A new twist on one of Batman’s most famous tales, The Killing Joke is an audio drama made by WMSC 90.3 FM. It’s well-crafted, with strong characters, and production quality making it a must-hear experience.

The story mainly focuses on The Joker and how he became a super villain, sometimes interjecting Batman’s investigation into Joker’s crimes. The radio drama switches from past to present and back again, which might make it a little confusing at certain times, but it’s a minor nitpick. The supporting characters, such as Alfred, provides interesting commentary into the Batman mythos, but overall has little impact on the plot. Despite the minor problems, the story is very dark and extremely well constructed.

The voice acting is superb. The voice actor for The Joker engulfs himself in the character, creating a man who’s been driven insane by death, misfortune, and rational, yet poor decisions. Joker absolutely loves being in his inner-asylum.

The production quality is very good, with no technical problems. The background noises for the various settings complete the mood and atmosphere, whether you’re at a deranged carnival to a basement filled with horrors.

But the best aspect of this radio drama is the dialogue. The voice actors steal the show with their believability and the conversations between Batman and the Joker are both interesting and disturbing. It can make one believe that good and evil are really not so different after all, that our own perception on ourselves is the only barrier between heinous acts and good deeds.

This version of the classic Batman vs. Joker story is one that should be experienced by any fan of the dark-winged hero.

5/5 Stars

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Cast

Kevin O’Leary as Batman
Brendan Maly as The Joker
Rob Dickerson as James Gordon
Morgan Vasquez as Jack’s Wife
Jeremy Doyle as Pseudo Joker/ Hood 1
Michael Sangregorio as Det. Bullock/ Hood 2/ Cop
Antoinette Fasino as Barbara Gordon
Mike Bufis as Carnival Freak

Site Updates

New interview posted on Audio Drama Digest. A YouTube-based company/troupe.

Next Review will be another version of The Killing Joke. This time another adaptation of the classic Joker origin story.