Where was Jason Todd during KILLING JOKE, TEN NIGHTS OF THE BEAST?

[Buried Alien]

Some of the biggest BATMAN stories of 1988 in the months before Robin (Jason Todd) was killed were THE KILLING JOKE, TEN NIGHTS OF THE BEAST, and THE CULT...all of which took place in the months prior to Jason's death.

Only THE CULT featured Robin/Jason, however. Where was Jason in THE KILLING JOKE and TEN NIGHTS OF THE BEAST? During the Tim Drake era, it's been common for Robin to operate independently of Batman, but when Jason was Robin, the Dynamic Duo typically operated together. It'd odd that Jason was not around to help Batman take on the Joker in THE KILLING JOKE and the KGBeast in TEN NIGHTS OF THE BEAST.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Chad]

You're mistaken about 10 Nights - Jason does appear and is the one who takes care of the Beast's henchman in the final chapter. I'm going by memory but he's with Batman when he's listening in on Gordon's conversation in the beginning and he does appear towards the end. I know Starlin had been wanting to get rid of him for awhile - in a Comic Scene interview I think he said this had been his plan since the start, so it could be that based on his preferences he used him as little as possible. Now that I think about it, he uses Jason not so dissimilarly in The Cult - he shows up, does something important, and just as quickly is removed (in The Cult he's shot and tells Batman to essentially finish the story without him).

Not sure why Jason's omitted in The Killing Joke. Moore said that the story was simply meant to suggest that Batman and the Joker were two sides of the same coin. He'd didn't need Jason to make this point; so he didn't use Jason. I'm also going on memory but I don't think he uses Alfred either, except for a brief scene in the Bat-Cave during which he says nothing. I think he uses Harvey Bullock more who wasn't even appearing in the titles at the time. Of course, I guess this would due to the fact that Moore actually wrote the story in 1985 I believe.

If you want a real mystery, try figuring out where Jason Todd was during Detective Comic's 1987/88 run. I think he appears in a Millenium crossover and then shows up next as Clayface III after his death.