better yet, the deluxe edition and combo pack Blu-ray of Batman: The Killing Joke is set for release on August 2, with the digital HD version to be made available at digital stores on July 23, as reported by EW.

The deluxe edition and combo pack versions will feature lots of extras, including two 22-minute episodes from The New Batman Adventures and Batman: The Animated Series as well as two featurettes: Madness Set to Music, a documentary about the film’s storyboards and original score, and Many Shades of the Joker: The Tale of the Killing Joke, a short film that chronicles the creative process behind the graphic novel. The combo pack Blu-ray edition will also come with a limited edition of the Joker figurine.

The Blu-ray version will have a 15-minute prologue that serves as a good introduction to the story, which will give the fans of the graphic novel something new to look forward to.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Vice President Mary Ellen Thomas released an official statement about the release of Batman: The Killing Joke.

“Batman: The Killing Joke presents, for the first time, one of the most compelling stories in the annals of Batman’s adventures: the evolution of the Joker from normalcy to criminal insanity, in all its graphic presentation as an R-rated animated film. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is proud to release Batman: The Killing Joke as an authentic representation of its revered story for both longtime fans and new fans alike.”

Here’s the official synopsis for Batman: The Killing Joke.

“As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness.”

Batman: The Killing Joke has an abundance of talent behind it. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, who voiced Batman and the Joker respectively in the 90’s Batman The Animated Series are reprising the iconic roles in the film. Tara Strong (Teen Titans) stars as Barbara Gordon while Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, RoboCop) plays Commisioner James Gordon. The film adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke is directed by Sam Liu (Batman: Year One, Justice League vs Teen Titans) with scripts written by Eisner-award winning comic book writer Brian Azzarello.

Batman: The Killing Joke, the first ever R-rated Batman film, is scheduled to premiere at San Diego Comic-Con.

Batman: The Killing Joke the graphic novel had its fair share of criticisms despite being lauded by critics as one of the greatest Batman stories of all time, most particularly in the way it treated Barbara Gordon. In the story, Barbara was gunned down by the Joker, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. This caused some critics to brand the graphic novel misogynistic, something that provides a classic example of the “women in refrigerators” trope.

Alan Moore, the writer, somewhat agreed to the criticism when he was interviewed by Wizard Magazine in 2006.

“I asked DC if they had any problem with me crippling Barbara Gordon — who was Batgirl at the time — and if I remember, I spoke to Len Wein, who was our editor on the project… [He] said, ‘Yeah, okay, cripple the b—-.'” Moore said. “It was probably one of the areas where they should’ve reined me in, but they didn’t.”

Below is the full trailer of Batman: The Killing Joke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grmyt1w1W_Y

[Image via JoBlo Movie Trailers/YouTube]

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