Batman: The Man Who Laughs

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.It tells the story of Batman's first encounter with the Joker in post-Zero Hour continuity. The plot is based on the Joker's original introduction in Batman #1 (1940). The title is a reference to Victor Hugo's novel The Man Who Laughs, whose main character was one of the original inspirations for the Joker.The story has been reprinted, in both hard and softcover, with Detective Comics #784–786—a storyline entitled "Made of Wood" (pairing Batman with the Green Lantern, Alan Scott) also written by Brubaker with art by Patrick Zircher.