One of the Greatest Batman Graphic Novels?

books:


	• Batman: The Man Who Laughs Ed Brubaker DC Comics, 2008 - 144 pages average customer review:based on 12 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Just another Joker tale

I am a bit surprised at the number of positive reviews that this story receives. Much of this can probably be attributed to Ed Brubaker's name being attached to it. This tale is supposed to be somewhat of an origin story for the Joker, but in this case that is due mainly to its' taking place in the early days of Batman's career than to any fresh new insight into his beginning. The plot is generic and the characterization is no different from anything that we have seen before. I admit that when you are writing about a villain who has made more appearances in comics than most heroes that this can be a difficult task, but as readers it is what we expect. Joker stories obviously sell well or else they would not keep publishing them, so the trick is to not be redundant. It does not succeed here. When all is said and done, this is just another Joker yarn, with nothing original or exceptional added to the mythos in order to elevate it above the rest.

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Mr. McCarty is wrong

I just want to point out that the reviewer Mr. McCarty is incorrect when he states that The Man Who Laughs is somehow derivative of Batman Begins. Batman Begins was written and filmed long after The Man Who Laughs was published.

Disregard his review of TMWL because of this fact. TMWL is a wonderfully written and illustrated tale of The Dark Knight and The Joker. Highly recommended and easily in the ranks of The Killing Joke and The Laughing Fish.

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the joker is insane!

the joker is insane! it was cool getting to read the first encounter with batman. not as good as "the killing joke", but still awesome

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A Good Re-Telling Of An Old Joker Tale

I'm surprised that none of the reviewers seemed to recognize that this is a re-telling of one of the first Joker stories ever told. "Batman vs. The Joker" (Batman #1, 1940). In the original story The Joker kills the rich men to enforce a shakedown of other rich men. Here, his sociopathy is more apparent because he's killing for killing's sake. I like what they've done with it.

The bonus Alan Scott/Green Lantern story is truly great!

One of the Greatest Batman Graphic Novels?

I bought this title for a few reasons:

1) Amazon had a great price of 13.59 and free shipping on combined orders over $35. The original prestige edition was 48 pages (only $5 or so) and sold out a long time ago and now sells for over $50.

2) It was ranked #22 on a list of the "25 Greatest Batman Graphic Novels".

3) Heath Ledger's Joker in the movie "The Dark Knight" is partially based on this story.

Overall, the Joker story was pretty good. However, I didn't like the art style that much. As noted by another reviewer, the story ends abruptly and the final fight betweent Batman and the Joker is anti-climatic.

As I didn't grow up with the original Green Lantern, I didn't like the character that much. However, the 2nd half of the story does delve into the detective aspect of Batman and contrasts it with the Green Lantern.

Overall, to me it was worth buying for the reasons that I listed above. However, better value could be gained by buying other Batman graphic novels. In fact, many of the others from the top 25 list sell for $20 or less on amazon.com.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Witness Batmans 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 the 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.

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