Or, How a 1928 Silent Film Influenced the Creation of the Joker – Jay Serafino (Mental_floss)
Want to dazzle your friends with some DC Comics’ Joker-related trivia? Look no further! This fascinating Facebook article from Mental_floss is a must read for any comic book geek, horror film aficionado, and/or well-read, well-balanced librarian, such as myself! 😉
“The shock of green hair. The sickly pale skin. The frozen, Cheshire grin. Everyone knows the trademarks of Batman’s greatest foe, the Joker. The king of the comic book villain heap may look like a hellish circus attraction, but the origin of the character doesn’t have its roots in some deep-seated fear of clowns shared by creators Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson. No, the story behind that nightmarish crimson rictus actually began with a silent German Expressionist film called The Man Who Laughs.”
Art credit: Aminoapps
