Oscar for Ledger?

Since this blog chronicles my reading habits, I should mention my love for Batman (platonic, of course - sorry, Joel Schumacher). I spent many a high school party reading all my friends' comics, and Batman was a mainstay. I haven't kept up with the comics, unfortunately, but Christopher Nolan's new Batman franchise is a welcome relief to the previous Batman films. The forthcoming Dark Knight looks pretty amazing, and critics are already promising that it won't fail expectations. In fact, some even suggest that the late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker may be worthy of an Oscar. Coupled with his role in Terry Gilliam's new film, it seems that Ledger's tragic death cut short an artful career that was just beginning to bloom.