The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman on April 25, 1940. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for the Joker's design while acknowledging Finger's writing contribution. Although the Joker was planned to be killed off during his initial appearance, he was spared by editorial intervention, allowing the character to endure as the archenemy of the superhero Batman.
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. Developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it originally aired on Fox Kids from September 5, 1992, to September 15, 1995, with a total of 85 episodes. After the series ended its original run, a follow-up titled The New Batman Adventures began airing on Kids' WB in 1997 as a continuation of the series, featuring a revamped animation style to match that of the concurrently running Superman: The Animated Series, which was also set in the same continuity. Lasting 24 episodes, it has often been included in the same syndicated re-run packages and home media releases as the final season.
Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series as a henchwoman for the Joker, and debuted in its 22nd episode, "Joker's Favor", on September 11, 1992. While intended to appear in one episode, Quinn became a recurring character within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as the Joker's sidekick and love interest, and was adapted into DC Comics' canon seven years later, beginning with the one-shot Batman: Harley Quinn #1. Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychologist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum who was manipulated by and fell in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover. The character's alias is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater commedia dell'arte.
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in Batman #1, she is one of the Dark Knight's most notable enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues' gallery. However, the character has also been depicted as an antiheroine and become Batman's best known and most enduring love interest, with many stories depicting their complex love–hate relationship. Since 1993, Catwoman has had her own ongoing series, Catwoman.
Batman: The Killing Joke is a 1988 DC Comics one-shot graphic novel featuring the characters Batman and the Joker written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. The Killing Joke provides an origin story for the supervillain the Joker, loosely adapted from the 1951 story "The Man Behind the Red Hood!", which was written by Batman co-creator Bill Finger. The Joker's origin is presented via flashback, while simultaneously depicting his attempt to drive Jim Gordon insane and Batman's desperate attempt to stop him.
The Batman Adventures is a DC Comics comic book series featuring Batman. It is different from other Batman titles because it is set in the continuity of Batman: The Animated Series, as opposed to the regular DC Universe.
Brian Azzarello is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. Azzarello is best known for his numerous collaborations with artists Eduardo Risso and Lee Bermejo, his contributions to the Watchmen prequel project Before Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns sequel series DK III: The Master Race, as well as for his stints on the long-running Vertigo series Hellblazer and The New 52 relaunch of the Wonder Woman title.
The Creeper is a superhero created by Steve Ditko and Don Segall for DC Comics. He is portrayed as a journalist and talk show host, usually living in Gotham City, who gains the ability to transform into the superhuman the Creeper thanks to experimental science developed by Dr. Yatz. First appearing in Showcase #73, his origin was revised in Secret Origins #18 in 1987, then partially revised again in The Creeper #1–4 in 1997, then completely reimagined in the six-issue miniseries The Creeper, published in 2006–2007.
Bat-Mite is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Bat-Mite is an imp similar to the Superman villain Mister Mxyzptlk. Depicted as a small, childlike man in an ill-fitting copy of Batman's costume, Bat-Mite possesses what appear to be near-infinite magical powers, but he actually uses highly advanced technology from the fifth dimension that cannot be understood by humans' limited three-dimensional views. Unlike Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite idolizes his superhero target and thus he has visited Batman on various occasions, often setting up strange and ridiculous events so that he could see his hero in action. Bat-Mite is more of a nuisance than a supervillain, and often departs of his own accord upon realizing that he has angered his idol.
The New Adventures of Batman is an animated series that aired on CBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, and Batgirl. The series was a Filmation and DC Comics production in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Bruce Walter Timm is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), Batman Beyond (1999–2001), Justice League (2001–2004), and Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006).
Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. He was also a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel. Greenberg was also an expert in terrorism and the Middle East. He was a longtime friend, colleague and business partner of Isaac Asimov.
The Batman Adventures: Mad Love is a one-shot comic book written by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. It won the Eisner Award for Best Single Issue and the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story in 1994. It was later adapted as an episode of the animated series The New Batman Adventures, and incorporated in the video games Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham Origins. In 2018, Titan Books released a novelization of Mad Love written by Dini and Pat Cadigan, which expanded upon the original comic book.
The New Batman Adventures is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, it is a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), serving as the fourth and fifth seasons of the show, respectively, and the third series in the DC Animated Universe. It was followed by Batman Beyond (1999–2001). The series had a revamp, replacing the previous art style of its predecessor seasons with streamlined designs for more consistent animation, and to maintain similarity with the simultaneously running Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), with episodes airing on Kids' WB under the title The New Batman/Superman Adventures.
Leslie Maurin Thompkins is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring Batman, of whom she is an ally. Created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Dick Giordano, she first appeared in Detective Comics #457.
Batman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero Batman as its main protagonist. The character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, first appeared in Detective Comics #27. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication with a cover date of spring 1940. It was first advertised in early April 1940, one month after the first appearance of his new sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder. Batman comics have proven to be popular since the 1940s.
"The Joker's Millions" is a comic book storyline featuring the character Joker, published in Detective Comics #180. In the story, the Joker decides to retire from crime after inheriting a massive fortune, only to find out too late that he has fallen victim to an elaborate scheme to humiliate him.
Anarky was a short-lived American comic book series published by DC Comics, as a limited series between May and August of 1997, and as an ongoing series between May and December of 1999. It was written by Alan Grant, with pencils by Norm Breyfogle, and inks by Josef Rubinstein. The comic was a spin-off title derived from the Batman franchise, and followed the adventures of Anarky, an antagonist of the Batman character.
Mark Schultz is an American writer and illustrator of books and comics. His most widely recognized work is the creator-owned comic book series Xenozoic Tales, which describes a post-apocalyptic world where dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures coexist with humans. In 1993, Xenozoic Tales was adapted into an animated series titled Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and a video game of the same name. Schultz's other notable works include various Aliens comic book mini-series published by Dark Horse and a four-year run on the DC Comics series Superman: The Man of Steel. In 2004, Schultz took over the scripting duties of the Prince Valiant comic strip.
The Joker, a supervillain in DC Comics and archenemy of the superhero Batman, has appeared in various media. WorldCat records over 250 productions featuring the Joker as a subject, including films, television series, books, and video games. Live-action films featuring the character are typically the most successful.
