Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Jock
Published by DC Comics
This is the one comic book I’ve been salivating for. The Batman Who Laughs was a surprise fan favorite during the Metal storyline so it makes sense that there would be a limited series with him in it. Luckily, we have two top notch creators at the helm and they make an amazing story!
We open with Batman on a case! We see him track down some criminals! As illustrated by the great Jock, it’s absolutely thrilling. The art flows beautifully and vividly giving us new camera angles and excitement. He really is one of my favorite artists out there!
The case leads him to a startling discovery: The body of a deceased Bruce Wayne!
This revelation sends him in a spin to figure out just what the hell is going on here. And that’s when the descent into madness begins.
Snyder and Jock are very good at horror comics and they excel here making an amazing comic.
So from this crazy beginning, we see something I never thought that I would see in a Batman comic. Batman goes into Arkham Asylum and starts blowing his villains gallery away. It’s horrifying to watch. Mr. Freeze even screams “this isn’t you, Batman!” Batman doesn’t care. He just kills him in the most ruthless way possible.
This all leads Batman to the Joker. It looks like Batman is set to kill him. And then, there is a big twist. I didn’t see this one coming either and I have no idea what it means. All i know is I’m excited to see where we end up.
So then, there are a few more twists and turns. By the end of the issue, there is so much happening that it’s almost overwhelming. But it all makes sense and it’s visceral and wonderful. This is a VERY different take on the Batman mythos. But it’s a very well thought out one and is completely excellent from cover to cover. It’s an early Christmas treat indeed.
RATING: A
