If there's one superhero who has continued to inspire continuous generations, it's Batman. Each decade the caped crusaer has evolved with the times from his early pulp detective days to the pop art iconography of the 60s into the darker, shadier 80s. That was when he received a double jolt of new life with two graphic novels which revolutionised comic-book telling and turning it into an international publishing phenomenon. The first was the highly influential Dark Knight, Frank Miller's manga-inspired re-intrepretation, which in turn became the template for Tim Burton's Batman movies.

The second novel was The Killing Joke, which focused on the complex relationship between the hero and his arch nemesis, The Joker. Arguably it's the Clown Prince of Crime who takes centre stage. Now reissued in a deluxe edition thirty years after it first hit the shelves, the novel still remains a masterpiece of storytelling by two of the industry's most successful creators, writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland, two Brits who have given one of the classic interpretations of an American icon. Its impact on the world of comics was like a meteor smashing into the Earth, leaving a trail of wonderous devastation in its wake.

On a simple level, it's a traditional battle of wits between two great enemies. It's a ying-yang relationship, where one can't exist without the other. However, this time the psychology of Joker is explored in greater depth showing him at his most sadistic as well as explaning the personal tragedy behind the man. Having escaped jail, he sets about a particularly nasty revenge : torturing Commissioner Gordon and shooting his daughter, Barbara, paralysing her for life. The actions threaten to unleash a unstoppable rage in Batman himself, pushing him closer to the edge of sanity. To counterpoint it though, the tragic loss of his wife and desperation leading him to petty crime and the accident which scarred him for life, both physically and mentally. Batman becomes almost a supporting character in his own book as his own motives come up for questioning. That is the devilish skill of Moore, who built his reputation on reinvigorating superheroes before making his ultimate study on the genre with The Watchmen.

Bolland's art is crisp and dynamic. The storytelling is composed through well organised panels which are drawn with crystal clarity. However, this being the Deluxe Edition means that for the first time, the colours have been presented in more subdued tones, evoking heightened dramas that blend in more subtlely with the shadier anbiguities of the story. An additiional backup tale offers readers a chance to see Bolland in creactive action as he becomes the subject of his own comic strip.

The Killing Joke is undeniably a modern classic which helped revolutionize graphic novels into literary respectability. Indeed, from Moore's pen alone has come the best-selling V For Vendetta, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, both unsatisfactorily turned into movies. But even now he's pushing the boundaries of traditional subjects with his controversial Lost Girls. As for Boland, his cimematic craftsmanship has found his work either gracing the interiors or the covers of a legion of stories from Superman to Animal Man, The Invisibles and Judge Dredd. The Killng Joke a powerfully wrought tale that continues to inspire and has allegedly even been a majorinfluence on Christopher Nolan's latest batmove, The Dark Knight, having served as a reference point for Heath Ledger's interpretation of the Joker. Chilling, unforgettable entertainment.