Who has the Last Laugh? (Batman: Man Who Laughs - Ed Brubaker)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	Batman: Man Who Laughs - Ed Brubaker
Date:	08/06/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story, superb artwork, very strong characters

Disadvantages: Doesn't develop the original story that much, strange choice for the second story

A new Batman-Joker story is always cause for celebration yet sometimes, as with The Joker's Last Laugh, they ultimately prove empty and disappointing, The Man Who Laughs is exceptional. Not quite up there with The Killing Joke, but close.

The book actually contains two stories, which I'll briefly look at in turn: The Man Who Laughs and Made of Wood which, confusingly, has nothing to do with The Joker!

Let's start with the title tale, easily the better of the two stories here. It essentially fulfils three functions. Batman fans will recognise it as a re-telling of the first tale in which The Joker appears, as he carries out a series of audacious murders against wealthy industrialists. It's another version of the Joker origin story and finally, it is a sort of sequel to Batman: Year One picking up on the plotline which was hinted at in the final panel, but never picked up.

It's this last aspect which is most immediately noticeable. The look and feel of the comic is very reminiscent of Year One. It mimics its style, atmosphere and artwork brilliantly and, even though it is by a completely different set of writers and artists, there is a strong feeling of continuity between the two. Using the same muted colours of Year One, The Man Who Laughs perfectly captures the grim reality of life in Gotham City. It very much feels like a depressed city, struggling in the face of an onslaught from organised crime, where decent citizens are frightened to go onto the streets.

This is strongly contrasted by the garish appearance of The Joker himself; the sudden explosion of colour in the panels in which the Joker appears only serving to highlight the awfulness of Gotham. The depiction of The Joker is superb; probably second only to The Killing Joke in encapsulating the comic world's most iconic villain. The artists clearly capture his deadly madness and the joy he experiences from the chaos, fear and panic he causes. This is a deadly Joker who should not be taken lightly and one that instantly banishes all memories of the giggling imbecile from the 60s TV show.

By their very nature, comics are obviously highly visual, and artwork for The Man is of very high quality throughout. Yet, it is not just a pretty face! Underpinning the strong visual identity is an equally strong and compelling storyline. The book interweaves all sorts of storylines from earlier comics and does this well, carefully mixing in these elements to appeal to fans, whilst ensuring the story remains accessible to the more casual reader. The story is instantly compelling and grabs your attention from the opening frames. Perhaps the one criticism is that it is a little simplistic and lacks some of the darker, more psychological elements of the best Batman stories. Partly, this is because the tale is a re-telling of that first Joker adventure from the 1940s (when comics were less complicated). However, another set of writers might have crafted a more challenging tale that still remained faithful to the original.

Where Batman tales are always strongest is in the characters, and The Man Who Laughs does not disappoint. Batman is suitably driven and the plot gives him plenty of opportunity to use both his brains and his fists (although, pleasingly, it's his detective skills that are given more prominence). The conflicted nature of Bruce Wayne/Batman isn't quite as well developed as it might be (despite having the perfect opportunity to explore this angle), which is a slight disappointment. On the other hand, it does perfectly capture Batman's analytical response to crime.

The Joker, too, is almost perfect. His psychotic personality captured through his cold-blooded murders and casual attitude to death and destruction. Once more, the Crown Prince of Crime has risen to reclaim his crown as Batman's arch-nemesis. After a string of disappointing outings and mediocre stories he bounces back and shows the world his manic best.

So, overall, the first tale in this mini-collection is a strong Batman-Joker story which riffs on the past, updating for the present to provide a strong tale with strong characters.

The second story, Made of Wood, is more mundane. It's not necessarily a bad story; it's just that after the Joker tale, it feels a little flat. Set later in Batman's career, when James Gordon has retired, it sees Batman teaming up with Gotham's original protector, Green Lantern, to solve a murder.

Again written by Brubakerand Mahnke, the storyline is filled with a kind of nostalgic yearning, which contrasts sharply with the "new beginnings" feel of The Man Who Laughs and this provides a nice shift in tone. Sadly, the story itself feels rather insubstantial and inconsequential. It's one of those little oddities which crops up in Batman comics from time to time - something which has little or nothing to do with the overall myth of Batman, but is fun enough to read. Part of the problem, though, is that it lacks a main focus. Obviously, Batman features, but it's also a tale about Green Lantern and, particularly, Gordon. For such a short tale, Man of Wood features too many key characters and fails to offer any new insights into any of them.

It also suffers from appearing alongside The Man Who Laughs. The first story is so good that Made of Wood seems dull and workmanlike by comparison. Whilst there are a few interesting elements, it never ignites the imagination in the same way. Indeed, by featuring as the final story in this mini-collection, it leaves the whole book with a slightly anti-climactic feel.

On the plus side, the artwork by Patrick Zircher is strong. There is a strong sense of nostalgia and wistfulness and seeing Jim Gordon as an old (if still feisty) man is surprisingly emotional. Batman's strong desire for justice is well captured, though the artwork, although Green Lantern is reduced to little more than a token role and is visually rather dull. For some unknown reason, though, the artist changes in the third and final episode and it's not a change for the better. The visual style is very different and the shift in tone does the book no favours. The new artist is really quite poor at times, drawing pictures of Batman that wouldn't be out of place in an art competition for talented youngsters. After the realistic artwork of the first two parts, this change of style clashes and looks ugly.

Personally, I think including Made of Wood in this collection was a mistake. It adds nothing to the main tale and smacks of some desperate editor thinking that The Man Who Laughs alone didn't offer sufficient value for money. Personally, the Joker tale is so strong, I would happily have paid just for that. Alternatively, if you really felt the need to include a second story, there are plenty of other good Joker stories, so why not choose one of those?

The best way to look at this book is that you are getting an excellent story and one of the best tales featuring the villain for some time. The second story is just a small bonus. Adequate, but just a little inconsequential and forgettable. Either way, on the strength of The Man Who Laughs alone, this is a worthy addition to the shelves of any comic lover.

Basic Information
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The Man Who Laughs
Ed Brubaker, Doug Mahnke, Patrick Zircher
Titan Books, 2008
ISBN: 978-1845767242 (hardback)

© Copyright SWSt 2009

Summary: Worth the money on the strength of the title tale alone