My first image is what is highly regarded as a classic comic book cover, Brian Bolland’s 1988 ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’. This iconic image “has become perhaps the defining drawing of the villain”1 (Every, M. 2017) and the art within this comic is one of the main reasons why I always recommend it. The image is getting up close and personal with the viewer, as if the joke is on you. I feel like this cover suggests that the Joker is almost inviting the viewer into his world of chaos and madness, especially from his expression but most of all with his eyes. Yet the text box says “Smile!” which gives a strange and almost ironic light-hearted presence to the image. In this way the cover connects with the viewer, drawing them in as a part of the story rather than being an audience.
The image I am comparing Bolland’s cover to is Dorothea Lange’s 1936 portrait of the ‘Migrant Mother’ which “became the iconic photo of the Depression”2 (Phelan, B. 2017). I am drawn in by the look on the woman’s face and further by her eyes, and can see her pain and suffering reflected within them. The expression on her face is so important, communicating her fears and worries and whilst not directly addressing the viewer, immediately invites them to understand what she is going through. The portrait gives us a glimpse of this era in American history, humanises the struggles that many went through and showcased the reality of the Depression.
