Iconic DC comics, like The Killing Joke, are getting novelizations

Comic fans have long argued that the genre is capable of producing literature, and now, Titan Books is turning several iconic DC comics into novels.

Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman: The Court of Owls, and Harley Quinn: Mad Love will all be getting novelized adaptations this year, and EW can exclusively reveal the covers.

Batman: The Killing Joke was a graphic novel originally written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland in 1988. Purporting to tell the origin story of the Joker, the story has had a massive impact on subsequent interpretations of the villain (Jared Leto, for one, is a big fan). It also had a big effect on Batgirl, a.k.a. Barbara Gordon, who was shot and paralyzed by the Joker during the story. She spent years in a wheelchair, helping protect Gotham City with her computer know-how as Oracle, until that bit of continuity was erased as part of DC’s line-wide “The New 52” reboot in 2011. The Killing Joke was adapted into an animated movie by Bruce Timm in 2016, which makes the new novelization by Christa Faust and Gary Phillips the second adaptation in the last few years.

Speaking of “The New 52,” Batman: The Court of Owls was the first story line in writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo’s Batman run that kicked off with that reboot. It’s the story of Batman learning that Gotham City is controlled by a secret cabal of wealthy elite who like to wear bird masks. The Court of Owls has already been adapted for the small screen on Gotham, and now the original story line is getting a novelization from Greg Cox.

Harley Quinn: Mad Love is an adaptation of the 1994 one-shot comic by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, who originally created the character for their show Batman: The Animated Series. Mad Love even got adapted into one of EW’s favorite episodes from that series. Depicting the complicated dynamics of Harley’s relationship with the Joker, Mad Love will soon be getting a novelization from Hugo Award-winning author Pad Cadigan.

Batman: The Killing Joke is out Sep. 25 in hardcover and ebook format. Batman: The Court of Owls follows on Nov. 13. Harley Quinn: Mad Love will be released on Feb. 12, 2019. Check out the covers below.