So this one has two stories in it: "The Man Who Laughs" and "Made of Wood." The first story is aptly named as it is the story of Gotham's first experiences with the Joker. I really enjoyed this one and already, it sets up this strange relationship between Batman and the Joker where he really wants him to pay for all the lives he has taken, yet has an understanding for what the Joker sees (literally due to the venom). "Made of Wood" was neat because we got to see Alan Scott as Green Lantern coming back to a Gotham which he used to protect and which still haunts him. Seeing the stark differences between these two heroes who have each served as protectors to this dark city is interesting. While Green Lantern is a more traditional "super hero," Batman is just a man and must use more elusive and violent means to achieve similar ends. However different their techniques may be, the mutual respect only grows as they work together to take down a serial killer that seems to have come back from the past. ( )

It's a decent story on its own right, but it fails to capture the genius of either Batman or Joker. We, as the readers, do not gain any insight into how they work. The POVs work well, though they lack the punch they should have had.

Overall, a decent read if you're a Batman fan. Stay away if you are looking for a brilliant story that captures the brilliance of these iconic characters. ( )

La edición está integrada no sólo por el especial "The Man who laughs", sino por la historia "Made of wood", escrita también por Brubaker y protagonizada por Batman y por Alan Scott, el Green Lantern original.

La que da nombre al título es una historia dinámica y que, a diferencia de lo que ha sido habitual desde "The Killing Joke", deja a un lado el paralelismo psicológico entre Joker y Batman para centrarse principalmente en la acción (tal vez por narrar una vez más el primer encuentro entre ambos). Es una narración entretenida y bien contada, que presenta de forma muy plástica la vesania de Joker y la obsesión de Batman, pero, a mi juicio, queda lejos de las dos o tres grandes obras del personaje (y, en mi opinión, está por debajo -por ejemplo- de los recientes trabajos de Tom King en la serie regular). ( )

A classic Joker story, the visuals of what his laughing gas does to his victims are appropriately grizzly and disgusting. It's totally fine and cool to re-visit this story, I just feel like I've seen/read it so many times that it loses a bit of its lustre. Maybe a victim of its own success? I found White Knight to be a much more fresh, compelling take on the Joker/Batman narrative.

Edit: Switching to 4 stars because the second part, Made of Wood, is so great. Such an incredible art style and having Batman and the Green Lantern team up was a treat, both visually and from a writing perspective. ( )

I had a few people suggesting this book, so I went ahead and looked it up. Even though I see some geeks dislike it or nitpick at it, I thought it was pretty good. You get two stories here. One is a Joker origin story, and a second story that features the Golden Age Green Lantern. This does serve as a bit of a sequel to Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke" (which I learned Moore disavowed saying he did not intend for his story to become canonical). Still, these were some pretty good stories from the early days of Batman, which is a time period I tend to enjoy. Good story from Brubaker, and I did really like the nitty gritty art. If you liked "The Killing Joke" or "Year One," you may like this as well. ( )