All the headchatter went quiet and you could imagine you had all the things you saw on TV, like love and a ranch in the forest with a horse and a brand new Jeep and a child and a wife who loved you and would stroke your cheek when you got home so tenderly that you knew she lived only for you and when you walked through the forest or the city a path opened up and you always knew which direction to take and nothing ever jumped out and stopped you or cut you off from life because you were right in there with it, you were part of it all and you didn't miss out on a thing. And when you looked at the TV it was a mirror.
kills me that more people don't know about the cipher by kathe koja and its absolutely beautiful depiction of grimmy lowlife squalor and the nightmare of aimlessness. and also what if there was an impossible hole in the ground and it wanted you, you, you and not the horrible gremlin girl you want, but she wants the hole, and you want her, and nobody can get what they want. nicholas thecipher has what johnny truant wants. which is pathetic male poet swag
There’s definitely a case to be made that Pessoa may well be an essential author for aegosexuals, philosophically speaking - he tends to write in the voices of fictional others and frequently discusses sensation, not lived nor real, but described / experienced via writing or in art, which interestingly parallels the aegosexual experience as a subset of asexuality where there is a disconnect between the subject of arousal and one’s own self.
Introduction by Richard Zenith, from The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa (Penguin Modern Classics)
““When I was about 20 years old, I met an old pastor’s wife who told me that when she was young and had her first child, she didn’t believe in striking children, although spanking kids with a switch pulled from a tree was standard punishment at the time. But one day, when her son was four or five, he did something that she felt warranted a spanking–the first in his life. She told him that he would have to go outside himself and find a switch for her to hit him with. The boy was gone a long time. And when he came back in, he was crying. He said to her, “Mama, I couldn’t find a switch, but here’s a rock that you can throw at me.” All of a sudden the mother understood how the situation felt from the child’s point of view: that if my mother wants to hurt me, then it makes no difference what she does it with; she might as well do it with a stone. And the mother took the boy into her lap and they both cried. Then she laid the rock on a shelf in the kitchen to remind herself forever: never violence. And that is something I think everyone should keep in mind. Because if violence begins in the nursery one can raise children into violence.””
— Astrid Lindgren, author of Pippi Longstocking, 1978 Peace Prize Acceptance Speech (via jillymomcraftypants)
In 1978, when she received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, Lindgren spoke against corporal punishment of children in a speech entitled Never Violence! After that, she teamed up with scientists, journalists and politicians to promote non-violent upbringing. In 1979, a law was introduced in Sweden prohibiting violence against children in response to her demands. Until then there was no such law anywhere in the world.
When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut
The night gardener once asked me if I knew how citrus trees died: when they reach old age, if they are not cut down and they manage to survive drought, disease and innumerable attacks of pests, fungi and plagues, they succumb from overabundance. When they come to the end of their life cycle, they put out a final, massive crop of lemons. In their last spring their flowers bud and blossom in enormous bunches and fill the air with a smell so sweet that it stings your nostrils from two blocks away; then their fruits ripen all at once, whole limbs break off due to their excessive weight, and after a few weeks the ground is covered with rotting lemons. It is a strange sight, he said, to see such exuberance before death.
Codependency. Co. Dependency. It's one of those big, confusing words floating around that you don't even pay attention to. Until it happens to you. And at first it sounds great, you know? You love someone and you need someone so much that you can't properly function without them? Uh, yes, please!
Disclaimer: This list will be subject to changes (comic addition and comic removal), as well as possible changes to its labeling system as this list is continually adjusted. If you see that a certain comic is missing please message me and make sure to include the comic's official title, number, and series of origin. The timeline organization of both single issue and collected editions is based on biased research.
Single issues with several following numbers are to be read as a collected edition.
This list will also include a link to where the comics below can be read for free.
Batman Comic's 1940 to 2011
These single-issue comics follow the familiar formula of, 'hero catch's villain'. In my opinion, they really showcase Joker's goofiness and criminal intelligence.
Batman #1, Batman #4, Batman #5, Batman #7, Batman #11
Batman #16, Batman #23, Batman #37, Batman #40
Batman #44, Batman #55, Batman #73, Batman #148
Batman #163, Batman #251, Batman #286, Batman #291
Batman #294, Batman #321, Batman #450, Batman #451
Batman #496, Batman #546, Batman #563, Batman #570
Batman #596, Batman #614, Batman #625, Batman #643
Batman #650, 649, 648 (Jokers more, 'there in the background')
Batman #655, Batman #663
BATMAN R.I.P: #676, 678, 679, 680, 681, 682
Batman Detective Comics 1937 - 2011
Batman DC #124, Batman DC #128, Batman DC #149, Batman DC #168
Batman DC #180, Batman DC #193, Batman DC #332, Batman DC #341
Batman DC #338, Batman DC #365, Batman DC #475, Batman DC #476,
Batman DC #532 Batman DC #569, Batman DC #570, Batman DC #617,
Batman DC #623 Batman DC #661, Batman DC #737, Batman DC #740,
Batman DC #741, Batman DC #781 Batman DC #826,
Batman DC #870, 869, 867, 866
Batman DC #875, Batman DC #879, Batman DC #880,
Link to comic Here
Gotham Central
Issues #12-15
Link to comic Here
Batman Confidential
Issues #7-12
Link to comic Here
Batman: The Man Who Laughs
Batman The man who laughs explores the idea of what would Batman and Joker's relationship look like if it had continued from Batman #1.
Link to comic Here pgs 1-70
Joker #1-15 2021 AND The Joker: Clown Prince of Crime (1975-76) series
The Joker: Clown Prince of Crime Series is a spin-off series with other villains such as Lex Luther, The Riddler, The Creeper, and more.
