Episode 29 – Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told
The Joker turns 80 this year. I’d love to tell you that this is why I decided to do this episode, but it’s just a coincidence.
This is why I will never call myself a professional podcaster.
That, and this isn’t how I make my living.
Anyway, this time out I am joined by Tom Panarese (from Pop Culture Affidavit and Required Reading With Tom and Stella) joins me once again to talk about a greatest stories ever told book. Tom and I have previously talked about The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Volumes 1 and 2, so we thought we’d complete the hat trick and cover The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told. However, I wanted to throw a curve ball into this by covering Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told Expanded Edition, a printing that was put out in 1990 that reprinted The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told in a lovely, purple, leather bound edition with a few extra stories thrown in.
It’s a gorgeous book.
Over the course of two and a half hours Tom and I talk about the Joker’s first appearance, his evolution from homicidal maniac to jokey clown criminal and then back to homicidal maniac. At one point I drop in an audio version of one of the stories that was released in the sixties. Tom and I have a lot of fun with this collection and then, after we’re done with the comics in the book, we talk about what stories should be included in a modern version of this sort of affair. We also talk about the Joker as a character and zero in on the point he went from preeminent Batman rogue to the absolute arch-enemy to the Dark Knight.
Below are a collections of splash pages and covers from the stories discussed in this episode.
I’d like to thank Tom again for coming out and playing. As always, we had a lot of fun.
Next Time: No idea, but I’m sure it will happen sooner rather than later.