By: Ed Brubaker Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: January 30, 2008 Release Date: January 30, 2008
Product Description: Witness Batman's historic first encounters with his deadliest foe, The Joker, in this hardcover volume featuring two tales written by Ed Brubaker (GOTHAM CENTRAL, Captain America), winner of 2007 Eisner Award for Best Writer.
A mysterious homicidal maniac is murdering prominent citizens of Gotham City, each time leaving a ghastly grin on the victims' lifeless faces. Batman soon tracks down the killer: The Joker!
This volume gives readers new insight into the early encounters between Batman and The Joker that led the Clown Prince of Crime down the path to insanity. Guest-starring original Green Lantern Alan Scott.
An interesting read even if it lacks much depth or reflection This book is often said to be a perfect 'companion' to The Killing Joke, and while I agree it is story/content-wise, it isn't in the sense of style, depth or writing. This story (both of the ones included here, actually) aren't very thought-provoking and don't have the philosophical reflection that was in the Killing Joke. The Joker, while being ruthless, is very shallow and uninteresting character in this book. There is no apparent motive to his killing and the story doesn't spend any time (at all) in focusing on what is going on inside his head (the book is written from the perspective of Commissioner Gordon & Batman, through alternating narrative -- would've been awesome if Brubaker threw in the Joker's narrative/thoughts). The plot pretty much rolls like this: Crazy bad guy kills people, has something bigger planned; Good guy investigates, and an uneventful, twist-less wrap up proceeds. The writing is good, but the plot isn't. In fact, this book is made better by the Killing Joke in the sense that the reader is forced to apply the Joker's character from the latter story to this one, since this one lacks any development of its own -- in effect making the reader's image of the character more exciting and interesting; if you did not read the Killing Joke you will get even less out of this story (other than what I said before: a bare bones, no frills catch not too bright murderer plot).
The second story included in this book is pretty lame. Although it is longer and slightly more interesting plot than the former story, it has some very questionable decisions which in effect just stretch it and are overall unnecessary. I am of course referring to dragging the Green Lantern (Alan) into the story, a move I see no purpose in other than just to market this as a "GREEN LANTERN & BATMAN TEAM UP!". An otherwise potentially interesting detective plot has another super hero thrown in which culminates in neither of the heroes getting enough 'screen-time' or development (not to mention that Green Lantern & Batman have completely different feels and flows to them which don't mesh well together -- like mixing a Beast story with The Punisher). Brubaker's talent however does not go unnoticed as he is still capable of pulling a decent read out of the mess. My other gripe with this story is its inclusion to begin with, it has nothing to do with the former story (other than batman, of course). ANY other half-decent Joker story would have been ideal -- the book IS called 'Man who laughs' after all.
Overall, this is an odd combination of two stories, the title story being a fun and interesting compliment to The Killing Joke and the other being a rather mediocre Batman mash-up. For the 13.59 that amazon normally charges for this -- its a toss up. If you (like me) are a big fan of the Joker I recommend this as a filler to get up to $25 for free shipping, or perhaps if you just love batman in general (both stories revolve around him mostly). I should also probably mention that I never read comics as a kid (I almost 24 now) and only within the last couple months started reading some of this stuff so I hold the stories to pretty high standards (ie: novels, movies & even RPG video games at times) so if you love the simple stories, this may be right up your alley.
Made of something bettter than wood Well it's no secret that I am partial to pretty much ANY Joker story. This one is great, not as good as "The Killing Joke" but pretty great nonetheless. The second part, is a good Detective story which pulls out some old school DC history and is a fun whodunit. Very good art and tight sotrytelling make this a worthwhile read.
Well worth buying Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke present a re-telling of the Joker's first appearance in Batman #1. Brubaker does a better job than most of staying true to the spirit of the original. There is material added, but there is no massive retcon and the characters are portrayed similarly to how they were at that time. The other story included in the collection is "Made of Wood" which was originally published in Detective Comics #784-786. The story features a Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, as he and Batman track down a serial killer.
It's doubtful that either of the stories presented in this collection will join the rarified group of must-have Batman tales like Batman: The Killing Joke and Batman: Year One. Does that mean it's not worth buying? Not by a long shot. The Man Who Laughs is an excellent re-telling of Batman's introduction to the Joker that includes a new take on how he learned to think like the Joker (to a point). Made of Wood has a pretty different feel, though both stories are about murderers, but is also above average. We've seen Batman portrayed as rude and arrogant so many times that I find it a pleasure when he works with someone like Alan Scott and shows him true respect. This characterization is much more in keeping with Batman's characterization over the decades than the jerk that we've seen in more recent years. Beyond that, the mystery is interesting and Green Lantern is tied into the story very well so he doesn't feel like he's being shoe-horned in.
This book is pretty easy to recommend to anyone looking for a couple of good Batman stories. Now that it's out in paperback, the price is very reasonable and the stories are well above average in quality. Read it, enjoy it, be happy.
Nice Batman stories Nice take on Batman's first encounter with the Joker and a great team-up mystery with the original Green Lantern.
Great Book To Complement The Killing Joke Great book, goes well with The Killing Joke. Joker is as psychotic as ever and funny also. Good read. Recommend to buy if you have The Killing Joke.
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