"IGN Comics: Naturally the first thing many fans will notice is the similarity between your Joker and Heath Ledger's in the Dark Knight. Was that simply happy coincidence, or did the film begin to affect what you and Brian Azzarello were doing?
Bermejo: Definitely a coincidence. I certainly don't want to take anything away from Nolan or Ledger, they did something spectacular and iconic with the character, but the reality of this particular situation is simple: Brian and I were already well into this graphic novel when they released the first photo of Ledger. In fact, I was drawing the sequence where Joker walks into the Italian restaurant. I admit, I freaked out when I saw the photo. I immediately called Brian, and I remember he was like, "It doesn't really look anything like your Joker." I still feel like all they really have in common is the carved smile.
Honestly, the only thing i can tell you I know for sure is that my version of the Joker, the way you see him in this book, was established long before Ledger was even cast. Just to be clear, this is not to say that Nolan and Co. were informed by my drawing. I've said this before and I really find it to be true, that certain ideas float around at the same time for a reason. Pop culture, social tendencies, fashion, you name it. If you want to do a realistic interpretation of the Joker, there are only a few ways to do it."
That doesn't seem very impolite to me.
