Batman: The Man Who Laughs
This is a one-shot retelling of the Batman's first encounter with the Joker. This is far from perfect, as is the trade edition. However it is still one hell of a read and a great Joker tale.
It begins where 'Batman & The Mad Monk' ended, with a room of corpses. While the story following may seem to lack confidence or simply doesn't do the Joker's craziness justice, it may be purposeful in that this Joker having a plan is the reason he fails.
The story is the classic but overdone tale of Joker poisoning the Gotham City reservoir. The downside is that the artwork is mediocre and the writer Ed Brubaker seems to have cemented the Joker's supposed origin from 'The Killing Joke,' ignoring Alan Moore's idea that Joker simply remembers it how he wants to as multiple choice.
RATING:
Batman Story - 8/10
Art - 7.5/10
Continuity - 9/10
Badassness - 8/10
OVERALL - 8/10
The current trade sadly comes with a story called 'Made Of Wood,' which is a boring story of no interest to anyone and of no real relation to the Joker. Why couldn't D.C. have released this with the first appearance of the Joker in Batman #1 or the 'Joker Fish' story or something relative?!!!
Continuity Notes (minor spoilers):
It begins where 'Batman & The Mad Monk' ended, with a room of corpses. While the story following may seem to lack confidence or simply doesn't do the Joker's craziness justice, it may be purposeful in that this Joker having a plan is the reason he fails.
The story is the classic but overdone tale of Joker poisoning the Gotham City reservoir. The downside is that the artwork is mediocre and the writer Ed Brubaker seems to have cemented the Joker's supposed origin from 'The Killing Joke,' ignoring Alan Moore's idea that Joker simply remembers it how he wants to as multiple choice.
RATING:
Batman Story - 8/10
Art - 7.5/10
Continuity - 9/10
Badassness - 8/10
OVERALL - 8/10
The current trade sadly comes with a story called 'Made Of Wood,' which is a boring story of no interest to anyone and of no real relation to the Joker. Why couldn't D.C. have released this with the first appearance of the Joker in Batman #1 or the 'Joker Fish' story or something relative?!!!
Continuity Notes (minor spoilers):
- This Joker uses the origin from 'Killing Joke' in which he fell into a vat of chemicals while trying to escape the Batman.
- James Gordon has gained more trust with Batman and has the Bat-Siganl built above GPD Headquarters.