Telling The Killing Joke: How Editorial Intent Co-constructs a Comic

Throughout its 30-year history, The Killing Joke has undergone major changes in its different editions: colors and linework differ, as do paper quality, formats, but also the length and the actual structure of the piece. This comic in particular reveals how reception can be guided by editors, sometimes independent from artists’ will. This article explores a few of the comic’s outings and shows how depending on what audience publishers want to attract and what kind of reading they want to emphasize, a comic’s material and esthetic properties may be changed. Fan and expert discourse may alter the horizon of expectation, as well, and, depending on editorial intent, can be incorporated into the piece’s composition or not. In the end, The Killing Joke reminds us to what extent editors can truly be considered co-creators of a comic.