Batman ─ The Man Who Laughs

"Even at the very beginning of his crime-fighting career, the Batman has already seen plenty of humaninty's dark side-- but it's nothing compared to what is about to emerge, giggling, from the shadows: a grinning, chalk-faced figure whose madness threatens to overwhelm everything that stands in its way. For Gotham City's new defender, this first encounter with the creature called the Joker will be the ultimate trial by fire-- a battle that will define his long struggle against the forces of chaos and insanity. Years later, those same forces will erupt again from a wholly unexpected direction-- and ghosts of the past, both good and evil, will have to face the harsh light of inquiry before they can finally rest"--P. [4] of cover.

A one-time cartoonist, Ed Brubaker has been working as a writer since the early 1990s, and in that time his work has won several awards, including both the Harvey and Eisner Awards for Best Writer in 2007, and has been translated around the world. His comics credits include Batman, Catwoman, Gotham Central, and Sleeper for DC Comics and?Daredevil,?Captain America,?and?Criminal?for Marvel. He lives and works in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Melanie, and many pets.

Born in 1963 in the Year of the Rabbit, Doug Mahnke embarked on a love affair with comics at the age of five. He landed a job drawing comics for Dark Horse at the age of 24. Doug and writer John Arcudi collaborated on Dark Horse’s?The Mask?and their creator-owned series Major Bummer, originally published by DC. Since then Doug has worked on a wide variety of titles (including Superman: The Man Of Steel, JLA, Batman, Team Zero, Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein, Black Adam: The Dark Age and Stormwatch: P.H.D.) with such writers as Joe Kelly, Judd Winick, Chuck Dixon, Grant Morrison, Christos Gage and Ed Brubaker, just to name a few. He lives in the midwest with his wife and six kids, one dog, and a bunny named Suzie.