Title: Batman: The Man Who Laughs (Click to go to the release post)
Writer(s): Ed Brubaker (Click to see other books from this writer released on this site)
Review source: Hilary Goldstein (Don't click it, read the review here... )
Review:
- A funny thing happened on the way to the insane asylum...
Ed Brubaker has some big fat cajones. Few writers would dare offer a year one tale of the Joker, considering the love affair fans feel towards Alan Moore's The Killing Joker. Give Brubaker credit, he doesn't shy away from offering his own take on the Joker. Heck, give him a little more credit for writing a solid tale of Batman's first encounter with the Clown Prince of Crime.
Brubaker doesn't dwell long on the events that turn a simple hood into the Joker, instead focusing on Joker's first crime spree in Gotham City. The Batman's career is still in its early stages. He has no Robin and no Bat Sginal. He's not even that confident in his new-fangled Batmobile. Still, Bats exudes the smae dark and fearsome presence as always.
When people begin dying with a smile on their face, the young Batman is faced with something he never imagined -- dealing with utterly insane criminals. As the Bat notes, he was prepared for pimps and thugs, not psychotic maniacs. That doesn't stop him from attempting to protect numerous Joker targets while slowly piecing together the Clown Prince's endgame.
While The Man Who Laughs may lack the smooth pacing and adept dialogue of Moore's The Killing Joke this is a worthy companion to the classic Joker tale. Reading through The Man Who Laughs a second time, Brubaker's take on the Joker feels incredibly authentic, even more so than the first time I read this story. This is a tale of a city unprepared for madness. The Joker's arrival is the turning point in the Dark Knight's career and a benchmark for Gotham's resiliency. After these events, life in Gotham can never be the same and the gravity of this knowledge is fully utilized by Brubaker.
Having only recently been released, The Man Who Laughs is readily available in most comic shops. While it may never attain the classic status of other Joker tales, it's definitely a worthwhile read.
More info:
- Written by: Ed Brubaker
Art by: Doug Mahnke
Post rewarded by Ojay on Jul 14th, 2011, 9:52 am. |
5 WRZ$ reward as announced in Comics News. Nice reviewed. Thanks |