Joker 2021 #1-15 is a different series following the events of Infinite Frontier #1 involving Jim Gordon getting contracted to kill the Joker. To best understand this series I would suggest reading Batman: The Killing Joke, Joker War, and Black Mirror first.
This link will give you access to both collected editions.
Batman: The Killing Joke
Originally released in 1988, Batman: The Killing Joke was adapted from the 1951 short story The Man Under The Red Hood. This comic was also adapted into an animated movie in 2016.
Link to comic Here
Batman: A Death In The Family
A Death in the Family begins when Batman relieves Jason Todd of his crime-fighting duties. Jason begins a search for his biological mother but ends up being tortured by The Joker. This leads to his presumed death.
Link to comic Here
The Three Jokers
The Three Jokers is a 'spiritual' successor to Batman: The killing Joke and Batman: A Death In The Family. Batman, Batgirl, and Red Hood (now Jason Todd) explore a lead on The Joker, who, as the title suggests may have been 3 different men this whole time.
Link to comic Here
Batman Europa
Batman is about to be taken out by a virus that has no cure and his only salvation is The Joker.
Link to comic Here
Singular Stories
Batman: Cacophony
The major plotline is that someone has taken the Joker's poison and created a new club drug called Chuckles. It's taking over the street scene.
Link to comic Here
Jokers Last Laugh
Joker finds out he has cancer and starts a riot
Link to comic Here
Batman: Joker Switch
Joker gets a joke played on HIM! TW: Body horror
Link to comic Here
Batman: Dark Detective
Joker attempts to run for president
Link to comic Here
Batman: Joker Times
Joker agrees to be psychoanalyzed on live TV
Link to comic Here
Batman: I, Joker
Link to comic Here
BATMAN NEW 52 2011 - 2015
Batman New 52 carries multiple Joker storylines. Below I have sectioned them out for your consumption:
Death Of The Family: Batman New 52: #13 - #17
Batman Zero Year starts #21 and we see Joker's first appearance in Zero Year in issue #23.1 and then again in #24. Batman Zero Year then ends and
Batman Endgame begins at #34 - 40.
From #41 - #52 onward we begin Batman: Superheavy and start to tell the story of Mister Bloom. This storyline also leads to the amnesia of Bruce Wayne and the retired Joker storyline.
Link to full comic Here
Batman Detective comics faces of death VOL 1
Batman Faces of Death: #1 pgs 1-30 (Joker gets his face cut off by Dollmaker)
Link to comic Here
Batman: Death Of The Family (Extra)
This version of Death Of The Family also contains Detective Comics 16-17, Catwoman 13-14, Batgirl 14-16, Red Hood and the Outlaws 15-16, Teen Titans 15, Nightwing 15-16, Batman and Robin 15-17, Batman 17.
Link to comic Here
Batman: Zero Year ARC 2
Arc 2 of Batman's Zero Year is titled Secret city. We delve into Bruce Wayne’s past with the Red Hood Gang and his run-ins with aspiring District Attorney Harvey Dent!
Link to comic Here
Arkham Unhinged
I have never read this and do not know what it is about but it seems to have a similar format to Legends of The Dark Knight.
Joker is in issues: #7-9, #26-31, #35-37
Link to comic Here
Legend of the dark knight (1989-2021)
These are stories that can be told anywhere in the timeline, past, present, and future.
The 2021 run: Joker is in issues 2 and 3
Link to comic Here
The 2015 run: Joker is in issues, #4-6, #7-10,
Link to comic Here
The 1989 run: Joker is in issues, #50, #65-68, #105-106, #142-145, #162-163, ##200
Link to comic Here
BATMAN: REBIRTH 2016
Batman Rebirth carries out multiple Joker storylines. Below I have sectioned them out for your consumption:
Batman Rebirth: #25
Batman Rebirth #26-32 The War of Jokes and Riddles'
Batman Rebirth #48-50 The Best Man
Batman Rebirth #66
Batman Rebirth #86-91 Their Dark Designs (this leads into the Joker war)
Batman Rebirth #93 - #101, The Joker War
Link to comic Here
Journey to the joker war is just a fun little prelude to the joker war #1023 and 1024
The Joker War (Extra scenes)
As part of the Batman: Rebirth series Joker manages to steal Bruce Wayne’s fortune. With his newfound riches, he proceeds to take over Gotham city leading to an epic, explosive, battle.
Link to comic Here
Joker war collateral damage, the aftermath of the joker war.
Doomsday Clock
Doomsday Clock is a story about what happens when Doctor Manhattan, in all his logic and power, becomes aware of the inherently illogical, nonlinear main DC continuity
Joker shows up in issues; 4-7
Link to comic Here
2019 Onward...
Batman: Last Knight On Earth
This is not part of any series and is under a black label meaning its not part of the DC continuum
Link to comic Here
Joker Killer Smile
Joker gets psychoanalyzed.
Link to comic Here
The Joker Presents: A puzzle box
The G.C.P.D have a mysterious corpse, a magical box, and a murderer's row of the city's most dangerous villains sitting in a jail cell. Now all they need to figure out is what exactly happened.
Link to comic Here
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing
The world once again holds its breath as The Joker strikes again! But how far is he willing to go this time?
“The action genre has been abused by the system. You know, a quick buck. Mindless shit. I wanted to give it soul. Real trauma. Real pain. You guys deserve that. I wanted to infuse it with a little bit of culture.”
“I really wanted to touch on the caste system in India. You have the poor at the bottom, slaving away in the kitchens. Then you go up to the land of the kings. Above them is God — a manmade God that’s polluting and corrupting religion.”
