Batman: The Man Who Laughs - Page 19

THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF SMILEX !!!!!

Batman: The Man Who Laughs is a one-shot prestige format comic book by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke, released in February 2005, and intended as a successor to Batman: Year One.
While the story seems to take place directly after Year One, the beginning is tied into the ending of Batman and the Mad Monk, in which Gordon reveals the warehouse of corpses.
It tells the story of Batman's first encounter with the Joker in post-Crisis continuity. The plot is based on the Joker's original introduction in Batman #1 (1940). The story "Images" in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #50 (September 1993), is another, alternate take on the same story.

The title is a reference to the movie The Man Who Laughs, whose star, Conrad Veidt, was an inspiration for The Joker.

Critical reaction to The Man Who Laughs has been mostly positive !!!

Hilary Goldstein of IGN Comics said that The Man Who Laughs "lack[s] the smooth pacing and adept dialogue of Moore's The Killing Joke, [but] this is a worthy companion to the classic Joker tale."
Goldstein added, "Brubaker's take on the Joker feels incredibly authentic."
Goldstein later ranked The Man Who Laughs #22 on a list of the 25 best Batman graphic novels.