And now, DC Comics has delivered an original graphic novel that does for the comic book Joker what Ledger did for the film’s. Writer Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo’s “Joker” — which hits shelves October 29 — paints the “Clown Prince of Crime” as a sadistic, unpredictable and absurdly violent psychopath, or in other words, exactly the way the character should be portrayed. And while the story takes place well-outside the realm of Christopher Nolan’s vision of Gotham City, if you liked “The Dark Knight,” “Joker” is a must-have for your bookshelf.

The story — narrated through the voice of one of the Joker’s recently-hired goons — follows the just-released-from-Arkham Asylum villain as he seeks to reclaim his rightful spot at the top of Gotham criminal hierarchy by any means necessary. In order to get to that spot again, he’ll have to face the rest of Gotham’s top dogs — including Two-Face, The Riddler, Killer Croc and the Penguin.