Batman is over 70 years old. And so is his nemesis, The Joker. Great villains bring out the best in heroes. This expanded editoin of Stacked Deck: the Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told includes some updated additions not included in the original volume. The stories are in full color. The bulk of the stories are pre-1965 (which I like) and range from 1940 to 1987. For comic book readers of a certain age, those longer stories are much more satisfying than the later short stories. The artwork got better, too. If you’re a Batman fan, this book needs to be in your collection. If you’re a casual fan of comics, there’s plenty here to like and enjoy.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. The Best of the Bad
2. The Joker’s Dozen
3. [Batman Versus the Joker]
Batman
4. The Case of the Joker’s Crime Circus
Batman
5. [The Joker and the Sparrow]
Batman
6. The Man Behind the Red Hood
Batman
7. The Joker’s Crime Costume
Batman
8. The Joker’s Utility Belt!
Batman
9. The Crimes of Batman!
Batman
10. The Crazy Crime Clown!
Batman
11. Superman’s and Batman’s Greatest Foes
Batman; Superman
12. Crime-of-the-Month Club!
Batman
13. The Great Clayface – Joker Feud
Batman
14. The Joker Jury!
Batman
15. The Joker’s Happy Victims
Batman
16. The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!
Batman
17. Death Has the Last Laugh
Batman; Joker
18. The Last Ha Ha
Joker
19. The Laughing Fish!
Batman
20. Sign of the Joker!
Batman
21. Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker…!
Batman
22. Last Laugh
Batman
23. Catch as Catscan
Batman
24. The Last Laugh!
Batman
25. Still Crazy After All These Years
26. Stacking the Deck: The Other Joker Stories
27. Creating the Greatest: The Men Behind the Mask
George, I’m a comic-book and a Batman fan, so I’m definitely going to look up this collection. Thanks for writing about it.
Prashant, STACKED DECK comes in two versions. I highly recommend the EXPANDED EDITION.
My copy – the words “Stacked Deck” do not appear in the title – of THE GREATEST JOKER STORIES EVER TOLD (1988 DC Comics trade paper) has, I think, a better cover but has just 20 stories. When, on page 9 of Dreadful Birthday Dear Joker Robin says “You’re out of your mind, Joker!” and Joker replies “Gloriously so!” it pretty much says it all.
Which means, possibly, there were more than the two versions. Mine is marked on the spine as Greatest DC Stories Volume 3.
Rick, I think you have the earlier edition. STACKED DECK adds a few more stories and more supporting material.
Looks like the same one I picked up on close out some years ago. I agree, it is a good collection. I also picked up the Frank Miller Batman collection at the same time.
Stan
Stan, you really scored!