I've been meaning to post this for a very long time. I'm talking months. I just kept forgetting.

My art teacher isn't really into manga, but he loooooooooves western comic books. But he knows I like manga, and he's cool with that. So, one day, I brought in a few volumes of Death Note to draw some of the characters. While I was looking through one volume, he took a peek at another. Then, he exclaimed, "This guy looks like the Joker!"

Honestly, I would never have connected Ryuk the shinigami with the Batman villain, but now that I think about it, there is some resemblance. My art teacher is convinced that the Joker served as some inspiration for Ryuk's face and hairstyle. Maybe it was because he saw the manga for the first time in black and white and I'm used to seeing the characters in color (I watched the anime first). Anybody else have thoughts on this?