Description

The Joker $100 Original Variation 10 by Rob Bishop

This original variation piece is etched on maple wood and shows The Joker on a US Dollar and measures at 51″ x 25″.

Rob Bishop is a Hertfordshire/Essex based mixed media artist who studied graphic design at college and model making at University. Rob Bishop just loves wood. For several years he has worked as a cabinet maker and by combining all his skills he has developed a unique style of artwork that has caught public attention. Rob uses a mixed media approach to his work which combines digital art, wood work and painting. He will digitally manipulate an image, etches it onto a 12mm maple veneered board then hand paints the piece by using many layers of wood stains, spray paints and lacquer. When satisfied with the image a final layer of lacquer is applied followed by a hand polished finish to produce originals or a series of original variations and finishes with a hand made frame. He produces either a large one-off original or a series of 10 or 45 whereby each image is hand finished and coloured to ensure uniqueness in every piece. Both the artwork and frame are finished with a thumbprint signature. No two pieces can ever be the same each therefore are truly original.

The Joker is a supervillain and the archenemy of Batman. He was first introduced in Batman #1 (Spring 1940) and has remained consistently popular. The Joker is a master criminal with a clown-like appearance, and is considered one of the most infamous criminals within Gotham City. Initially portrayed as a violent sociopath who murders people for his own amusement, the Joker later in the 1940s began to be written as a goofy trickster-thief. That characterization continued through the late-1950s and 1960s before the character became again depicted as a vicious, calculating, psychopathic killer. The Joker has been responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman’s life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle) and the murders of Jason Todd (the second Robin) and Jim Gordon’s second wife Sarah Essen.

He was also ranked 8th on the Greatest Comic Book Character of All Time list, which was released by Empire (notably being the highest ranked villain character on the list), as well as being the fifth Greatest Comic Book Character Ever in Wizard Magazine’s 200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of all Time list, once again being the highest ranked villain on the list.