iFanboy Video Podcast
Show Notes
Is there a better villain than The Joker? We don’t think so, and neither does his creator, legendary comic book artist Jerry Robinson.
Before we meet the man himself, Josh Flanagan goes over some of his favorite Joker stories, including some classic Neal Adams/Denny O’Neil, as well as a newer cut from Gotham Central.
Then it’s off to DC Comics to speak with Vincent Zurzolo, of ComicConnect.com, who is auctioning off two original covers from Jerry Robinson’s collection, Superman #14 and Detective Comics #69.
The main event of the episode is Jerry Robinson himself. Jerry talks about how he rescued these two covers from the destruction, which is what happened to most of the original art of the Golden Age. He saw something special in Fred Ray’s Superman #14, and knew it would be appreciated some day, and he knew that his own Joker cover from Detective Comics #69 would be something to hold on to. Not only that, but Robinson recounts his stories from the set of The Dark Knight, where he watched his famous character come to life.
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as Conor is the resident expert on Batman-related affairs, I’m not sure how seriously I can take Josh’s recommendations on Joker stories. even with the hat.
kidding, of course. Soft Targets is really good. for me, what made that depiction of the Joker so real was not just the way Lark drew his figure, but how the cops beat him. the realistic, non-costumed cops striking him made him really seem like just a whacko in a bad suit and makeup. I also really like the depiction of Joker in Mad Love, although that one I’m sure in no secret amongst the iFanbase.
ahhhh so wanna watch this but if i do i’ll probably fail my microbiology exam tomorrow. such a hard decisicion.
oh super cool. I saw this story earlier in the week, but a video show on this is super exciting. Can’t wait to check it out!
@Ifanboy—thank you guys once again for a great interview with another legend. I’ve been reading comics for over twenty years and sometimes I forget the rich history along with the personal stories these creators have experienced. With that being said, I didn’t know that Jerry Robinson created the Joker. Thanks for the history lesson fellas! Once again, great interview!
Another great interview guys! Jerry Robinson seems like such a nice man (especially for having created comicdom’s greatest bad guy).
And now I want to re-read Gotham Central.
Cooool.
Josh, I’m surprised that your copy of DEATH IN THE FAMILY looks like it’s held up rather well. My copy’s cover is all wrinkled and folded. A corner of the back side has been torn away. The pages are still in the book, which I’m a little surprised by. Anyway, nice job on keeping yours in pretty pristine shape.
To be fair, I didn’t pull it out that often.
(I know, I know)
it’s kind of obvious, but the laughing fish joker story is really good, and one of my favs, because you get to see how seriously (yet charmingly) loopy he is, and that he doesn’t necessarily need a reason to be bad, he just enjoys crime for crime’s sake. "The man who laughs" brubaker update of that story was real good too.
Anyway, another great show guys, thanks a lot.
great show guys. What a cool guy. Such a large problem with commercial art before the 70s was it was considered a disposeable intermediate step in the process. So much history and art was lost. Its nice to see someone bucks the trend and protects things like this for the future.
Super cool that Conor got to go to DC HQ. I hope they gave you a tour around the place, and maybe even a visit to the top secret archives….that whole place is great!
Wow, wonderful show guys! I love these historic shows and your interviews with the genuine legends of comics are never less than impressive.
great show. gotta hear about the past and a little bit on the creation of joker. its great. nice hat, josh.
I can’t believe that it was standard practice to destroy the art after it hit the printers. I mean I understand it somewhere deep down as it was business practice at the time, but Jerry Robinson is correct it is just a shame that any got destroyed.
I think this may be my favorite video show you guys have done. And I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I don’t think it’s because of your efforts no matter how much I appreciate your guys work.
I need to get a copy of Death in the Family.
Had an open house this morning, so I spent an hour @ the book store to be out of the way. Long story short: I browsed the OGN /TP comics section and found Jerry Robinson: Ambassador of Comics (@ $35 retail/$23 Amazon. Thanks, iFanboy!). Let me just say this: as a comics fan, it’s the book you want on your shelf, not on a Kendle. You want Santa to put this book under the tree and spend the rest of next year tracking Robinson down to thank him and autograph. I know I’m gonna. Also, I’m seriously considering cutting page 82 (Detective #69) out of my copy of The Golden Age of Batman: the greatest covers of Detective comics from the ’30s to the ’50s (1994-ISBN 0-89660-046-7) and having Jerry sign that too. And then frame it.
… And Josh, don’t fret. My copy of Death in the Family was safe & sound on the bookshelf and looks just like yours.
P.S. re: Superman #14. What’s not to love?
Just got around to this. iFanboy always brings the goods.
Also, Josh, great t-shirt.
He is a great guy, and I find how different he is from Stan Lee in terms of energy kind of funny, them being about the same age and all. But its cool to see how their love for comics ahsn’t diminished over all these years.
Finally got ’round to watching this episode, it was fantastic. Such a great interview.
What a treat! Thank you guys, great to hear Jerry Robinson talk about The Joker.
one of my favorite vids. vid # 30 of sick day marathon