Batman: Three Joker's Easter Eggs (Part 1)

Right from the beginning, Geoff and I wanted to pay homage to classic Batman stories and also fill the book with easter eggs that long time fans would catch. Lets look at the first few pages of Book 1 and show off some (Not all) of the little things I placed in the artwork for the readers.

WARNING: Spoilers below!

Page 1

There are 2 things here. First, the Brian Bolland Batmobile from Killing Joke makes an appearance. This whole page was a nod to the opening page from Killing Joke, which began with 3 panels, zooming in, and also ended with the same three panel, zooming out. A keen eye will notice we did the same in Book 3. The difference is that we added an epilogue to the end.

We also see Batman drive into the graves of his Mother and Father…which foreshadows the ending of the story. Three Jokers, in the end, is a story about forgiveness, healing and moving on from the trauma of the past.

Page 2

Panel 4 is directly from Killing Joke, where Bolland draws the Batcave. I modernized it a bit, showing that the cave has upgraded.

In panel 5 we see the classic batgirl suit, Robin’s costume and the Batman suit used in the re-color of Killing Joke.

And in panels 6, 7 and 8 we see the villains museum which was from in an old image from the 40’s. Geoff gave me that image and asked me to remake the Batcave to look like this, but modern. In the end, we never had a wide shot of the entire cave to match with this as it was cut from page 2.

Page 4

Here, we wanted to match a bit to the panel in Killing Joke where we reveal the Joker playing cards. Its subtle, but I thought the light coming from above would be a little nod to that shot.

Page 5

Here we have some flashbacks on the scars Batman has gained over his career. First, the classic with Bane breaking his back.

Second is the Riddler burning Batman with his cane. I dont believe this happened in a book. It was just something cool Geoff thought of. Some of these happened, and some of these we made up. Batman has surely had many other adventures that haven’t been recorded, right?

And then Batman and Catwomen from the late 80’s, early 90’s with the grey catwoman suit. Its a look that hasn’t been used much and I thought it would be neat to see it here. Looking back, I wish I went with the Jim Balente 90’s purple look.

Page 6

These three didn’t really exist either, but something similar happened somewhere along the line. I used the 90’s Jim Lee suit for panel 2, the 80’s Neal Adams look for panel 4 and the original 1939 look for both Batman and Joker for panel 6. Panel 6 is one of my favorite panels I’ve drawn.

page 7

Again, three more that aren’t really from any specific book, but things that have happened over Batman’s career. Panel 2 has the giant card and dice factory from the 60’s, and a take on the Tim Sale look for Batman.

Page 8

In panel 4, we see the Monarch Theater which is directly from Batman 89. I always loved the look from the movie and so I used it here. You also see a 1930’s car….hinting at the fact that the history of Batman goes back to that period. Is it just someone’s classic car parked out front, or did all of this really happen in the 1930’s?

Page 9

Here we see the tragic death of the Waynes, yet again. I know that fan’s complain about seeing this in Batman books, and some of the early reviews complained about this as well. But it’s important to the story, as everything hinges on Joe Chill by the end. This scar is Batman’s greatest scar. Its more than the Joker could ever do to him. It haunts Batman in his soul.

The mother and Father are based a little off the classic Animated Series look, but also the look from Batman 89. Joe Chill is right out of the classic books from the 70’s and 80s.

So there’s a little look at some of the Easter Eggs from the first 9 pages. If you like this, let me know and I can do another batch. I really wanted to think about everything I was putting down in the book and make it feel like it has some history behind it.

Until next time,
Jason