The Batman Who Laughs

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Discover the answer in The Batman Who Laughs --a terrifying reimagining of one of comics' greatest heroes--and villains--from the premier Batman writer of our time! Ed Brubaker mimics Frank Miller's Year One by utilizing Bruce and Gordon's POV to tell the story and to engage the readers effectively. Their narrations expose their struggles as they try to keep up with whatever the city throws at them and their guilt whenever they fail to save someone around. And he hasn't come alone. Emerging from another of the Dark Multiverse's myriad realities comes the Grim Knight. This vicious vigilante will use any weapon at his disposal to ensure those he has marked for death stay down.

Discover the answer in The Batman Who Laughs--a terrifying reimagining of one of comics' greatest heroes--and villains--from the premier Batman writer of our time! Joker is displayed in all his maniac and haphazard glory and he truly comes across as the nemesis that Batman deserved , here to bring in chaos and display that he is not just a mad man , but a mad man with a genius brain that even puzzles The world's greatest detective , often times staying 2 steps ahead of the caped crusader . The movie studios tried to drum up interest in Veidt with the slogan: “Women fight for Conrad Veidt!” A war like no other--a war of the Batmen--has begun. As Batman's closest friends, deadliest enemies, and doppelgängers from across the Multiverse get caught in the crossfire, only one question Who will have the last laugh?The “Made of Wood” story-arc was also a riveting and intriguing mystery included in this graphic novel that further explores the Dark Knight’s detective skills alongside his friend James Gordon, while also infusing a tangent narrative with the Green Lantern (Alan Scott), who was once the hero of Gotham City before Batman showed up. It’s nothing too complex or even mind-blowing but made for an excellent tale to be presented alongside the previous two, further showcasing the gruesome mystery-oriented stories that often comes with the Dark Knight. The “Made of Wood” story-arc, written by Ed Brubaker and penciled by Patch Zircher, explores a murder-mystery where Batman teams up with the Green Lantern (Alan Scott) to take down a serial killer that has been active for over half a century.

This wouldn’t have worked so flawlessly if it weren’t for artist Doug Mahnke’s artwork. Without ever purposefully depicting a grim, dark, and sinister Gotham City, he captures the city’s fear and panic strictly through his character designs. Without a doubt, his iteration of the Joker strikes all the perfect chords, depicting him in his purple suit, with his fedora hat on top of his green hair, with his white and wrinkly skin, with his ghastly grin, and his skinny yet combat-savvy figure. The visual style is also reminiscent of an era of comic books bathing in mystery and suspense, scoring points in terms of appeal and direction. There simply couldn’t have been a better origin story for the one villain that will forever torture the Caped Crusader throughout his war on crime. Evil can pervade the purest of hearts, but nothing could ever explain the mind of the Joker. Many have tried to understand his reasoning, his raison d’être, or even his existence. In fact, it might be the absence of these very ideas that makes his character an emblematic personification of evil. For Batman, he turned out to become his ultimate life partner as they developed an immortal bond representing the quintessential necessity of good and evil. How did Bruce Wayne even attempt to solve the mystery behind this madman’s mind though? This latest deluxe edition of the classic graphic novel includes the landmark story of Batman: The Man Who Laughs, the never-before-reprinted Elseworlds tale Batman: Gotham Noir, the mystery “Made of Wood” from the issues #784-786 of the Detective Comics comic book series, as well as a special collection of preliminary art by artist Doug Mahnke. On top of The Man Who Laughs graphic novel, this volume also includes a never-before-reprinted Elseworlds tale called Batman: Gotham Noir. Alongside his own partner-in-crime artist Sean Phillips, this collaboration beautiful captures their style of narrative and visual storytelling, giving us a stellar noir mystery centered around James Gordon as he weaves his way in and out of complicated situations to ultimately unveil his own internal and personal struggle to overcome his haunting past. This is an excellent addition to this deluxe edition as previous volumes never included this story before. The Man Who Laughs actually contains two separate Batman stories. The first is a direct sequel to Batman: Year One. At the end of Year One, Gordon mentions that an unknown character called the Joker has been making threats against the city.I don't even know why I like the Joker anymore. Now that first statement is probably the most heinous blasphemous remark I will ever type (and will never type again) as an avid Bat-fan. But I felt the need to confess it because I've been keeping it bottled up inside since...well, since Heath Ledger's outstanding performance in The Dark Knight film. It was only during and after Death of the Family crossover event that I think I became one of those fans who contracted the "Joker fatigue" wherein I found everything that New 52 advertised and hyped about the return of the Clown Prince to be insufferable and diluted.

The second half of the book is a boring 3-shot story of Batman and the original Green Lantern Alan Scott as they try and solve a 50 year old murder mystery of a killer called "Made of Wood". I'm not a Green Lantern fan so I wasn't so keen on this and it has nothing to do with the Joker so I have no idea why it's twinned with the first story.

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And he hasn’t come alone. Emerging from another of the Dark Multiverse’s myriad realities comes the Grim Knight. This vicious vigilante will use any weapon at his disposal to ensure those he has marked for death stay down. Don’t worry, Batman. There are plenty more billionaires in Gotham City. The Joker can't kill them all. Right? Batman: The Man Who Laughs is a quintessential story exploring the Joker’s first appearance within Gotham City. I absolutely loved this story , feeling this to be an essential read for all Batman fans , the art might put off a few people but i absolutely love this kind of art , and for it's time it does remarkably well in not making any sexual or suggestive female characters come into the story .

Ed Brubaker pens a masterful 3-shot storyline introducing the best villain DC have, the greatest foe Batman ever faced, and one of the best bad guy's in all of literature. The gruesome deaths from Joker toxin are shown very vividly throughout, and Batman has to find a way into a mind that seems to have been completely shattered. I liked that Batman makes a number of mistakes in trying to capture Joker because this is their first encounter and he doesn't know Joker's methods yet. Made of wood is a pure detective story involving decades-old serial murder which has a secret connection to Alan Scott, the Green Lantern.

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Forgoing the surprise/disappointment I mentioned in my Gotham Noir review about this being a 3 issue arc rather than the full 9 or 10 issues I expected given the length of the book, The Man Who Laughs was a solid, if unspectacular effort from Brubaker. Although given the growing number of his non-independent titles I've read lately, solid but unspectacular seems to be where Brubaker is at when it comes to his DC work. I've yet to read any of his Marvel stuff at present. Educational digression: The title of this book, The Man Who Laughs, is also a silent movie, starring Conrad Viedt. The creators of Batman based the Joker’s appearance on Veidt’s character: Discover the answer in The Batman Who Laughs–a terrifying reimagining of one of comics’ greatest heroes–and villains–from the premier Batman writer of our time!