A worthy companion to The Killing Joke
The Man Who Laughs is another Joker tale... and after Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, making a good one is one hell of a task. This book will automatically be compared to the classic Joker story, but even so, it holds up.
Basically, The Man Who Laughs is about the first time Batman and Joker ever tangled, and is loosely based upon Jokers first appearance in Detective Comics way back...
For those who didn't know that story, Joker makes threats via radio to kill famous people at a certain time, and then steal a priceless object which they owned.
The way Joker kills his targets stands out though. They die with a ghastly grin upon their face... ew...
The Man Who Laughs follows a similar path.
Batman is quite unexpecting when his would be greatest foe emerges. After all, he never expected something like Joker.
Jokers origin is vaguely touched on, but he is mostly a mystery. For more light on that, read The Killing Joke. I think the most suspenseful part here is when Joker names Bruce Wayne himself as the next target. But I forget what happens, as I don't own this. Getting to the point, the story is gripping, and had me held the whole way through. The Man Who Laughs is rather short, but not underwhelming. For people who read the original first appearance of Joker, it will seem very similar, but still its own book. I really enjoyed the artwork here, Joker looks very awesome and crazy, it's been a while since I've read this though so I can't remember what Batman looks like... but I never remember being dissapointed.
The coloring fits the tone of the book nicely, it feels dark but a bit colorful at the same time.
Overall, I loved it. If you liked The Killing Joke (more likely that you loved it), then more often than not you will find something to like with The Man Who Laughs, as long as you're not so darn critical of it.
STORY- 7/10
PENCILING- 8/10
COLORING- 8/10
RE-READABILITY- 8/10
OVERALL- 8/10
