A Damn Shame

Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker will never be topped. He is what you read in the comics. The good ones. That terrifying villain that can’t be predicted. The perfect balance to The Batman. He’s what you see in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, The Killing Joke, and so many others. He’s the guy I first remember meeting when I got into comics, showing up in the shop, thinking I knew The Batman and The Joker. I had been mostly reading Green Lantern, but on a whim I picked up an issue of the Bat-family sweeping story-arc, No Man’s Land, and I got hooked on the bat. So I gathered up as many issues as I could. And I met The Joker. And I was terrified. Vicious, with a sense of humor only he can fully appreciate. And that’s what I saw last Saturday at 7:15 down at the Seekonk Showcase. I had been sad when I learned of Ledger’s death, sad for his family, and sad for the loss of what I had thought to be a pretty good actor. Then I saw this, and I’m sad on a whole new level. The sadness of a young kid in a comic shop who got there a little too late, and all the copies of the latest issue have already been sold.