Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Doug Mahnke
Publisher: DC Comics
Set squarely in Year: One continuity, this Joker-based story picks up immediately where that series left off, with the first of Gotham’s new breed of super-villians on the horizon and a young and relatively inexperienced Batman having to work out how to cope with such a maniac. However, the book also draws on elements of Alan Moore’s classic Killing Joke (even down to the cover design), notably in the further elaboration of a sketchy origin for the Joker which – even if it doesn’t reveal all his secrets – lets us get a little more fully into his head. As the Joker appears on Gotham’s TV sets and begins to target high-profile city businessmen for murder, Batman faces a race against time to work out where Joker’s plan is really going to lead…
A new take on the Batman/Joker relationship is a tall order for a comics writer, but Brubaker looks to the past to show us a more psychologically interesting conflict than a standard present-day encounter between the two characters (of the kind we’ve seen before a hundred times). Little touches like Bruce’s slight miscalculation of the effects of the Joker’s laughing gas or his misjudgements in battle give us a sense that this is not the same perfect Batman we’re used to today – and he’s a much more rounded and intriguing character for it. However, we do get a sense of the kind of hero Batman will become, as when he talks about the Joker, saying “I understand that now. That paranoid anger and hate. He may be a genius, but that hate is all he knows”, he might as well be talking about himself and the route he is bound to eventually take as a crime-fighter. Further parallels between the two are implied, notably in a dream sequence which compares the sense of loss and anger towards the world that the pair feel – Bruce for the loss of his parents, Joker for the loss of his previous, normal life (which makes even more sense if you’ve read Killing Joke) – and allows some sympathy to creep into the reader’s perception of the villain. What’s more, the book is also a tight little detective story, the plot of which comes together logically and allows more than one opportunity for Bats to show off his deductive skills as well as his prowess in hand-to-hand fighting.
Doug Mahnke’s artwork is never showy or over-the-top, but sets the scene for a solid, moody crime drama that complements Brubaker’s script well. Whilst it never quite recreates the atmosphere of Year: One – with many shots of Batman in full costume in bright lighting, and little of the shadowy presence that can suit the Dark Knight so well – there are still some great dark moments, particularly the scenes of the Joker’s original experiments of his laughing gas and the subsequent victims of his horrific plot. The realistic, sketchy style reminded me of Guy Davis’ work on the Marvel Deadline miniseries a few years back, and Mahnke has the same gift for adding a hefty dose of realism to his superhero action. There are some strong fight scenes here, with Batman in full-on clinical mode when taking on a hulking prison escapee or fully prepared for battle before finding himself surprised in his initial encounter with the Joker.
Whilst never topping the quality of Year: One or Killing Joke, Man Who Laughs is a good Batman story on its own terms, and goes even further to establish the bond between the two major characters than Alan Moore’s classic story did. James Gordon is also given a fair bit of time as a hero of the piece, and – even if he’s written a lot more broadly than he was in Year: One – he adds a grounded feel to the story which helps to tone down the more colourful elements. A fairly original insight into two characters that are constantly in danger of becoming stagnant makes this worth a look. It’s the kind of project I’d like to see attempted more often.
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